animal behavior

animal behavior

anything an animal does in response to a stimulus

can be an action or series of actions

stimulus

environmental change that directly influenced the activity of an organism

ex.) temperature, males responding to males or females

ethology

study of animal behavior as is occurs under natural or near natural conditions

includes how a behavior is triggered and why a behavior exists

innate behavior

inherited, instinctive, inborn

reflex

simple, automatic response to a stimulus with no conscious control

ex.) touching hot stove

fight or flight response

automatic and controlled by hormones and the nervous system

instinct

complex pattern where an animal recognizes a stimulus and continues behavior until all parts are performed (fixed action pattern)

ex.) goose rolling her eggs back in the nest

courtship

males and females of a species carry this out before matting

individual species often recognize behavior patterns

allows females to choose the best mate

stimuli are sent out, often as rituals, like sounds, visuals, and chemicals

ex.) birds dancing, spiders giving a gift

territoriality

defending a territory or a physical space

can be for breeding, feeding, finding potential mates

can reduce conflict, control populations, and preserve resources

pheromones often produced to mark territories

ex.) cats spraying, bears leaving claw marks on trees, dogs peeing

aggression

used to intimidate others of the same species

can lead to dominant and submissive individuals

ex.) teeth baring, growling, gorillas beating chest

dominance hierarchy

social ranking within a group of one species—usually only one top-ranking individuals

ex.) big male in gorilla troupe, female in lion herds

migration

instinctive, seasonal movement of animals

ex.) birds, stingrays, fish, monarch butterflies

hibernation

conserves energy by dropping body temp, heart rate, metabolism, etc

breathing declines, some build up fat deposits

ex.) bears, reptiles—snakes

estivation

reduced metabolism for animals living in intense heat

can also include inactivity

ex.) crocodile, earthworms, cane toad

learned behavior

changes through practice or experience, progresses and integrates information gained from experience

habituation

lack of response to a stimulus—loss of sensitivity

learns not to respond to a stimulus

ex.) police horses, pigeons crowding around a person

imprinting

animal forms a social attachment to another animal or object

also may direct seggsual attention to that other animal or object

ex.) baby ducks, parrots

trial and error (operant conditioning)

animal receives a reward or consequence for a response

caused by motivation—internal need causing an animal to act, necessary for learning to take place

ex.) bird throwing up after eating monarch butterfly, food as a reward

classical conditioning

learned by association. automatic, unconditional response to a stimulus that normally gets no response

ex.) pavlov and his dogs

insight

previous experience is used when responding (building on knowledge)

ex.) chimps stacking boxes to reach bananas, sea otters using rocks to open clam

communication

exchange of info resulting in changed behavior

communication includes

caring for offspring, competing for food, defending territory, alerting others to danger, forming bonds with a mate, advertising seggsual readiness

chemical, visual, auditory, tactile, and language

5 areas of communication

language

use of symbols to represent ideas ex.) humans

mating, warning, and intimidation

purposes of visual communication

bird colors, courtship rituals, and teeth showing

examples of visual communication

pheromones

what is used in chemical communication

marking territory, identification, and seggsual readiness

purposes of chemical communication

skunks, moths, ant and trails

examples of chemical

mating, warning, distress, and territory (intimidation)

purposes of auditory