Ani nimal Beh Behavior Why Study Behavior ior? Evolutionary - PDF document

2/21/2017 Wh What t is s Be Behavior? Behavio ior • everything an animal does & how it does it • response to stimuli in its environment Ani nimal Beh Behavior Why Study Behavior ior? Evolutionary perspective… • part of phenotype • acted upon by natural selection • lead to greater fitness? • lead to greater survival? • lead to greater reproductive success? Under erstan anding Beha havior BEHAVIOR: A male stickleback fish attacks other male sticklebacks that invade its nesting territory. Causes of Beh Behavior Male songbird Proximate cause: what triggers singing? how does he sing? “ how ” a behavior occurs or why does he sing? is modified based on its imme mmediate interactions with the environment Ulti ltimate cause: “why” a behavior occurs in PROXIMATE CAUSE: The red belly of the intruding male acts as context of natural selection a sign stimulus that releases aggression in a male stickleback. - how does behavior ULTIMATE CAUSE: By chasing away other male sticklebacks, contribute to survival and Courtship behaviors in cranes a male decreases the chance that eggs laid in his nesting how does day length influence reproduction territory will be fertilized by another male. breeding? why do cranes breed in spring? Types es of Beha havior Types es of Beha havior Is it na nature e or nu nurture? e? Inna nnate Behavior or • Inna nnate behavior: Fixed ed Action ion Patter ern behavior performed correctly and in the same way by all individuals of a species, without previous experience (genetic cause) - “built in”, not learned, • Fixed Acti tion Pattern (FAP): innate behavior that occurs as an unchangeable sequence of actions - triggered by sign stimulus - conducted to completion once started Sign Stimuli- The graylag goose responds to an egg - ensures that activities essential to Attack on red belly stimulus outside her nest with a set of specific survival are performed correctly and actions. Even when the egg is removed, the Court on swollen belly stimulus without practice goose will continue to push at the air with her beak until she completes the FAP 1

2/21/2017 Types es of Beha havior Types es of Beha havior Inna nnate: : Migratio tion Inna nnate: Di Direct cted mo movements ts • Regular, long-distance change in location Taxis • Environmental cues: sun, stars, earth ’ s magnetic field, - change in direction landmarks - automatic movement toward (positive taxis) or away from Positive rheotaxis keeps trout facing into the current, the direction from which most food comes. s. (negative taxis) a stimulus - phototaxis -chemotaxis Kinesis monarchs - change in rate of movement in Kinesis increases the chance that a sow bugs will encounter and stay in a moist environment. response to a stimulus Sign gnal: stimulus that causes a change in behavior; The circadian clock in the hamster Circad cadia ian n rhyth thm: basis of animal communication brain signals a change in coat color • Internal biological clock according to season by releasing the • follows an approximately 24- hormone melatonin. Pheromones – chemicals emitted by members of one species that hour natural cycle affect other members of the species (eg. Queen bee, fruit fly, fish, termites, trees, humans) • Visual l signals ls – Warning flash of white of a mockingbird's wing • Tacti tile (touch) – Male fruit fly taps female fly Plants can have two internal clocks: one sensitive to light and the other • Auditory signals ls – screech of blue jay or song of warbler sensitive to temperature The Suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) region is located in the hypothalamus of the brain. The SCN sends signals throughout the body in response to dark and light. Hone neybe bee e dance nce lang nguag age Minnows before alarm • bee returning from the field performs a dance to communicate information about the distance and direction of a food source Minnows after alarm 2

2/21/2017 Types es of Beha havior Inte nteracti tion of Gen Genes Lear arned ned behavio iors rs and nd Ex Experience • modified by experience How does inheritance and • variable, changeable experience form a particular behavior? • flexible with a complex & changing environment Biologists mated two different species to form a hybrid species Conclu lusion: hybrid offspring could alter inherited behavior based on experience. Types s of Lear earning ng Lorenz enz: : Gre reylag ag goose e expe experi rimen ent Lear arning ing: a change in an animal's behavior resulting from specific experiences Cont ntrol: : mother rears young in nest Expe perimental: Lorenz rears young in incubator Types pes of learn rning ing: 1. Habitu tuation: type of learning in which an animal stops responding to a repeated stimulus that conveys Result: little or no important information Cont ntrol group: normal imprinting, followed mother, ex: ticking of a clock had normal goose relationships Ex Expe perimental group: imprinted on Lorenz, followed 2. Imp mprinting: learning that is limited to a specific time period in him, preferred human relationships to an animal's life and that is usually irreversible geese learning + innate components criti tica cal learning period : time period in which imprinting takes place Types pes of Learn rning ing BEHAVIOR: Young geese follow and imprint on their mother. 3. Spati 3. tial l Learning • Cogn gniti tive Map Map: internal representation of spatial relationship among objects in an animal ’ s surroundings PROXIMATE CAUSE: During an early, critical developmental stage, the young geese observe their mother moving away from them and calling. ULTIMATE CAUSE: On average, geese that follow and imprint on their mother receive more care and learn necessary skills, and thus have a greater chance of surviving than those that do not follow their mother. Birds use spatial maps to relocate nut caches 3

2/21/2017 4. Associ ciative learning: g: learning to associate a stimulus with a consequence • Classical conditioning • Operant conditioning - learning that a particular stimulus - trial & error learning or a particular response is linked - associate behavior with reward to a reward or punishment or punishment Some organisms move ex: learning what to eat - rat will push a level if it receives in response to a food for pushing the level recognized object or Nest Pavlov’s dogs environmental cue, a land ndmark. - predator avoids specific prey No nest associated with a painful Insight: the ability to respond experience appropriately to a new situation t without previous experience 6. Social ial learn rning ing: learning by observing others 5 . Cogniti nition: n: process of knowing that involves awareness, reasoning, recollection, judgment • Problem-solving behavior relies on cognition Monkeys learn correct use of alarm calls Select ection ion for ind ndivid idual al survival al and nd re reprod product ctive Matin ting Behavio ior r & Mate te Choic ice succes ccess can n expl explain in most t behaviors iors Foraging: g: food-obtaining behavior Sexual selecti ction: seeking and attracting mates, • Recognize, search for, capturing, and consuming food choosing and competing for • Minimize costs / Maximize benefits mates Monogamous species Polygamous • Costs- energy expenditure Promiscuous Monogamous Polyandry (polygynous) and the risk of being Partners Many One 1 M + many F 1F + many M eaten Showy Structure Showy Similar Showy male Polygynous species female Care None Much Male = little Male = none • Crow will drop a whelk (a mollusc) from a height to break its shell • Trade-off between the height and the number of times it must drop • Researchers determined total flight height (energy) was minimized at 5 m  Average crow flight height: 5.23 m Polyandrous species pat ater ernal al care e by male e jaw awfish 4