Behavior of Organisms

Pick a number in the cup before you sit down Have you ever been to SeaWorld or another place where animals performed for entertainment? Tell your partner what you remember about the experience.

Ok, new partners Do you have any pets? Tell your partner about your pets and whether they can do any tricks or have any unusual behaviors.

Take a minute and think about the following questions…….  What is learned behavior?  If behavior is learned, who do you think might teach the behavior?  Who can learn a behavior?  Can all animals learn behavior? **Ruler activity

Get comfortable and close your eyes Can you think of another behavior that can replicate the activity you just did? bigthumbnail.jpg

Between class change 1. What is an instinct? Is an instinct learned or innate? 2. Where do animals’ instincts come from? 3. How is an instinct different from a learned behavior? 4. Give two examples of innate behaviors in animals and two examples of learned behaviors in animals. Do first ***** Write a list of 15 human behaviors they observe from when you leave class until we meet again. Put an I if you think it is instinct, L if it is learned.

Split up into 3’s  How do we know if a trait is inherited or learned?  Take out your list of observations of human behavior  Which of the behaviors you listed are learned and which are instinctual?  Have you demonstrated more instinctive behaviors or learned behaviors today?  If the behaviors were learned, how did you learn them?  Which were more common in what you observed? Identify if they were learned behaviors, how did you learn them?

As we watch the videos think about the list of human behaviors, any similarities? Things to think about: Can an organism’s instincts and learned behaviors be related to its environment?         Organism groups!!!!

Homework Write a magazine article for “National Geographic”. You are a biologist researching an organism in its environment. Describe the environment, the organism and the innate/learned behaviors of the organism. How has each one of those adaptions/behaviors allowed the organism to survive? What is the organism’s greatest treat and why is it important the organism does not become extinct?