Adaptive Behavioral Responses Stimulus – type of information that has the potential to make an organism change its behavior Internal stimuli tell an animal what is happening in its own body Ex. Thirst, hunger, pain External stimuli give animals information about its surroundings Ex. sound, sight, changes in length of day

Internal and External Stimuli Interactions between internal and external stimuli usually trigger specific behaviors. Ex. What might be some internal and external stimuli that cause you to wake up in the morning?

Detection and Response to Stimuli Organs that are activated in response to stimuli: 1. Nervous System -fight or flight response 2. Muscular System

Function of Behavior Homeostatic mechanism-animal behaviors help maintain homeostasis Two types of movement-related behaviors: 1. kinesis – random movement 2. taxis – movement in a specific direction

Cyclical Behaviors Circadian Rhythm – daily cycle of activity ex. sleep at night, active during day - Biological clock –internal mechanism that controls activity patterns

Hibernation Avoiding changing temperatures by entering a dormant state Lower body temperature Reduced heartbeat Slowed breathing rate Estivation (summer sleep) ectotherms escaping the heat

Migration Periodic movement from one place to another and then back again. Ex. birds, butterflies, whales Seasonal

Instinct vs. Learning Instinct – inborn behavior accomplished the first time is tries. Innate – behavior that is performed correctly the first time an animal tries it Ex. spiders building webs

Instinct vs. Learning Learned behaviors- Animals often change their innate behavior as they gain experience Types of learning: Habituation – learning to ignore a repeated stimulus (ex. plastic garden owls in garden)

Types of learning continued… Imprinting – a rapid and irreversible learning process that only occurs during a short time in an animal’s life Ex. identifying parents Imitation – learning by observing others Ex. babies learning to speak

Associative Learning Associative Learning – An animal learns to associate a specific action with its consequences Ex. Trial and error learning Classical Conditioning – animal learns to associate a previously neutral stimulus with a behavior that was once triggered by a different stimulus Ex. Pavlov’s Dogs 11

Types of Associative Learning continued… Operant Conditioning – positive or negative reinforcement increases or decreases a behavior Ex. “Skinner boxes” or electrical fence for pets 13

Benefits and Costs of Behavior Survivorship Reproduction Increased fitness Energy Costs Opportunity Costs Risk Costs 15

Benefits Must Outweigh Costs Territoriality – control of a specific area by one or more species Optimal Foraging Theory – natural selection should favor behaviors that get animals the most calories for the cost 16

Social Behavior Some animals live in groups that have definite social structures. Benefits: Improved foraging Members can help each other Reduces chance of predation Costs: Increased visibility to predators Increased competition Increased chance of spreading diseases or parasites 17

Social Behaviors Communication - visual, sound, touch chemical- pheromones Mate Selection – Courtship behaviors Defense – aggressive actions for protection 18

Helpful Social Behaviors Cooperation Reciprocity Altruism – animal reduces its own fitness to help others 19

Animal Cognition Cognition is the mental process of knowing through perception or reasoning. - Includes awareness and ability to judge Solving complex problems 20

Solving Problems Insight – ability to solve problems without repeated trial and error (ex. Monkey and bananas) Animals use tools (inanimate objects to help accomplish a task) Video clip on animal intelligence 21