CAB 2

week 6-10

is stereotyped behavior the same as fixed action patterns?

Sterotyped pattern (come and go.. repeatable flexible behavior) is different than fixed action pattern (cant stop and will always happen).

what kind of questions does behavioral ecology ask?

what are the core components of behavior ecology?

natural selection!

-behavior effects: survival, mating success, offspring survival, etc.

Cost-Benefit thinking!

-Behavior can increase fitness: Feeding vs vigilance, mating effort vs parental care, hibernating vs eating all year, etc.

Ecological context!

-Behavior depends on: resource distribution, predation risk, food selection/availability, climate, population density, social environment, etc.

Trade-offs!

-optimality theory (no behavior is free): current vs future reproduction, quantity vs quality of offspring, growth vs reproduction

Social behavior and sexual selection!

-Mating systems: cooperation, altruism, conflict

-Sexual selection: mate choice, competition, ornamentation, courtship

-Ecology influences: operational sex ration, mating systems, parental care patterns

what is behavioral plasticity? what is it based on?

an organism's ability to alter its behavior in response to changing environmental conditions, experiences, or internal stimuli.

how do we study behavioral plasticity and ecological behavior?

what are some experimental approaches for studying ecological behavior

what do optimality models predict?

list some comparative and phylogenetic methods for studying ecological behavior

why is studying ecological behavior important?

Behavior shapes ecosystems!

-predator-induced fear affects

-foraging patterns affect vegetation

-social structure affects disease spread

info card flip for take home on what behavioral ecology explains!

Behavioral ecology integrates:

Ecology + Evolution + Behavior + Social Systems + Physiology

Describe predator/prey relationships

What are predator challenges in ecosystems?

What are prey challenges in ecosystems?

explain this

nocturnal foraging shifts depending on moon cycle

what is optimal foraging theory?

make sense of this

info card LEARN MORE

what is frequency-dependent behavior?

what are evolutionary principles of social foraging?

predictions:

-individuals should leave together and go in the same direction

-successful foragers should be leaders and less successful should be followers

random info on social behaviors effecting feeding

-honeybee hives serve of informational centers

-whales are social filter feeders (struggles bc prey are tiny and these animals needs lots to live)

-Social fish feeders (prey are confusing, clumped together and ever moving, it is difficult to pick one out of the crowd)

study info (be able to answer)

info card

what is an asocial approach?

avoids capture!

-conspicuous behavior

-honest signaling

what is conspicuous behavior?

what is honest signaling?

avoids capture

info card flip for social defense graph

what is social defense? define dilution effect, confusion effect, and selfish herd

Dilution- predation through the ice by leopard seals

Confusion -mass exodus from ice… a subset of dilution effect

info card flip for example

be able to explain this

what is cliff nesting?

the adaptation where certain species, primarily seabirds and raptors, build their nests on steep, vertical, or rocky cliff faces. This behavioral strategy is largely designed to provide protection from ground-based predators and to offer, in the case of seabirds, quick, high-elevation access to marine food sources

info card

study card

study card

why does space matter?

list some spatial choices animals make

Define Ideal free distribution, realized distribution, and evolutionary stable strategy

define home range

what are some costs and benefits of territoriality

benefits:

exclusive food access → higher survival

better nesting sites → higher reproductive success

in many species, females choose males based on territory quality

ex: male three-spined sticklebacks defend nesting sites; females prefer better territories

Costs:

energy expenditure (fighting, patrolling, etc.)

risk of injury

time lost for feeding

ex: lizards that defend territories often have reduced foraging time

explain these flip for more

explain this

when is territoriality favored?

what are some types of territories?

what are 3 movement patterns?

define dispersal. 3 kinds?

explain this graph

define migration. 3 kinds? tradeoffs?

benefits:

-access to seasonal resources

-better breeding sites

costs:

-energy use

-predation risk

-navigation challenges

what is navigations compared to orientation?

what are some mechanisms of navigation

ex: bee waggle dance… encodes direction and distance!

sea turtle navigation… uses earths magnetic field and natal homing

what is special memory?

how is the mammalian brain connected to space?

what are 3 ways the environment can influence animal behavior and space?

CASE STUDIES explain this (flip)

CASE STUDY 3: ant colonies

-collective spacial behavior

-pheromone trails

-landmark + step counting

key idea:

complex spatial organization without a “leader”

info card wrap up

why does time matter when considering animal behavior?

what are biological rhythms based on?

give some examples of temporal behavior across taxa…

how do we organize temporal behavior patterns?

what is Zeitgebern? give examples

why are biological clocks benefical?

major adaptive significance!

what are the 5 types of biological rhythms?

what is a circadian rhythm and how does it work?

ex: drosphila locomotor rhythm, human sleep-wake cycle, honeybee foraging timing

make sense of this

info

info flip for more

be able to describe this

what is ultradian versus infradian rhythms?

case study info

define circannual rhythms and seasonal behavior common characteristics

case study info flip for more

case study info

explain this

wrap up info card

study card

Define communication and list its components (define them too)

what does the sensory channel used for communication depend on?

LEARN

what is the adaptive significance of communication?

what is the function of communication?

recognition: species, population, caste, kin, individuals, or sexual partners

know this example

know this example

what is the natural history of communication?

mother/pup calls

dolphin whistles to identify individuals

info card on play communication and flip for alarm communication

ex: leopard warning: run up tree, eagle warning: run into dense bush, Snake warning: look down at ground

what is social facillitation as a form of communication

define agression/avoid agression as a form of communication

-minor shows of agression to avoid major fights

what is mate attraction (wooing) as a form of communication?

behaviors and physical characteristics to aid in reproduction

info card flip for more

what is the adaptive significance of stereotyped displays?

how can you gain more info from stereotyped behaviors?

signals! and their properties (like Lego building blocks.. one thing at a time in combination with each other.)

info card

where do signals come from? examples?

pooping and peeing

cuckoo imitating mom warbler feeding (hungry) call like baby chicks to be fed and take over nest (breaking the code)

study card

what are some benefits of social behavior?

-Benefits to the individual outweigh the costs when in a group!

-Resources

-Food/Feeding/Foraging (efficient foraging, cooperative hunters catch more/larger prey, an unsuccessful hunter can follow others for food, more time to feed when there is less time defending as an individual…Optimality theory.)

-Finding mates

-Reproductive output (increased success at rearing young via provisioning)

-Defense (Improved defense of limited resources (space/food) against conspecific intruders)

-Predator defense (Selfish Herd Hypothesis, Dilution Effect, Confusion effect)

-Predator avoidance

-Division of labor

-Communal learning

-passing of genes

-Increased ability to modify the environment (burrows/dams)

COSTS:

increased competition

increased Conspicuousness to predators and prey

Interference with reproduction (greater possibility for caring for one’s young that isnt their own and killing of young by non-parents)

Disease risk

define sociality

Define Asociality

Define eusociality.. example?

The highest level of social organization, involving reproductive division of labor, overlapping generations, and cooperative brood care

How does Social behavior evolve?

fill out this table with mutualism, Spite, Altruism, and Selfishness

What are the 3 mechanisms that allow for the evolution of altruism

what is Hamilton’s Rule info card

B/C > 1/r

or ) explains that altruistic behavior evolves when the genetic benefit () to a recipient, multiplied by the relatedness () between actor and recipient, exceeds the reproductive cost () to the altruist. It shows that animals can pass on genes by helping relatives survive, even if it costs them their own reproduction.

r=coefficient of relationship (the probability that an allele is identical by descent)

r= all pathways multiplied together

…1st cousins? ½ x ½ x ½ = 1/8

what is inclusive fitness? (direct fitness versus indirect fitness?)