AP Behavioral Biology

Chapter 51

• Behavioral ecology- scientific discipline that studies how behaviors are controlled, developed, evolved, and how they contribute to survival and reproductive success.

• Behavior- everything an animal does and how it does it

• Ethology-the scientific study of how animals behave, particularly in their natural environments

Core questions

• 1. What is the mechanism basis of the behavior, including chemical, anatomical, and physiological mechanism?

• How does development of the animal, from zygote to mature individual, influence the behavior?

• 3. What is the evolutionary history of the behavior?

• 4. How does the behavior contribute to survival and reproduction?

Proximate vs. Ultimate Questioning

• proximate questions of behavior focus on the environmental stimuli, if any, that trigger a behavior, as well as the genetic, physiological, and anatomical mechanisms underlying a behavioral act– Ex. How does day length influence breeding

by red-crowned cranes?

• Ultimate questions address the evolutionary significance of a behavior

• Ex. Why did natural selection favor this behavior and not a different one?

• Fixed action pattern (FAP), a sequence of unlearned behavioral acts that are unchangeable once initiated and carried through completion

• Imprinting- a type of behavior that includes both learning and innate components and is generally irreprehensible (must take place during a crucial time period)

• Innate behaviors- behavior that is developmentally fixed (have a strong genetic influence)

• Learning- the modification of behavior based on specific experiences

Forms of learning

Habituation

Spatial learning (locations of landmarks, food, hazards…etc)

Cognitive maps (internal recognition or code)

Associate learning (color with a bad taste)

Cognition and problem solving

• Classical conditioning- form of associative learning an arbitrary stimulus is associated with a reward or punishment

(Pavlov’s dog)

Operant conditioning-trial and error learning

• Altruism- behavior that reduces an individuals fitness but increases the fitness of other individuals within a population; selflessness