Veterinary Ethology and Behavioral Research

Question 1

Define: Ethology

Answer 1

scientific study of what an animal does and how and why they do it
ethos- custom/character/manner/behavior
logos- description

Question 2

Define: latency

Answer 2

time to start of a behavior

Question 3

Define: frequency

Answer 3

number of times a particular behavior is done

Question 4

Define: duration

Answer 4

amount of time a particular behavior lasts

Question 5

Ethology (Nobel laureates year/names)

Answer 5

Konrad Lorenz, Karl von Frisch, Nicholas Tinbergen

1973- discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behavior patterns

Question 6

4 questions

Answer 6

(Tinbergen's)- logically distinct/not mutually exclusive
How does it work
How did it develop
What is it for
How did the behavior evolve

Question 7

Canine signaling

Answer 7

“soft” language of canines toward humans, method of communication between canines; system of signals developed which facilitate the maintenance of this organization with minimal overt aggression

Question 8

Benefits of animal research

Answer 8

public perception/attitude has changed
1992- creation of Assoc. for the Study of Animal; Behavior in the UK; Animal Behavior Society in US
Formed the ethical committee and the animal care committee respectively; have joint guidelines for the use of animals in research

Question 9

Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals

Answer 9

published in 1996; 8th edition published in 2011; compare research quality with animal suffering and determine acceptable research proposals

Question 10

Steps to studying behavior

Answer 10

Ask a question
Make preliminary observations and formulate hypotheses
Make predictions from the hypotheses
Identify which behavioral variables need to be measured in order to test these predictions
Choose suitable recording methods for measuring these behavioral variables
Collect sufficient data
Use appropriate statistics

Question 11

Empirical results

Answer 11

first-hand description, relying on or derived from observation or experiment

Question 12

Technology results

Answer 12

use of recording devices

Question 13

Event

Answer 13

behavior pattern of relatively short duration, salient feature is frequency of occurrence (# times cat grooms itself in an hour)

Question 14

State

Answer 14

behavior pattern of relatively long duration, such as prolonged activities, body postures, or proximity measures; salient feature is duration (total time a cat spends grooming over a one hour period)

Question 15

Ad libitum

Answer 15

observe an animal and make general notes about what it is doing, or what it is doing of interest

Question 16

Focal

Answer 16

observe one animal (sometimes 2) for a fixed amount of time and record all the behaviors that you are looking for

Question 17

Point or Instantaneous

Answer 17

at predetermined moments inn time, record all the behaviors the animal is doing

Question 18

All occurrences

Answer 18

record all occurrences of one or a small number of behaviors and ignore all others (used with large groups of animals)

Question 19

Intra-observer reliability

Answer 19

one observer consistent in how they measure and count or does it change

Question 20

Inter-observer reliability

Answer 20

do 2 or more observers measure in an identical or similar fashion

Question 21

Complete ethogram

Answer 21

list of all behaviors exhibited by a species

Question 22

Practical ethogram

Answer 22

list of behaviors of interest

Question 23

Displacement activity

Answer 23

inappropriate behavior which occurs when an animal is experiencing conflict between 2 opposing drives

Question 24

Vacuum activity

Answer 24

instinctive behavior performed in the absence of the stimulus to which it would normally be directed

Question 25

Redirected behavior

Answer 25

motivation to perform an activity toward an appropriate target, interrupted or prevented from reaching that target, behavior gets directed toward a less appropriate target