AP Biology Animal Behavior Chapter 51

AP Biology Why study behavior?  Ethology— the study of behavior

AP Biology Ethology pioneers in the study of animal behavior Niko TinbergenKarl von Frisch 1941 | 1973 Konrad Lorenz

AP Biology What is behavior?  Behavior  Defined as observable and coordinated responses to environmental stimuli.  Result of genetic & environmental factors  Innate Behaviors  inherited, “instinctive”  automatic & consistent  “Built-in”, no “learning curve”  Despite different environments, all individuals exhibit the behavior  Ex. early survival, reproduction, kinesis, taxis

AP Biology Evolutionary perspective  Learned behaviors  Modified by experience  Variable, changeable  change with experience & environment  Flexible with a complex & changing environment  Ability to learn is inherited, but the behavior develops during animal’s lifetime

AP Biology Levels of Behavioral Analysis  Proximate causes  Immediate stimulus & mechanism  Genetic & environmental interaction  Sensory motor mechanisms  “how” & “what” questions  Ultimate causes  evolutionary significance  how does behavior contribute to survival & reproduction  “why” questions male songbird  what triggers singing?  how does he sing?  why does he sing? male songbird  what triggers singing?  how does he sing?  why does he sing?  how does daylength influence breeding?  why do cranes breed in spring?  how does daylength influence breeding?  why do cranes breed in spring? Courtship behavior in cranes  what…how… & why questions Courtship behavior in cranes  what…how… & why questions

AP Biology Ex. Most people like fatty foods  What is the proximate cause?  What is the ultimate cause?

AP Biology Answers  Proximate cause-Because it tastes good  Ultimate cause- Because it is high in calories which are the stuff the body needs to function

AP Biology Innate Behaviors-developmentally fixed  Taxis  Kinesis  Migration  FAP  Animal Signals & Communication

AP Biology Innate Behaviors-Taxis  Automatic response toward or away from a stimulus.  Automatic movement toward (positive taxis) or from away (negative taxis) a stimulus  phototaxis  Chemotaxis  Examples:  Trout are and swim upstream so as not to be swept away.

AP Biology  A change in the activity rate in response to a stimulus.  Randomly directed, unlike taxis.  Example:  Sow bugs are more active in dry areas and less in humid ones; this keeps them in moist environments. Innate Behaviors- Kinesis

AP Biology Innate behavior: Fixed action patterns (FAP)  Unlearned  Usually carried to completion once started  Triggered by a sign stimulus male sticklebacks exhibit aggressive territoriality

AP Biology Fixed Action Patterns (FAP) Do humans exhibit Fixed Action Patterns?The “eyebrow-flash” Digger wasp Human babies always smile at a mask with two dark spots for eyes.

AP Biology Fixed Action Patterns Examples  Male stickleback fish will show aggression toward any shape that has a red area. attack on red belly stimulus court on swollen belly stimulus

AP Biology Figure 51.3 Classic demonstration of innate behavior

AP Biology Complex Innate behaviors  Migration  “migratory restlessness” seen in birds bred & raised in captivity  Migration is learned, but how to learn them is innate  Celestial navigation- by sun, stars, Earth magnetic fields Monarch migration Sandpiper ancient fly- ways Bobolink Golden plover

AP Biology Examples of Migration  Monarch butterflies from our area migrate to Mexico in the fall and the next generation flies north in the spring.  Snow geese fly 2,700 km from James Bay, Canada to Louisiana nonstop in 60 hours.  The green sea turtle migrates 2,200 km across the Atlantic ocean from the east coast of South America to Ascension Island (10 km across) every 2-3 years where the adult females lay eggs.

AP Biology Biological Rhythms & Clocks  Circadian Rhythms  “Sleep, wake cycle”  Humans~about 24 hours long  Drosophila the normal clock is 24.2 hrs  Mutant flies have cycles of 19 & 28 hrs.  Diurnal —active during the day  Nocturnal —active during hours of darkness  Crepuscular —having greatest activity during twilight hours or at dawn or both

AP Biology Biological Rhythms & Clocks  Lunar cycles  Ex.  Grunion swarm from April-June when the spring tides occur

AP Biology Biological Rhythms & Clocks  What controls the biological clock?  No single mechanism—an interaction of a number of biochemical processes  The pineal gland is thought to play a role in the timing system of rats, birds and some other vertebrates.  In mammals, regions of the hypothalamus are involved.

AP Biology Biological Rhythms & Clocks  How much is internal and how much is governed by external clues?  Answer: There is usually a strong endogenous (internal) component, but an exogenous (external) cue is necessary to keep the behavior properly timed in the real world.

AP Biology Animal Signals & Communication  An action by a sender that influences the behavior of a receiver.  Does not have to be purposeful  Ex. bat sound pulses influence moth evasive behavior.

AP Biology Communication: Chemical  Works both day and night

AP Biology Social interaction requires communication  Pheromones  chemical signal that stimulates a response from other individuals  Ex. Female moths secrete chemicals which attract males.  Cheetahs and other cats mark their territory with urine, feces, and anal gland secretions.  alarm pheromones  sex pheromones

AP Biology Pheromones Spider using moth sex pheromones, as allomones, to lure its prey Female mosquito use CO 2 concentrations to locate victims marking territory

AP Biology Communication: Auditory  Faster than chemical and also effective both night and day.  Can be modified by loudness, pattern, duration, and repetition.  Ex. Male crickets have calls and birds may have one song for courting, another for distress, and still another for marking territories.  Humpback whales have complicated songs.  Nonhuman primates have up to 40 different vocalizations.

AP Biology Communication by song  Bird song  species identification & mating ritual  mixed learned & innate  critical learning period  Insect song  mating ritual & song  innate, genetically controlled

AP Biology Communication: Tactile  Occurs when one animal touches another.  Ex. A male leopard nuzzles a female’s neck to calm her and to stimulate her willingness to mate.

AP Biology  Honey bee communication  dance to communicate location of food source  waggle dance  Discovered by Karl von Frisch in the 1940s. Waggle dance indicates both distance to and direction of food.

AP Biology Communication: Visual  Most often used by species that are active during the day.  Contests between males involve threat postures and possibly prevent fighting.  Ex. Male birds often put on courtship dances to attract females.  Much human communication is nonverbal such as smiling, blushing, body posture.

AP Biology Learned Behavior: Modified behaviors by experience  Habituation  Imprinting  Associative learning  Classical conditioning  Operant conditioning  Cognition

AP Biology Learning: Habituation  Loss of response to stimulus  “Cry-wolf” effect  Decrease in response to repeated occurrences of stimulus  enables animals to disregard unimportant stimuli  ex: falling leaves not triggering fear response in baby birds

AP Biology Innate & Learning: Imprinting  Learning to form social attachments at a specific sensitive (critical ) period  both learning & innate components  Konrad Lorenz- spent time with geese hours after hatched

AP Biology Figure 51.9 Imprinting: Konrad Lorenz with imprinted geese Konrad Lorenz Imprinting

AP Biology Conservation biologists have taken advantage of imprinting by young whooping cranes as a means to teach the birds a migration route. A pilot wearing a crane suit in an Ultralight plane acts as a surrogate parent. Conservation Wattled crane conservation teaching cranes to migrate

AP Biology Associative learning  Learning to associate a stimulus with a consequence  Operant conditioning  BF Skinner  Trial & error learning  Associate behavior with reward or punishment  Classical conditioning  Pavlovian conditioning  Associate stimuli with reward or punishment

AP Biology Operant Conditioning Gradual strengthening of stimulus- response connections. Examples: Teaching an animal a trick by rewarding correct behavior with affection or food. B.F. Skinner’s experiments Rats connect sugar treat with pressing a lever.

AP Biology Operant conditioning  Skinner box mouse learns to associate behavior (pressing lever) with reward (food pellet) B. F. Skinner

AP Biology Critical period As a brood parasite, the Cuckoo never learn the song of their species as a nestling. Song development is totally innate.  Sensitive phase for optimal imprinting  some behavior must be learned during a receptive time period

AP Biology Classical conditioning  Ivan Pavlov’s dogs  connect reflex behavior (salivating at sight of food) to associated stimulus (ringing bell)

AP Biology Learning: Cognition  Ability for nervous system to store, perceive, and process information tool use problem-solving crow

AP Biology Social Behavior  Some animals are largely solitary and join with a member of the opposite sex only for mating; others pair, bond and cooperate in the raising of offspring.  Still others form a society in which members are organized in a cooperative manner.  Society— a group of individuals of the same species that cooperate in an adaptive manner; e.g. bee hive, flock of birds, wolf pack, school of fish.

AP Biology Social behaviors  Interactions between individuals  develop as evolutionary adaptations  Result in survival and reproductive success  Agonistic behaviors  Dominance hierarchy  Cooperation  Altruistic behavior

AP Biology Social behaviors  Agonistic behaviors  Threatening & Submissive rituals  symbolic, usually no harm done  ex: territoriality, competitor aggression

AP Biology Social behaviors  Dominance hierarchy  social ranking within a group  Pecking order

AP Biology Dominance Hierarchies  A higher ranking animal has greater access to resources than a lower ranking animal.  Decided by confrontation during which one animal gives way to another.  Once established, little or no time is wasted in fighting.  Dominant male mate more often with the females.

AP Biology Territoriality-- Protecting an area against other individuals.  Male songbirds sing to signify their territories and other males know to stay away. The song also alerts females to presence of a male.  May be adaptive—tends to reduce conflict, to control population growth, and to ensure the most efficient use of resources by spacing organisms throughout a habitat.

AP Biology Social behaviors Pack of African dogs hunting wildebeest cooperatively White pelicans “herding” school of fish  Cooperation  working together in coordination

AP Biology Social behaviors  Altruistic behavior  Reduces individual fitness but increases fitness of others in a population  kin selection  increasing survival of close relatives passes these genes on to the next generation How can this be of adaptive value? Belding ground squirrel

AP Biology Examples of Altruistic Behaviors  In social insects such as bees, only the queen bee and her mate reproduce.  A female chimp often mates with several males in a group because they are all related and share genes in common.

AP Biology Mating & parental behavior  Genetic influences  changes in behavior at different stages of mating  pair bonding  competitor aggression  Environmental influences  modifies behavior  quality of diet  social interactions  learning opportunities

AP Biology Social Behavior & Reproduction  Natural selection has favored mechanisms that promote successful reproduction.  Behavior is thus adaptive—behavioral traits can evolve.  Sexual competition among males has contributed to the evolution of large size, brilliant breeding colors, antlers, etc.  Known as sexual selection and the traits are called secondary sexual characteristics.

AP Biology Social Behavior & Reproduction  Courtship rituals may be long and elaborate.  May serve as a sign signal to trigger nest building and ovulation.  Male spiders offer food.  Female praying mantis eats head of male

AP Biology Behavior: Nature or Nurture?  Behavior is also shaped by environmental influences (nurture).  Studies of human twins have been used to help determine to what extent behavior is inherited.  Identical twins come from a single zygote. Fraternal twins are derived from two different fertilized eggs.  Fraternal twins, even when raised together, do not have similar behaviors.

AP Biology  Identical twins raised separately are sometimes very similar; for example, the German twins raised in Germany and the Caribbean both liked sweet liqueurs, stored rubber bands on their wrists, read magazines from back to front, dipped buttered toast in their coffee, and had similar personalities.  Data seems to show that about 50% in human personality traits are due to polygenic inheritance and 50% are due to environmental influences.