1.
What is the difference
between proximate and
ultimate causes of
behavior?
2.
Explain the difference
between kinesis and
taxis.
3.
What is a stimulus that
you are habituated to?
Ch. 51 Warm-Up
Define:
Fixed action
pattern
Sign stimulus Imprinting Kinesis Taxis Pheromones Learning Habituation
Ch. 51 Warm-Up
1.
What is the advantage
for a species to be:
Monogamous?
Polygamous?
2.
Describe an example of
when you have
participated in
reciprocal altruism
.
Define:
• Associative learning • Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
• Cognition
• Monogamy/polygamy/ polygyny/polyandry
• Agonistic behavior
• Altruism
• Kin selection
Chapter 51
You Must Know:
•
The difference between a kinesis and a
taxis
•
Various forms of animal communication
•The role of altruism and inclusive fitness
Introduction
Ethology: study of animal behavior
Behavior: what an animal does and how it does it
Result of both genetic and environmental factors
Essential for survival and reproduction
Subject to natural selection over time
Behavior has both
proximate
and
ultimate
causes
Behavioral ecologists ask both proximate and
ultimate questions
Proximate: how an animal behaves; focus on the
immediate causes of behavior
Ultimate: why an animal behaves as it does; the
evolutionary causes of behavior
BEHAVIOR: A male stickleback fish attacks other male sticklebacks that invade its nesting territory.
PROXIMATE CAUSE: The red belly of the intruding male acts as a sign stimulus that releases aggression in a male stickleback.
ULTIMATE CAUSE: By chasing away other male sticklebacks, a male decreases the chance that eggs laid in his nesting
Behavior results from both genes and
environmental factors
In biology, the
nature-versus-nurture
issue is not
Many behaviors have a strong
genetic component
Certain behaviors in
prairie voles are
under relatively
strong genetic control
AVP
Differences in oxytocin (a hormone)
receptors in 2 species of voles
Monogamous prairie voles vs.
promiscuous montane voles
High oxytocin levels in prairie voles
Innate behavior is developmentally fixed
• Unlearned behavior
• Environmental indifference - performed the same way by all members of a species
• Fixed action patterns (FAPs): innate behaviors that exhibit unchangeable sequences; carried to completion
• Triggered by sign stimulus
Kinesis: simple change in activity or turning rate in
response to a stimulus
Taxis: automatic movement, oriented movement
+/- from stimulus; i.e. Phototaxis, chemotaxis, and geotaxis.
Directed Movements
Kinesis increases the chance that a sow bug will encounter and stay in a moist environment.
Migratory
animals may move between
Communication & Signals:
Pheromones – chemicals emitted by members of
one species that affect other members of the species
Visual signals – ie. Warning flash of white of a
mockingbird’s wing
Auditory signals – screech of blue jay or song of
warbler
Waggle dance of honeybee – indicate location and
Learning is experience-based
modification of behavior
Learning ranges from simple
behavioral changes to complex problem solving
Learning: a change in behavior
resulting from experience
Social learning involves
changes in behavior that result from the observation and imitation of others
Types of Learning
1. Habituation: loss of
responsiveness to stimuli that convey little or no information
Simple form of learning
2. Imprinting: learning + innate
components
Limited to sensitive period in
life, generally irreversible
ie. Lorenz’ imprinting in
BEHAVIOR: Young geese follow and imprint on their mother.
PROXIMATE CAUSE: During an early, critical developmental stage, the young geese observe their mother moving away from them and calling.
Imprinting
poses problems and
opportunities for conservation programs
Captive breeding programs for endangered
species must provide proper imprinting
models
Types of Learning
3.
Associative learning
: ability to associate
one stimulus with another
Also called classical conditioning
Fruit fly (drosophila): trained to respond to
Types of Learning
Operant conditioning
: another type of
associative learning
Trial-and-error learning
Associate its own behavior with reward or
Types of Learning
4.
Cognition
: the ability of an animal’s
nervous system to:
Perceive, store, process, and use
information gathered by sensory receptors
Types of Learning
5.
Cognitive Map
: internal representation of
spatial relationship among objects in an
animal’s surroundings
Nest
No nest Nest
Some organisms move in response to a
recognized object or environmental cue, a
The study of consciousness
poses a unique challenge for
scientists
Besides humans, are animals
aware
of
themselves?
Some would argue that certain behaviors are a
Foraging
: food-obtaining behavior
Recognize, search for, capturing, and
consuming food
Optimal foraging theory
: natural selection
will benefit animals that maximize their
energy
intake-to-expenditure
ratio (energy
intake
≥
energy used)
Behavioral ecologists use cost-benefit
analysis in studying foraging
Courtship and Mating Behavior
Sexual selection:
seeking
and attracting mates,
choosing and competing
for mates
Promiscuou s
Monogamo
us Polygamous Polyandry
Partners Many One 1 M + many
F 1F + many M
Structure Showy Similar Showy male femaleShowy
Among polygynous species, such as elk, the male (left) is often highly ornamented.
Since monogamous species, such as these trumpeter swans, are often monomorphic, males and females are difficult to distinguish using external characteristics only.
Territorial Behavior
Territorial behavior parcels space and resources Animals exhibiting this behavior mark and
Rituals involving agonistic behavior
often resolve confrontations between
competitors
Agonistic behavior
: threats, rituals, and
Dominance hierarchies
are maintained
by agonistic behavior; partitions
Altruistic social behavior
Altruism
= selflessness
Reduce
individual fitness but
increase
fitness
of others in population
i.e. bee societies; naked mole rats
Inclusive fitness
: total effect of producing
own offspring + helping close relatives
