1. Animal Behavior - Types
2 Types of Behavior
Innate (Nature): instinct and genes determine behavior
Learned (Nurture): experience and learning influence behavior

3. Animal Behavior - Types - Innate
Components of Innate Behavior
Fixed action pattern (FAP) all or none response - once started must be performed to completion
Releaser - stimulus that causes release of FAP

4. Learned Behavior A change in behavior that results from experience
The four major types:
Habituation
classical conditioning
operant conditioning
insight learning

5. Habituation
 The animal decreases or stops response to a repetitive stimulus that neither rewards nor harms it.
Example - a worm may stop responding a to shadow if it neither hurts nor helps it

6. Classical/Pavlovian Conditioning
The animal makes a mental connection between a stimulus and some kind of reward or punishment.

7. Classical/Pavlovian Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov taught his dog to expect food whenever a bell was rung. Pavlov’s experiment is an example of classical conditioning, one of the four major types of learning.

8. Classical/Pavlovian Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov taught his dog to expect food whenever a bell was rung. Pavlov’s experiment is an example of classical conditioning, one of the four major types of learning.

9. Classical/Pavlovian Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov taught his dog to expect food whenever a bell was rung. Pavlov’s experiment is an example of classical conditioning, one of the four major types of learning.

10. Operant Conditioning also called trial-and-error learning.
The animal learns to behave in a certain way through repeated practice, in order to receive a reward or avoid punishment.
also called trial-and-error learning.
First described by B. F. Skinner.
Know about Skinner and the “Skinner box.”

11. Insight learning Also called reasoning.
The animal applies prior knowledge to a new situation, without trial and error.
common in humans and other primates.

12. Imprinting learning during a critical period during development
Once imprinting occurs, the behavior cannot be changed.

15. Imprinting
Examples -
Many Birds learn that the first things they see move are their parents
salmon learn their home stream’s scent as they swim downstream
birds learn their song during a short critical period
(if a bird does not hear the proper song during this time it will never learn it correctly)

16. Imprinting
Sexual imprinting - Learning to recognize members of one`s own species
- sometimes individuals raised by another species will attempt to mate with foster species as adult

17. Imprinting
Importance of understanding imprinting in conservation biology -
must minimize/eliminate human presence while raising endangered species for re-release