Animal Behaviour

Behaviour

• how an organism responds to stimuli

• many sub disciplines

Sub-disciplines of Behaviour

• comparative psychology

• ethology

• behavioural ecology

• sociobiology

Ethology

• the study of an animal in its natural habitat

Behavioural Ecology

• the study of the evolutionary and environmental contexts of animal behaviour

Innate Behaviour

• stereotyped behaviours — performed in an orderly sequence in a predictable manner

  • born with these skills — inherited

  • requires a stimulus

  • can be performed inappropriately (no learning)

Examples of Innate Behaviours

• goose — stimulus: egg (or any rounded, smooth object near the nest)

  • can have negative consequences like adopting a ball or the egg of another animal

• stickleback — stimulus: red underside (even in a clay model)

  • can have negative consequences like attracting females to clay models and provoking aggression in males

Control of Behaviour

• if an animal is born and receives no parental care how does it know these behaviours?

  • instinctive/innate — dependent on interactions between an organism and its environment during ontogeny, instincts are products of evolution (hereditary)

  • learning

Song Birds Behaviour

• sing innately but learn which song they’re supposed to sing

  • when separated from others it will sing a different song and therefore won’t be understood by others of the same species

Learning

• modification of behaviour through experience

  • imprinting

  • habituation vs sensitization

Imprinting

• imposition of a stable behaviour in a young animal by exposure to stimulus

• usually persists through life

Habituation

• continued exposure to the same stimulus produces diminishing responses

Sensitization

• animal acquires a characteristic response to a particular stimulus

Sea hares

• model system

  • gill withdrawal reflex

Gill Withdrawal Reflex

• touching the siphon causes it to fold gill and siphon into the mantle

  • doing this over and over causes habituation and the response diminishes (won’t always respond by withdrawing gills because there is no negative effect with the touch)

• shocking the head along with touching the siphon causes sensitization (always withdrawals gills because a negative effect follows)

  • any many trials they will withdraw gills even if you don’t touch the siphon and just shock the head

Social Behaviour

• any interaction resulting from a response of one animal to another of the same species

• different types of social behaviour

Socially Coordinated

• an individual adjusts its actions to the presence of others to increase its reproductive success

• includes aggression and competitive behaviours

Cooperative Social Behaviour

• an individual performs activities that benefit others because it ultimately benefits themselves

• includes foraging and breeding behaviours

Benefits of Social Aggregations

• defense

  • against predators — active and passive

  • warmth

• reproduction

• parental care

• food gathering (hunting)

• division of labour

Social Behaviour and Competition

• social animals compete for resources (food, mates, shelter) and this often leads to aggression

  • dominance hierarchies

  • territoriality

• mating systems

• linked to communication

Dominance Hierarchies

• often established as a result

• aggression establishes a priority of access to resources

  • ex; wolves

Territoriality

• an alternative to dominance — a territory is established and defenced against intruders of the same species

Communication

• influences behaviour

How do animals communicate

• sounds

• scents

• pheromones

• movement

Honey Bee Waggle Dance

• among the most complex nonhuman communication system