1. Chapter 50
Animal Behavior

2. Behavioral ecology
Scientific study of behavior in natural environments from an evolutionary perspective
Behavior
What an animal does
How it does it
Usually in response to stimuli from the environment

3. Proximate causes of behavior
Immediate causes that permit a specific behavior
Genetic, developmental, and physiological processes
Answer “how” questions

4. Ultimate causes of behavior
Evolutionary explanations for behavior
Answer “how” questions

5. Cost-benefit analysis to determine whether a behavior is adaptive
Contribute to direct fitness
Animal’s reproductive success measured by the number of viable offspring
When benefits outweigh costs, behavior is adaptive

6. Behavior
Results from the interaction of innate behavior and environmental factors
Learned behavior
Behavior is modified in response to environmental experience

7. Motor programs Coordinated sequences of muscle actions
Walking is an example
Fixed action pattern (FAP)
Automatic behavior that, once activated, continues to completion regardless of feedback
Can be triggered by sign stimulus

8. Egg-rolling behavior in the European graylag goose

9. Habituation Imprinting
Type of learning in which an animal ignores a repeated, irrelevant stimulus
Imprinting
Establishes a parent-offspring bond
Ensures that the offspring recognizes the parent

10. Imprinting

11. Classical conditioning
An association is formed between some normal body function and a new stimulus
Operant conditioning
Learns a behavior by positive reinforcement or to avoid punishment

12. Classical conditioning

13. Operant conditioning

14. Insight learning
Ability to adapt past experiences to solve a new problem
Play
May give young animals a chance to learn and practice adult behaviors

15. Insight learning

16. Biological rhythms Circadian rhythms are daily cycles
Diurnal animals active in the day
Nocturnal animals active at night
Crepuscular animals active at dawn and/or dusk
In mammals, the biological clock is located in the hypothalamus

17. Migration
Periodic long-distance travel due to, for example, seasonal weather changes
Directional orientation
Travel in a specific direction, which requires compass sense
Navigation requires both compass and map sense

18. Navigation by light and magnetic field

19. Optimal foraging The most efficient strategy for an animal to get food
Often enhances reproductive success

20. Social behavior
Adaptive interaction, usually among members of the same species
Animal communication involves exchange of recognizable signals
Pheromones are chemical signals that convey information between members of a species

21. Optimal foraging and group size in lions

22. Dominance hierarchy Ranking of status within a group
More dominant members are accorded benefits, often without overt aggressive behavior

23. Communicating dominance

24. Home range
Geographic area they seldom leave but do not necessarily defend
Territory
Defended area within a home range
Costs include time, energy, and risk
Benefits include rights to food and reduction in conflict among members

25. Home range

26. Society
Group of individuals within the same species that may work together
Insect societies tend to be rigid, narrowly defined, and with the division of labor determined by age
Vertebrate societies are more flexible, with some species developing culture

27. Maintaining a complex social structure

28. Sexual selection Polygyny Polyandry Monogamy
A male mates with many females
Polyandry
A female mates with several males
Monogamy
Mating with a single partner
Pair bond is a stable relationship between a male and a female

29. Helping behavior Cooperative behavior includes reciprocal altruism
In altruistic behavior, an individual behaves in a way that benefits others
Inclusive fitness
Number of offspring and offspring of kin
Kin selection increases inclusive fitness through reproduction of close relatives