Animal Behavior

Chapter 39

Behavior (Ethology)• Action carried out by muscles or glands

under control of the nervous system in response to a stimulus

• Helps to acquire nutrients for digestion and find a partner for sexual reproduction

• Contributes to homeostasis (ex bees huddling to provide warmth)

• Behaviorphysiologybehavior• Subject to natural selection

Ethology • Scientific study of animal behavior• Niko Tinbergen-4 questions

– What stimulus elicits behavior and what physiology forms response?

– How does experience affect it?– How does it aid in survival and

rep?– What is its evolutionary history?

Proximate/Ultimate causation• What is the mechanism?• Why is it good for species?• Ex. Bluegill• Ex. Red crowned cranes

Fixed Action Pattern• Type of behavior directly

linked to simple stimulus-trigger called sign stimulus

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUNZv-ByPkU

Oriented Movement

• Kinesis-change in activity or turning rate• Taxis-movement toward or away from a

stimulus

Migration-regular, long distance change in locationHeads have bits of magnetite –so Earth’s magnetic field pulls on them

Photoreceptors are affected by magnetic field

Behavioral Rhythms• Circadian Clock-24 hour cycle• Circannual rhythms-yearly cycle• Usually controlled by periods of

daylight and dark• But some-lunar cycle

Signals and communication• Visual

• Chemical

• Tactile

• Auditory

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXXqQ2zJVMA

Bee DanceRound and Waggle• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vaszh2

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Pheromones• Chemicals• Short distance• Queen Bee• Warning

Innate Behavior• Developmentally fixed

Learned behavior• Habituation-loss of

responsiveness to stimuli that carries little new info

Imprinting

• Long lasting response to individual or object-occurs during sensitive period

• Konrad Lorenz

Spatial Learning• Memory that reflects environment-

Tinbergen

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXLigFEri98

Cognitive Maps• Representation in nervous system of the

spatial relationships in surroundings

• Ex. Nutcracker• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIJVYW

vMBis

Associative learning• Associate one feature with another• Ex. Mouse bites distasteful caterpillar-

won’t attack those of similar color

Classical Conditioning• Arbitrary stimulus becomes associated

with a particular outcome• Pavlov’s dogs

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpoLxEN54ho

Operant conditioning-Trial and Error

Cognition and Problem Solving• Devise a method to go from one state to

another and deal with obstacles

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZSk7oCNaHg

Learned behaviors• Singing in birds-may have to hear songs

during sensitive period• Humpback whales

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAqZpAf0-lc

Nature or Nurture?

Foraging Behavior• Optimal foraging behavior

Mating behavior• Promiscuous• Monogamous• Polygamous

– Polyandry– Polygyny

Agonistic interaction

Sexual Dimorphism

Inclusive Fitness• Altruism

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