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
bY3mc
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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