Animal Behavior Chapter 51

I. Behavioral Ecology Def: The study of how specific behaviors increase reproductive success Learned behavior (nurture) – environmental and ecological basis Innate behavior (nature) – genetic and evolutionary basis Natural selection favors a behavioral phenotype Genotypes that do not increase fitness eliminated from gene pool Play

II. Types of Behavior Instinct: Inherited, __________ behavior innate FAP (_____ _____ _______): Sequence of behavior that is unchangeable and carried to completion once started External sign stimulus triggers FAP Ex. Stickleback fish Ex. Greylag goose innate fixed action pattern Male aggressiveness in stickleback fish; red sign stimulus Greylag goose retrieves any round object resembling egg

II. Types of Behavior c) Habituation: loss of responsiveness to stimuli that convey little or no information simple form of ___________ Ex. Sea Anemones d) Imprinting: learning that is limited to a very specific _____ _____ of an animal’s life Irreversible Imprinting stimulus Ex. Salmon Ex. Ducklings Ex. Whooping Cranes learning critical period Salmon imprint on odor to find birthplate; geese and whooping cranes imprint on any 1st moving object Play

II. Types of Behavior e) Associative Learning: ability of animals to associate one stimulus w/ another Classical Conditioning (arbitrary stimulus) Ex. Pavlov’s Dog Operant Conditioning (Trial and Error) Ex. B.F. Skinner’s rats f) Observational Learning – modeling g) Spatial Learning – memory of environment’s spatial structure h) Insight – cognition and problem solving i) Prior experience helps an animal exposed to a new situation Play

III. Oriented Movement Kinesis: an undirected change in speed of an animal’s movement in response to a stimulus Taxis: a directed movement in response to a stimulus Migration: long-distance seasonal mvmt

IV. Social Behavior Evolved to optimize individual fitness

IV. Animal Signals and Communication Important for species recognition, mating, organizing social behavior Occurs through visual, auditory, tactile, and chemical means (pheromones)

V. Social Behavior Agnostic behavior (aggression and submission) ritualized contests determines who gains resources food, mates Can be psychological rather than physical Establishes dominance hierarchies (pecking order and territoriality Play

V. Social Behavior b) Altruistic Behavior selfless and/or sacrificial behavior that seemingly reduce the fitness of the individual… increases inclusive fitness = the fitness of relatives who share identical genes Natural selection that favors altruistic behavior = Kin Selection