Behavioral Ecology (Part 2) Ms. Day AP Biology

Behavioral Ecology Social behavior = the interaction among members of a population Behavioral biology = study of what animals do when interacting with their environment Behavior can be interpreted in terms of proximate causes (immediate interaction with the environment) or ultimate causes (evolutionary differences)

Behavior Ethology = study of animal behavior Proximate cause = physiological & genetic mechanisms of behavior Ask yourself “HOW is the behavior occurring?” Ex: hormones, light or temperature cues, environment signals Ultimate cause = evolutionary significance of behavior Ask yourself “WHY is the behavior occurring?” Protection, less competition, better mating, etc.

HOW? WHY?

What is the proximate cause? HOW is the behavior occurring? Colors and size of tail feathers allows peacock to attract mate What is the ultimate cause? WHY is the behavior occurring? The peacock wants a girl to reproduce with 

Types of Behavior Innate= behavior that is instinct or inherited (NOT LEARNED) Ex: care for offspring by female, suckling, mating Fixed action pattern (FAP) = sequence of unlearned (innate) acts; unchangeable; carried to completion triggered by an external sensory stimulus or cue (called a sign stimulus)

Sign stimulus = external sensory cue Ex: 3-spined stickleback (Tinbergen ‘73 Nobel) Female Wasps, their nests and pinecone/rocks Where is my nest?

This is a fixed action pattern http://nortonbooks.com/college/biology/animations/ch30a01.htm The graylag goose always retrieves an egg that has been bumped out of her nest in the same manner Get back here! This is a fixed action pattern She carries this sequence to completion, even if the egg slips away during the process

Types of Behavior Con’t Learning 3. Habituation = loss of responsiveness to stimuli that convey no information; simple learning 4. Imprinting = limited learning within a specific time period called the critical (or sensitive) period 5. Associative learning: A. classical conditioning- reward/punishment behavior Ex: fish tank, dogs and food B. operant conditioning- trial and error Ex: Wolf and porcupine 6. Observational learning = imitating EX: monkeys I’ll never do that again!

Classical Conditioning Examples

What is the proximate cause? Imprinting : a behavior that includes both learning and innate (unlearned) components and is generally irreversible This is distinguishable from other types of learning by having a sensitive period, a limited phase in an animal’s development that is the ONLY time when certain behaviors can be learned What is the proximate cause? What is the ultimate cause?

How do young know on whom – or what – to imprint? How do young geese know that they should follow the mother goose? The tendency to respond is the innate behavior within the birds The outside world provides the imprinting stimulus Wait up, mama!

Another Type of Behavior Maturation = behavior due to developing physiological changes Innate behavior that can not occur until a certain age/ maturation Ex: Birds fly when they are physically able  ability to fly is innate I can fly now!

TYPES of ANIMAL MOVEMENT Kinesis = simplest type of animal movement random movement in response to a stimulus NO exact direction (NON-DIRECTIONAL) taxis A more or less automatic movement DIRECTED toward (+ taxis) or away from (- taxis) some stimulus Examples include rheotaxis (current) chemotaxis, hydrotaxis and phototaxis Some animals use landmarks to find their way within an area (Ex: whales, birds) Migration= birds migration behavior is genetically programmed and inherited

Movement in a directed way enables animals to: avoid predators migrate to a more favorable environment obtain food find mates and nest sites

Examples of Directed Movements

Communication and Behavior Type Description Ex Chemical Chemicals used called PHEROMONES Reproductively receptive female moths attract male moths –emit pheromones into air Visual Visual displays displays of aggression or during courtship Sickleback fish Auditory Sounds used to communicate over long distances, through water, and at night. Whale songs Tactile Touching is common in social bonding, infant care, grooming, and mating. Wolves greet the dominant male in the pack by licking his muzzle.

Social behavior promiscuous~ no strong pair bond Agonistic behavior~ contest behavior determining access to resources Dominance hierarchy~ linear “pecking order” Territoriality~ an area an individual defends excluding others Mating systems: promiscuous~ no strong pair bond monogamous~ one male/one female polygamous~ 1 with many polygyny~ 1 male/many female polyandry~ 1 female/many males

Altruistic behavior THINK: “All in the family” Behavior that is detrimental to the individual but favors the survival its relatives WHY? Spread of population’s genes Ex: honey bees & wasps Queen, Worker (female), Drone (male parthogenesis)