Animal Behavior PDF

Chapter 51 Animal Behavior A behavior is the nervous system’s response to a stimulus - carried out by the muscular or the hormonal system Behavior is subject to natural selection. Animal Behavior Bozeman http:...

Chapter 51 Animal Behavior A behavior is the nervous system’s response to a stimulus - carried out by the muscular or the hormonal system Behavior is subject to natural selection. Animal Behavior Bozeman http://youtu.be/6hREwakXmAo  How to Study Animal Behavior Niko Tinbergen: Dutch student who identified 4 questions that should be asked about animal behavior 1. What stimulus elicits the behavior, and what physiological mechanisms mediate the response? 2. How does the animal’s experience during growth and development influence the response? 3. How does the behavior aid survival and reproduction? 4. What is the behavior’s evolutionary history? Behavioral ecology is the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior.  Fixed Action Patterns A fixed action pattern is a sequence of unlearned, innate behaviors that are unchangeable. - once initiated, usually carried to completion - triggered by an external cue known as a sign stimulus Male stickleback fish attack other males. Tinbergen observed male stickleback fish responding to a passing red truck. When presented with unrealistic models, the attack behavior occurs as long as some red is present In male stickleback fish, the stimulus for attack behavior is the red underside of an intruder.  Migration Environmental cues can trigger movement in a particular direction. Migration is a regular, long-distance change in location. Animals can orient themselves using: - position of the sun and their circadian clock - position of the North Star - Earth’s magnetic field (magnetite)  Animal Signals and Communication In behavioral ecology - a signal is a behavior that causes a change in another animal’s behavior - communication is the transmission and reception of signals * Animals communicate using visual, chemical, tactile and auditory signals. Example: Fruit fly courtship (a) Orienting (b) Tapping (c) “Singing” Chemical communication: Tactile communication: male Auditory communication: male smells a female’s taps the female with a foreleg male extends and vibrates his chemicals in the air Chemical communication: wing to create courtship song Visual communication: male male chemically confirms the sees the female and orients female’s identity * If all criteria are met, the female his body toward hers will allow the male to copulate.  Honeybees show complex communication with symbolic language. A bee returning from the field performs a dance to communicate information about the distance and direction of a food source. Honeybee Dance http://youtu.be/bFDGPgXtK-U Waggle dance if A food distant. 30° C B Beehive 30° Round floor dance if food near. Location A Location B Location C 6 Types of Animal Behavior (Learning) Imprinting Learning and problem solving Spatial learning Cognition Associative learning Social learning  Imprinting Imprinting is a behavior that includes learning and innate components and is generally irreversible. - distinguished from other learning by a sensitive period (limited developmental phase that is the only time when certain behaviors can be learned) Konrad Lorenz and geese  Spatial Learning and Cognitive Maps EXPERIMENT Spatial learning is a more complex modification of behavior based on experience with the spatial structure of the environment. - Niko Tinbergen showed how digger wasps use landmarks to find Nest nest entrances. Pinecone RESULTS A cognitive map is an internal representation of spatial relationships between objects in an animal’s surroundings - Clark’s nutcrackers (birds) can find food hidden in caches located Nest No nest halfway between particular landmarks Figure 51.8  Associative Learning In associative learning, animals associate one feature of their environment with another. Classical conditioning is a type of associative learning in which an arbitrary stimulus is associated with a reward or punishment. - Pavlov’s dog: a dog that repeatedly hears a bell before being fed will salivate in anticipation at the bell’s sound Operant conditioning (a.k.a. trial-and-error learning) is a type of associative learning in which an animal learns to associate one of its behaviors with a reward or punishment. - rat that is fed after pushing a lever will learn to push the lever in order to receive food - a predator may learn to avoid a specific type of prey associated with a painful experience  Cognition and Problem Solving Cognition is a process of knowing that may include awareness, reasoning, recollection and judgment. - i.e. honeybees can distinguish “same” from “different” Reward for choosing same Then chose same pattern color as stimulus. as stimulus. Decision chamber Food Lid Stimulus Entrance Color maze Pattern maze Problem solving is the process of devising a strategy to overcome an obstacle - i.e. chimpanzees can stack boxes in order to reach suspended food Social learning is learning through the observation of others and forms the roots of culture - i.e. young chimpanzees learn to crack palm nuts with stones by copying older chimpanzees - i.e. vervet monkeys give and respond to distinct alarm calls for different predators Honey Badger Houdini: http://youtu.be/c36UNSoJenI Concept 51.3: Selection for individual survival and reproductive success can explain most behaviors. Genetic Basis of Behavior A master regulatory gene can control many behaviors - a single gene controls many behaviors of the male fruit fly courtship ritual Multiple independent genes can contribute to a single behavior - in green lacewings, the courtship song is unique to each species; multiple independent genes govern different components of the courtship song Concept 51.4: Inclusive fitness can account for the evolution of behavior, including altruism. Altruism Natural selection favors behavior that maximizes an individual’s survival and reproduction. (selfish) On occasion, some animals behave in ways that reduce their individual fitness but increase the fitness of others. (selflessness = altruism) – Under threat from a predator, an individual Belding’s ground squirrel will make an alarm call to warn others, even though calling increases the chances that the caller is killed. – In naked mole rat populations, nonreproductive individuals may sacrifice their lives protecting their reproductive queen and kings from predators. Hamilton’s Rule and Kin Selection - proposed by William Hamilton - quantitative measure for predicting when natural selection would favor altruistic acts among related individuals - i.e. girl who risks her life to save her brother Reciprocal altruism is limited to species with stable social groups where individuals meet repeatedly, and cheaters (who don’t reciprocate) are punished. - used to explain altruism between unrelated individuals in humans Two monkeys were paid unequally http://youtu.be/meiU6TxysCg