Behavioral Biology

Behavior – what an animal does and why it does it Types of Behavior Fixed Action Patterns (FAP) unlearned (instinctive) does not change over the course of the organisms life once initiated (exposed to the stimulus) proceeds to completion of the behavior triggered by a sign stimulus – external cause that brings about the behavior

EX: Three-spined stickleback fish – males respond aggressively to red color – found on the bottom portion of males Graylag goose and egg rolling Baby birds opening their mouths Kelp gull chicks pecking beaks of parents

Imprinting: learned and innate components irreversible has a time sensitive component – Sensitive period – only time during the animal’s development that imprinting can occur

EX: baby Graylag geese following their mother - must imprint on the mother within a certain time frame or they will not follow her around - enhances the survival of the young - if the correct object of imprinting is not present the animals may imprint on another organism or anything that moves away from the nest after the gosling has hatched

Causes of Behavior I. Genetic Influenced Behaviors: Innate Behaviors: found in all or nearly all of a population may be influenced by environmental conditions and/or developmental stages of an organisms life

Directed Movements: behaviors in response to stimuli that cause an animal to change position or location i. Kinesis: random movement or changes in activity in response to a change in environmental conditions – may or may not move toward or away from the stimulus ii. Taxis: directed movement toward or away from a stimulus - phototaxis, rheotaxis, chemotaxis - positive taxis – movement toward - negative taxis – movement away from

iii. Migration: - complex behavior - usually stimulated by temporal stimulus - evidenced by “migratory restlessness” in some birds migration may be directed by different forms of navigation a. landmarks b. celestial bodies - The Long Journey Home – Monarch Butterfly Migration c. magnetoreception

Animal Signals and communication Signal – behavior that causes a change in another animal’s behavior Communication – transmission, reception and response to signals Signals can help preserve energy EX: warning signals – display the potential for aggressive action

Methods of Communication: Sight – diurnal Sound – nocturnal, crepuscular and diurnal Pheromones – nocturnal – - typically for reproductive signaling - mammals and insects - often a warning signal Minnows and catfish Tactile Electrical

II. Learning: modification of behavior based on specific experiences Learning vs. Maturation: a behavior that results from maturation will eventually occur - developmental EX: Birds flying Learning may not happen without the proper stimuli Learning and Maturation are linked – some learning may not occur with the correct stimuli if the proper amount of maturation has not occurred

Types of Learning Imprinting Habituation: loss of responsiveness to a stimuli “The boy who cried wolf” Spatial Learning: recognition of location use of landmarks EX: Digger wasps Honey bees

Cognitive Maps: internal representation of location EX: You are driving to school and there is a road block. In your head you figure out how to get to school. Associative Learning: linking one stimulus to another EX: Monarch butterflies taste bad – they are orange – orange butterflies taste bad

Types of Associative Learning: Classical Conditioning: an arbitrary stimulus is associated with a reward or punishment EX: Pavlov’s Dogs Operant Conditioning: a behavior is reinforced or diminished by reward or punishment EX: Skinner’s Rats – press levers and get food

Cognition and Problem Solving: Cognition: ability of an animal to perceive, store, process, and use information gathered by sensory receptors EX: recognizing patterns and colors Problem Solving: Chimps in a room with boxes and a banana hanging from the ceiling – Chimp stacks the boxes to get the banana

Enhancing Survival Through Behavior Foraging Behavior: food obtaining behavior Optimal Foraging Theory: the amount of energy gained is maximized - balance the energy lost by foraging and the risk of predation with the energy gained Ex: Dodgeball – the more energy gained, the more optimal the behavior - the less risk of predation the better

Mating Behavior and Mate Choice: - balance of energy investment: - more offspring = less parental care = less chance of each offspring surviving (Semelparity) - less offspring = more parental care = more chance of each offspring surviving (Iteroparity)

Mating Systems: Promiscuous: no strong pair bonds or lasting relationships Monogamous: strong pair bonds, may or may not be permanent -males and females are usually morphologically similar Polygamous: an individual of one sex mating with several of the opposite sex – males and females are usually morphologically distinct Polygany – one male with several females – males are showy to demonstrate reproductive fitness EX: Deer, peacocks Polyandry – one female with several males – females tend to be larger and more ornamented than males – EX: frogs, sea turtles

Sexual Selection and Mate Choice: Mate Choice by Females – intersexual selection - Lek - may involve intricate displays by the males to win the attention of the females Male Competition for Mates – intrasexual selection - often leads to agonistic behavior – contest to determine the right to mate – may simply be visual and auditory displays with no contact or - may be a physical contest

Social Behavior: “the good of the many outweighs the good of the few or the one” - Spock -Altruism – putting the individual at risk for another - alarm calls at the presence of a predator - social insects working for the queen - naked mole rats: one queen, 3 kings - based on the idea of Inclusive Fitness: helping out the others will ensure the survival of the species - altruism increases according to the Coefficient of Relatedness and Kin Selection - an animal is more likely to sacrifice for a brother or aunt rather than an unrelated animal - Reciprocal Altruism – “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.”