Behavioral Ecology History and Study of Behavior

Homeostasis

the process by which living organisms regulate their internal environment to maintain stable, constant conditions despite external changes.

What are some things animals regulate to maintain homeostasis?

Energy, oxygen, water, nutrients, minerals, pH, body temperature, and nitrogenous waste

What are some environmental factors animals must adapt to?

Salinity, oxygen, turbidity, temperature, humidity, wind, altitude

Adaptations

Long-term, permanent changes in physiology and behavior as a result of natural selection to become better suited to the environment.

Acclimatization

Short-term physiological or behavioral changes to maintain function during the organism’s lifespan

Natural selection

Differential survival and reproduction due to a difference in heritable traits that can be passed down to offspring.

What are some reasons to study animal behavior?

To learn about relationships between animals and their environment, physiological processes that determine behavior, the genetic basis of behavior, conservation of species, etc.

Proximate cause

The cause that explains the “how” of an animals behavior presently

Ultimate cause

The reason the animal evolved the behavior or trait, explains the “why” of the behavior

What cause does ethology focus on?

Proximate

What cause does behavioral ecology focus on?

Ultimate

What constrains adaptations?

Phylogeny (ancestral traits)

What 3 developments led to the scientific study of behavior?

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, development of the systematic comparative method by George John Romanes, and studies of genetics and inheritance

Charles Lyell

A geologist known for the concept of Gradualism

Gradualism

A theory suggesting the Earth is much older than 2000 years, based on the fossil record

Thomas Malthus

Theologian that suggested that humans overpopulate their territory, causing disease, war, and famine. Humans compete for resources. He suggested that all populations have the ability to grow exponentially, but are constrained by resources, making individuals compete.

Alfred Russel Wallace

Suggested the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection at the same time as Charles Darwin

Systematic comparative method

Developed by George John Romanes; compared the behavior of different animals to gain insight into human behavior and constructed a hierarchy of animals based on behavior

Observational method

Developed by C Lloyd Morgan in response to Romanes. This method relies on direct observations and experimentation rather than inference. Includes the Law of Parsimony

Law of Parsimony

Says that we must seek the simplest explanation for observed facts

What are the 3 experimental approaches to studying behavior?

Comparative psychology, Ethology, and Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (BES)

Comparative psychology

The study of different animals’ behavior patterns to determine the general principles that explain their actions

Perceptual psychology

A sub-discipline of comparative psychology that investigates the differences between mind and body and continues today at psychophysics

Physiological psychology

A sub-discipline of comparative psychology that relates behavior with physiological events in the organism

Functionalism

A sub-discipline of comparative psychology that introduced the concept of adaptive behavior

Adaptive behavior

Behavior functions to increase the animal’s survival in its natural habitat

Behaviorism

A sub-discipline of comparative psychology that studies the behavior of an animal in response to stimuli, and suggests that behavior is a product of past experiences

Animal psychology

A sub-discipline of comparative psychology that developed with other disciplines that emphasized the need for systematic, replicable experiments and studying animals other than the white rat.

Ethology

The systematic study of the function and evolution of behavior

Ethogram

An inventory of all of the behavior of a species

Appetitive behavior

Variable actions of an animal (searching for food, mates, territory, etc)

Consummatory behavior

Stereotypical action, repeated without variation

Umwelt

The sensory-perceptive world of an animal; everything the animal perceives

Sign stimuli

A specific behavior triggered by a certain stimulus

Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)

A stereotypical behavior in response to a sign stimuli

Who were two pioneers of Ethology?

Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen

What are some sub-disciplines of ethology?

behavioral genetics, hormones and behavior, physiology of behavior

What are some key difference between ethology and comparative psych.?

Ethologists believe most animal behavior is reflexive (innate), while comparative psychologists believe learning is important for behavior. Ethologists study all types of animals, while comp. psychologists focus on model organisms (rats, pigeons, primates, etc)

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (BES)

Both look at the ways that animals interact with their environment (biotic and abiotic) and the survival value of behavior

What separates BES from ethology?

An emphasis on a testable hypothesis

Sociobiology

Applies the principles of evolutionary biology to the study of social behavior, often using comparative studies

Comparative studies

Finds animals that have similar social behavior that is different from most of the closely related species, and compares their environments to see if there are similarities that may explain the behavior and its evolution