01 - Introduction to Animal Behaviour

Individual-based Ecology

focus on individuals and how they interact with their environments,

a big part of behavioural ecology

behavioural ecology

focus on behaviour of animals in response to their environments.

the 2 categories of tinbergen’s 4 questions

proximate and ultimate

proximate

short term processes acting within an individuals lifetime affecting the behaviour

developmental and mechanistic

ultimate

long term evolutionary processes affecting the behavior

evolutionary and adaptive

what are developmental questions

how is the behavior acquired over an individual’s lifetime

what are mechanistic questions

how is the behaviour caused through neural, muscular, and other processes

what are evolutionary questions

where and how did the behaviour arise in the past

what are adaptive questions

how does the behaviour enhance the survival and/or reproduction of individuals

Niko Tinbergen

• founder of experimental ethology

• created simple elegant experiments to tests behaviors

ethos

chracter or habit

tinbergs wasps experiemnt

Female digger wasps leave their underground nests to hunt, then return with prey.

Tinbergen placed a ring of pinecones around the entrance of a wasp’s nest.

While the wasp was gone, he moved the ring of pinecones a short distance to the side.

When the wasp returned, it landed at the new pinecone circle, not the actual nest entrance.

same thing was done w rocks and pincones

pincones were aranged in triangle and rockes were aranged in circle

they went to the rocks

prooving they were looking for shape and not specific object

Konrad Lorenz

• founded field of ethology

• coined term ethology

• discovered and published most of classical phenomena of ethology like imprinting, fixed action pattern

imprinting

a type of pre-programmed learning in young animals during critical period of development

Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)

Motor response that is initiated by an environmental stimulus (i.e., key stimulus / releaser)

•Once initiated, behavior goes to completion

Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) characteristic

1. Sequence of events unalterable

2. Innate (not learned)

3. Can be triggered under inappropriate circumstances

4. Remarkably similar among members of a species (i.e., is highly stereotyped)

Karl von Frisch

studied insect behaviour and sensory physiology,

discovered some animals see diff wavelengths

discovered that bee vision differed from

humans à bees can see UV, but not red wavelengths!

also decoded bee dance language

bee language

bee dances straight up = signals other bees to go toward sun

bee dances 45deg right = signals other bees to go 45 deg from sun

length of waggle = distance of food

(longer = farther, shorter = close)

can be done by multiple bees to report to make sure food is still there

how are bahaviours acquired

behaviours vary in how much they are environmentally vs genetically determined

Innate behaviours

instinctive, carried out regardless of an animal’s prior experiences, have a genetic basis (high degree of genetic determination)

Learned behaviours

depend on an individual’s prior experiences (environment + genetics determine behaviour)

innate behaviours include

reflexes and instincts

reflexes

automatic responses to stimulus (e.g., startle responses, knee jerk, pulling hand away from hot stove)

instinct

behaviours that are present from birth (e.g. kittens kneading, babies suckling at mother’s nipple)

characteristics of innate behaviour

1. Behavior is consistent, independent of rearing (i.e., produced correctly without experience)

2. Mistakes are very costly

3. Variation is minimal, though behavior is not always ‘invariant’

examples of innate behaviours

FAPs

mate recognition signals

predator avoidance behaviour

example of faps

• goose egg roling

• flicker mustache eliciting attack

  • a mark is how they identify femlae vs male so they can paint it there and it will change how it treats you

• stickle back fish attacking stimuli w red bellies

  • red = triggeres agressive behaviour

example of mate recoogniton signas

• Courtship displays in ducks

• Claw-waving displays in fiddler crabs

• Frog calls

example of avoidance behanviour

• Motmots eat insects, arthropods, snakes, etc.

• They will NOT attack coral snakes (which are poisonous

some snakes adapted to have colours like coral snake

can innate behaviour be modified by experince

sometimes

eg Colour preference in foraging wasps

Non-associative Learning

learning in absence of an outcome, animal alters behaviour after exposure to stimulus, repeated exposure either augments or attenuates behaviour

types of non-associative learning

habituation

sensitization

habituation

behaviour attenuates (reduced or eliminated) through repeated exposure to stimulus

eg of habituation

contsrutcion noises, tv noises, clothing

sensitization

behaviour is augmented (enhanced) through repeated exposure to stimulus

eg of sensitization

A child that is being tickled laughs harder and harder as the

stimulus continues

Associative Learning

learning that occurs when two events are linked (learning is tied to outcome)

types of associative learning

imprinting

classical conditioning

operant conditioning

imprinting

type of behaviour exhibited by young animals where they form attachments / develops concepts of its own identity

Characteristics of imprinting

1. Behavior develops in response to environmental stimuli. Often limited to sensitive period.

2. Tracks large-scale changes in the environment. Variation depends on the environment.

3. Flexibility limited by HOW and WHEN sensitive. Environment must be likely to present appropriate stimuli at the appropriate time.

4. Mistakes can be very costly (often in terms of fitness, not life-threatening).

Sensitive period

time period when young animal is most able to learn specific behaviour

cant be chnaged after

types of imprinting

1. Filial – social attachment of young to parent (in particular, precocial young exhibit this)

2. Habitat – attachment to a particular environment

3. Sexual – social attachment to sexual partner

classical conditioning

learning in which innate behaviours are conditioned to be triggered by novel stimuli through repeated exposure

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

stimulus that triggers an innate response in animal (e.g., the odors that food produces)

Unconditioned response (UR)

animal’s innate response to US (e.g., salivation when smell food)

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

novel stimulus that animal becomes conditioned to respond to over time (e.g., ringing a dinner bell when it is time to eat)

Conditioned response (CR)

animal’s innate response is triggered by CS (e.g., salivating when hear bell)

operant conditioning

trial-and-error learning, a behaviour is modified over time through association of an outcome (reward or punishment)

Characteristics of operant conditioning

1. Exploratory behavior leads to accidental reward

2. Subsequent rewards reinforce behavior

3. Termination of rewards leads to EXTINCTION of behavior

Reinforcement

conditioning in which the goal is to increase likelihood of behaviour reoccurrence

Punishment

conditioning in which the goal is to get rid of the

behaviour

Positive

the stimulus is presented after the change in behaviour

has been observed (focal behaviour occurs before

reward/punishment)

Negative

the stimulus is presented, and is only removed once

the change in behaviour occurs (stimulus starts first, and is

eliminated only when animal does focal behaviour)

example of Positive reinforcement

a dog gets a cookie when it sits on command

example of Positive punishment

a cat is sprayed with water when it jumps onto kitchen counter

example of Negative reinforcement

seat belt alarm keeps sounding until person puts seatbelt on

example of Negative punishment

a child that misbehaves is

grounded or loses access to desert / tv / phone / etc.