Animal Behavior

Chapter 37

Animal Behavior

• Basically Stimulus and Response

• Link to Your Genes & Culture

• Remember the Pillbugs

a) Proximate Cause

• Ex: Digger wasp• Immediate interaction with

environment• Identifies the “HOW”

– Locate nest via landmarks

• Still examine the “WHY”– Reproductive Success

b) Innate Behavior

• Behavior involves combo of GENETICS & EXPERIENCE.

• Innate => FAP (Fixed Action Pattern)• Basically Stimulus (“Sign Stimulus”) &

Response–EX: Graylag goose and Egg retrieval–Goose can only perform the FAP as a

whole sequence

Types of Learning:

• Learning = Innate Behavior + Experience• Table p. 742

• 1) Habituation: organism learns not to respond to repeated stimulus.– Ex: Scarecrow

Learning Cont’d• 2) Imprinting: learning limited to specific

time period of organism’s life (“sensitive period”)

• Sensitive period varies with species–Ex: offspring “knowing” its parents

• Both Innate (Genes) & Learned Behavior– Innate = ability to imprint during period–Learned = actual imprinting

Learning Cont’d

• 3) Associative Learning• Recall the “Skinner box”

–Lever / food

• Ex: Trial-and-error Learning–When an organism links a behavioral

act with a positive or negative effect.

Learning Cont’d

• 4) Imitation• Ex: Jaguar cub hunting with Mother

• Basic hunting practices• NOT limited to sensitive period• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

yhG-_KsDYTA&feature=related

Learning Cont’d

• 5) Problem Solving• Nervous system active in information

processing.

• Ex: Chimp using stick for “termite fishing”

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh9XL08Akwc

Self-Consciousness• Consciousness = awareness of self

within an environment.• Anthropomorphism = ascribing human

emotion / motivations to animals• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-pc_M2

qI74&feature=related• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kY6QS8

BBZE&feature=related

Ecology & Learning• Behavior is AN EVOLUTIONARY

ADAPTATION!!!

• Circadian Rhythms link Behavior & Environment

–Sleep / wake cycles influenced heavily by amounts of light / lack of light.

Ecology & LearningHumans have 25 hour sleep cycle

• Cluster of neurons in hypothalamus (suprachiasmatic nucleus) is Bio. Clock

• Gene Expression Clocks: – Stimulus -> Gene-> Priotein

• Follini experiment identified how Physiological Features are impacted by Circadian rhythms

Social Behavior• Feeding Behaviors linked to energy gain &

energy expenditure.

• Migration & Feeding in Lg groups.• Ex include: aggression, courtship,

cooperation, & communication.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOrgOW9LnT4&feature=related

Social Behavior

• Ritual – exaggerated posture / display used to contest access to resources.– Ex: Arm Wrestle

• Affects Ind. Evolutionary fitness• Used to deal with future conflicts /

encounters–“Agonistic Behavior”

Social Behavior

• Dominance Hierarchy• Ranking of individuals based on

social interactions

• Common in vertebrate populations• Fixed rank for several months

–Ex: Wolves, hens, chimpanzees