1. Biology, 9th ed, Sylvia Mader
Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Animal Behavior
Animal Behavior

2. Outline Nature versus Nurture: Genetic Influences
Nature versus Nurture: Environmental Influences
Learning
Adaptive Mating Behavior
Female Choice
Male Competition
Dominance Hierarchy
Territoriality
Animal Communication
Sociobiology and Animal Behavior
Altruism versus Self-Interest

3. Genetic Basis
Behavior - observable and coordinated responses to environmental stimuli
Nature (inherited) versus nurture (environmental) questions are still debated
Genes influence development of neural and hormonal mechanisms controlling behavior
Studies on identical twins separated at birth
Can be used to determine extent of inherited behavior
Sometimes remarkably similar in preferences, taste, personality tests, etc.

4. Nest Building Behavior in Lovebirds

5. Feeding Behavior in Garter Snakes

6. Behavior Undergoes Development
Some behaviors seem to be stereotyped
Fixed Action Patterns (FAP’s)
Originally assumed to be elicited by a sign stimulus
Increasingly thought to develop after practice

7. The Phenomenon of Learning
Operant Conditioning
Gradual strengthening of stimulus-response corrections
Trick-training in birds
Imprinting
Imitate behavior observed during sensitive period
Goslings follow any moving object after birth

8. The Phenomenon of Learning
Song Learning in Birds
Avian brain is especially sensitive to acoustical stimuli during a sensitive period
Social experience appears to have an even stronger influence over development of singing

9. Pecking Behavior in Laughing Gulls

10. Classical Conditioning

11. Behavior Is Adaptive
Sexual selection - Adaptive changes in females and males that lead to differential reproductive success

12. Raggiana Bird of Paradise

13. Female Choice
Courtship displays help males and females recognize each other for successful mating
Good Genes Hypothesis
Females benefit from selective choice by securing sperm with good genes
Run-Away Hypothesis
Females choose mates on the basis of traits that make them attractive to females

14. Is access to mating is worth the cost of competition among males
Male Competition
Is access to mating is worth the cost of competition among males
Question is studied by cost-benefit analyses
Do positive effects (benefits) outweigh negative effects (costs)?
If yes
The behavior is evolutionarily stable
The behavior will survive or increase
If no
The behavior is evolutionarily UNstable
The behavior will decrease or disappear

15. Males and females have separate dominance hierarchies
Dominance Hierarchy
Males and females have separate dominance hierarchies
Higher-ranking individuals have greater access to essential resources
Baboons form temporary consort pairs with females
Males may monopolize estrous females
Or may assist females or form friendship groups to secure future matings

16. A Male Olive Baboon Displaying Full Threat

17. Territoriality is protecting an area against other individuals
Red Deer Stags (males) compete for groups of hinds (females)
Hinds only mate with one stag
Harem Master must be large and powerful to fight off challengers
Means less body fat
May be more likely to starve in bad times, and have shorter life expectancy

18. Competition Between Male Red Deer

19. King Hussein and Family

20. Animal Societies
Society - a cooperative organization that extends beyond sexual and parental interests

21. The Queen Ant

22. Altruism versus Self-Interest
Behavior that involves a reduction in direct fitness
Loss may be compensated by an increase in indirect fitness
Inclusive fitness includes
Reproductive fitness of self, and
Reproductive fitness of relatives
Genetic relatedness may underlie many/most acts of apparent altruism

23. Inclusive Fitness

24. Communicative Behavior
Chemical
Pheromones designate chemical signals that are passed between members of the same species
Auditory
Faster than chemical communication
Can be modified by loudness, pattern, repetition, and duration
Visual
Used by species active during the day
Contests between males make use of threat postures
Saves energy by avoiding fighting

25. Use of a Pheromone

26. A Chimpanzee With a Researcher

27. Communicative Behavior
Tactile
Occurs when one animal touches another
Gull chicks peck at the parent’s beak in order to induce the parent to feed them
Foraging honeybees
Return to the hive and perform a waggle dance
Indicates the distance and direction of a food source

28. Grooming Among Baboons

29. Communication Among Bees

30. Sociobiology and Animal Behavior
Applies the principles of evolutionary biology to the study of behavior in animals
Assumes individuals derive benefits from living in a society that outweigh costs
Advantages include
reproductive success
Predator avoidance
Assistance in rearing offspring
Finding food

31. Sociobiology and Animal Behavior
Societal Disadvantages
Crowding
Resource allocation
Spread of disease

32. Nest Helpers Green Wood-hoopoes One breeding pair per flock
Other sexually mature members may help feed and protect fledglings and protect the home territory
Helper is contributing to survival of its own kin
Helper is more likely than nonhelper to inherit parental territory

33. Outline Nature versus Nurture: Genetic Influences
Nature versus Nurture: Environmental Influences
Learning
Adaptive Mating Behavior
Female Choice
Male Competition
Dominance Hierarchy
Territoriality
Animal Communication
Sociobiology and Animal Behavior
Altruism versus Self-Interest

34. Biology, 9th ed, Sylvia Mader
Chapter 45
Ending Slide Chapter 45
Animal Behavior
Animal Behavior