ANS104 - Post Midterm 2

what is communication?

an action on the part of one organism that alters the probability of a behavior occuring in another organisms in a menner that is adaptive to either one of both participants

organism initiating an action =

sender

organism whose behavior is altered =

receiver

“true communication” should be…

adaptive to both the sender and receiver

“dishonest communication” occurs when…

either only the sender or only receiver benefit

what are the 3 primary functions of communication?

• advertisement

• arousal

• identification

what are some examples of advertisement in communcation?

• sexual receptivity

• food availability

what are some examples of arousal in communcation?

predator warning

what are some examples of identification in communcation?

• parent-offsprig

• social-hierchary maintenance; dominant subordinate

what are sensory modalities?

how organism receive information from the environment

what are the 4 types of systems/sensory modalities?

• visual system

• auditory system

• tactile system

• chemical (odor) system

the system/modality used is…

species-specific

what is redunancy (multi-modal communication)?

multiple modalities are used at the same time

what type of species is visual communication most active in?

diurnal (active in daylight) species

what does the sender and receiver need for visual communication?

• sender: matching anatomy to generate signal

• receiver: matching anatomy to receive signal

  • shape, size, placement, and quality of eyes influence species use of visual communication

  • system to process signal: convert light energy to neural impulses & nervous sys

what do other species see during visual communication?

light and color vision

what does audtiory communication rely on?

sound waves

what does the sender and receiver need for auditory communication?

• sender: respiratory system thats tight or loose

  • air passes to cause vibration = sound

  • throat and mouth = amplifiers

• receiver: needs an ear lobe and 2 ears to localize sound source

  • structure to detect sound waves: like a tympanic membrane; inner ear pressure changes (sound waves)

  • system to convert sound energy to neural impulses

what is the 5 step process of communication?

generation of signal → transmission → reception → processing → behavioral response

what is olfactory communication made up of?

• chemical signsls

• urine/feces, anal sacs, sebaceous skin glands

olfactory signals can persist for a longer duration than either…

visual or acoustic

what are voltaile olfactory signals?

dissemated in the air as vapor

what are non-voltile olfactory signals?

dissemated through oil/touch

what does the sender and receiver need for olfactory communication?

• sender: sebaceous glands (ex: chin, musk, inter-digit)

• receiver: olfactory bulb or nervous ststem to process signal

what is true communication?

information is sent from sender to receiver w/ the goal of altering the receivers behavior

what is dishonest communication?

• information is sent from sender to receiver w/o the goal of altering receivers behavior

  • action has no intended goal, but behavior is still altered

what are the two outcomes of altering behavior via communication?

• eavesdropping: only receiver benefits

• deception: only sender benefits

what does conflict and territoriality communication look like?

• animals rarely fight to the death

• prefer toe xchange signals to see if they can determine who would win if it escalated to fighting

what does parent-offspring communication look like?

parents adjust care and food depending on the number of offspring and relative need, whereas offspring usually want more for themselves

what does social integration communication look like?

coordination of the activities within a social group of animals is invariably mediated by signals

what does environmental information communication look like?

some animals announce food finds to others and most oscial animals produce alarm signals to alter others to predator risks

what does sexual interaction communication look like?

• males have to persuade females to mate, and females want to asses and choose the best male

• female choice

  • male-male competition

what is the function of a cows saliva/feces in communication?

attraction

what is the function of a sheeps placenta in communication?

offspring identification

what is the function of a pigs saliva in communication?

mating stance, ovulation, social rank

what is the function of a horses urine in communication?

ovulation

what type of communication is it if both the sender and receivers benefit?

honest/true communication

what type of communication is it if the sender doesn’t benefit, but the receiver does?

eavesdropping

what type of communication is it if the sender does benefit, but the receiver doesn’t?

deception

what type of communication is it if neither the sender or receiver benefit?

spite

what are the two reasons why its important to understand animal communication?

• human-animal interaction

• reproduction: signaling receptivity

  • commerical production

  • pet breeding

cognition is how an animal…

acquires, processes, and represents information

what is sentience?

capable of acquiring information and responding to the world

to posssess cognitive abilities…

an organism must be sentient

how do different species process information?

bottom-up processing

what are somatosensory cortext specializations?

where different species process information

what are the 1st, 2nd, and 3 processes in bottom-up processing?

• 1st: primary emotions

• 2nd: learning/forming associations

• 3rd: representation

what concepts make up information representation?

• memory

• self-conciousness

• object permanence

primary emotions =

emotional reactions

what are primary emotions responsible for?

• achieving fitness goals

• quick behavioral responses

what part of the brain do primary emotions require to operate?

the amyglada

what is an owls prey localization and method?

• auditory

• method: asymmetry of auditory structures and refinement of auditory pathways

what is a secretary birds prey localization and method?

• visual

• method: refinements to visual structures and pathways

what is a bats prey localization and method?

• auditory

• method: refinesment to audtory structures and pathways toe nable echlocation

what is a wolvfs prey localization and method?

• olfactory

• high density of scent receptors in nostrils + alar fold and refinements to olfactory pathways

where is the raccoons somatosensory cortex specialization located?

its paws

where is the cats somatosensory cortex specialization located?

its face

where is the rats somatosensory cortex specialization located?

its whiskers

where is the squirrels somatosensory cortex specialization located?

its lips and teeth

what is operant conditioning?

animal learns its behavior is instrumental/results in a reward or punishment

how does bottom-up processing begin?

with activation of sensory receptors (information acquisition)

how does top-down processing begin?

begins w/ a representation (previous knowledge)

what is object permanence?

being able to create a mental represenation of non-visible things

what is socio-spatial cognition?

a mental representation of where other are based on sensory info

what is episodic memory?

creating a memory “set” incorperating what, where, and when

what are the 4 types of memory?

• working

• long-term

• object permanence

• episodic

what does memory and cognitive discrimination & generalization lead to?

• insight learning

• tool making/use

• future planning

• theory of mind

what is cognitive discrimination?

ability to distinguish between concepts, which may be similar but not identical

what is cognitive generalization?

ability to apply knowledge, concepts, or cognitive skills acquired in one context or another

tool-making =

goal-direct behavior

information represenation is…

• reflective conciousness

• not just aware, but aware of being aware

what is polygamy?

more than 1 reproductive partner/mate

what is polygyny?

1 male and multiple females

what is polyandry?

1 female and multiple males?

what is monogamy?

one repro partner/mate

what is serial monogamy?

chooses a mate just for a season; may or may not be the same mate from season to season

what is lifetime monogamy?

same mate till one dies

what is promiscuity?

weak, if any social/sexual bonds between partners

what are primary sexual characteristics?

reproductive organs

what are secondary sexual characteristics?

traits usually related to sexual dimorphism

what is sexual dimorphism?

two sexes have different shapes

what are the 3 different forms of polygyny?

• female/harem defense

• resource defense

• male dominance

polygyny is usually characterized by…

sexual dimorphism; males tend to be more colorful than females

what are the two approaches to deciding mate partners in polygyny?

• mate choice: females choose males (resources and female/harem defense)

• male-male competition: males compete for access to females (dominance)

what are the 3 main hypotheses explaining female mate choice?

• direct benefits: females choose males who can give the females access to the best resources

• good genes: females choose males that will father offspring w/ better fitness

• sensory bias exploitation: females choose males based on a secondary trait that manipulates a sensory bias in females

what is the general rule for male-male competition?

bigger + stronger + faster = more mating opportunities

what is social monogamy?

• 1 male and female associate as a pair

• often share same/overlapping territories, may cooperatively raise young

• can be serial or lifetime

• does not insure sexual monogamy

what is sexual monogamy?

reproductive efforts restricted exclusively to the bonded pair; rare

what type of species is promiscuity present in?

• w/ high sociality

• no real advantages to forming a bond

• copulation can become ritualized

what are signs of receptivity in females?

• swollen organs

• mucous discharge

• restless behavior

• female receptivity

what is the flehmen response?

• in response to olfactory stimulus, lips pull back and curl up nostrils

• breath carries scent to vomernasal organ

• exposes upper teeth

why is courting important?

• advertises male readiness to mate; tests female receptivity

• increases male libido; female fertility

• synchronization of reproductive behaviors and physiology

what is the normal sequence of reproduction?

advertisement of receptivity → courtship behavior → mating behavior

what are signs of receptivity in cattle?

visually active mountaing

what are signs of receptivity in sheep?

male-seeking behavior

what are signs of receptivity in swine?

brace w/ pressure to back; vocalizations

what are signs of receptivity in horses?

tail-raising

what are signs of receptivity in cats and rodents?

lordosis

what is the courtship behavior in turkeys?

strutting

what is the courtship behavior in chickens?

waltzingwhat is the courtship behavior in