Behavior
change in activity of an organism in response to a stimulus
Behavioral biology
the study of the biological and evolutionary bases for changes in behavior
ethology
biological study of animal behavior
innate behavior
instinctual behavior that is not altered by changes in the environment
ex) a bird’s song
learned behaviors
behavior that responds to changes in environment
ex) when a bird sings
reflex action
action in response to direct physical stimulation of a nerve
ex) knee-jerk of taps on patella tendon
kinesis
undirected movement of an organism in response to a stimulus
ex) insect moves more rapidly when temperature is high
taxis
directed movement in response to a stimulus
ex) moth being attracted to light at night
fixed action pattern
series of instinctual behaviors that, once initiated, always goes to completion regardless of changes in the environment
ex) stickle-back fish attacking color red
ex) goose egg rolling
migration
long-range seasonal movement of animal species
signals
method of communication between animals including those obtained by the senses of smell, hearing, sight, or touch
courtship displays
visual display used to attract a mate
aggressive display
visual display by a species member to discourage other members of the same species or different species
distraction displays
visual display used to distract predators away from a nesting site
kin selection
sacrificing one's own fitness so that one's genes will be passed on to future generations by relatives
intersexual selection
selection of a desirable mate of the opposite sex
intrasexual selection
competition between members of the same sex for a mate
monogamy
mating system whereby one male and one female remain coupled for at least one mating season
polygyny
mating system where one male mates with many females
polyandry
mating system where one female mates with many males
habituation
ability of a species to ignore repeated stimuli that have no consequence
imprinting
identification of parents by newborns as the first organism they see after birth
conditioned behavior
behavior that becomes associated with a specific stimulus through conditioning
classical conditioning
association of a specific stimulus and response through conditioning
ex) Pavlov dog experiment
operant conditioning
learned behaviors in response to positive and/or negative reinforcement
ex) dog training
cognitive learning
knowledge and skills acquired by the manipulation of information in the mind
ex) rats solving mazes, crows solving multi-step puzzles for food
Ernst Mayr
described two general categories of questions related to biological causation of behaviors
proximate causation
understanding external and internal stimuli causing a behavior
ultimate causation
understanding value of behavior for survival/reproduction (fitness)
animal communication
process in which a signal from one individual modifies the behavior of a recipient individual
deceitful communication
signaler is attempting to exploit the receiver; success is negative frequency-dependent
ex) hognose snake playind dead to avoid being eaten
animal navigation
the ability of animals to accurately find their way to locations without instruments or maps
piloting
use of familiar landmarks
compass orientation
movement that is oriented in a specific direction
true navigation
ability to locate a specific place on Earth’s specific
circadian clock
an internal mechanism that maintains a 24-hour activity rhythm or cycle
territory
an area that is actively defended and provides exclusive or semi-exclusive use of resource
altruism
behaviors that have a fitness cost to the individual exhibiting the behavior and a fitness benefit to the receiver
Br > C
Model for spread of altruistic allele (Hamilton's Rule) \n B= benefit to recipient \n r= coefficient of relatedness \n C= cost of altruism
direct fitness
derived from generating offspring
indirect fitness
Derived from helping relatives produce more offspring than they would on their own
inclusive fitness
direct + indirect fitness
delayed direct benefits
the production of offspring in the future; possible explanation for acting altruistically toward non-relatives
reciprocal altruism
when individuals reciprocate altruistic behaviors toward each other; possible explanation for sacrificing fitness to help another individual