1. Animals do weird things…

2. Behavior is the way an organism reacts to changes in its internal condition or external environment

3. Stimulus – any kind of signal that carries information and can be detected Ex. Being hungry – internal stimulus Ex. Rain – external stimulus Ex. Alarm clock – external stimulus Ex. Headache – internal stimulus Ex. Being tired – internal stimulus Ex. The sun – external stimulus

4. Response to hunger – eating Response – a specific reaction to a stimulus Response to the sun – wearing sun glasses Response to being tired – sleeping Response to headache – taking aspirin Response to alarm clock – waking up Response to rain – using an umbrella

5. After natural selection has acted, organisms end up with adaptive behaviors to help them survive

6. Ex. Baby birds beg for food just after being born Ex. Spiders building webs Ex. Weaver birds building nests Ex. Suckling of newborn mammals Innate behaviors (instincts) appear in fully functional form the first time they are performed, even though the animals may have had no previous experience with the stimuli to which it responds Innate behaviors are a complex result of interactions between genes and the environment

7. Learned behaviors (acquired behaviors) develop over time due to experience 4 majors types of learned behaviors are habituation, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, insight learning

8. Classical conditioning – when an animal makes a mental connection between a stimulus and some kind of reward or punishment Examples – Pavlov and his dogs Habituation – a process by which an animal decreases or stops its response to a repetitive stimulus that neither rewards nor harms

9. Operant conditioning – when an animal learns to behave in a certain way through repeated practice in order to receive a reward or punishment Insight learning (reasoning) – when an animal applies something it has already learned to a new situation without a period of trial and error

10. Imprinting – involves both innate behavior and learned behavior – learning based on early experience – once it is there it can ’ t be changed

11. Migration – periodic movement from one place to another Ex. Birds migrate in the winter to keep from freezing Animals respond to periodic changes in the environment/seasons Circadian rhythm – behavioral cycles that occur during the day It is basically our built in sleep/wake cycle – it tends to run on a 24 hour clock

12. Many animals will socialize/work in groups Ex. Zebras graze together – they are safer as part of a group Ex. Hyenas hunt as a pack – they can take down larger prey as a team Animals can have a variety of social behaviors Courtship rituals help animals find a suitable mate Ex. Birds of paradise

13. Ex. Mockingbirds will aggressively defend their territory Many animals can be territorial and aggressive Ex. Giraffes can fight each other viciously for mates/territory

14. Communication Chemical signals – animals can release hormones/other scents Visual signals – usually involve color/movement

15. Language – the most complex form of communication – only used by humans Sound signals – animals communicate “ verbally ” with their sounds Ex. Dolphins