Behavioral Ecology

Chemical communication (animal comm)

Common for Canines and felines

Scent trails laid by social insects

Female mother produce pheromones to attract males

Queen bee releases pheromones to suppress reproductive system of workers.

Auditory Communication

Sounds travel father away from the ground, so birds and insects perch high in the air to sing, at dusk and dawn the air is less turbulent and sound carries farther, males use auditory to attract females, can also lure predators

Visual Communication

Male competition for impressive displays leads to elaborate coloration dn ornamentation (peacocks)

Male fireflies dflash species-specific number and duration of flashes, and predator fireflies flash to lure males in to eat them

Rhinoceros beetle horns send a visual signal about the strength of their owners

Tactile communication

Used to establish bonds between group members, round dance or waggle dance of the honey scout conveys food location

Altruism

a behavior that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself, serve to benefit the individual’s close relatives

Kin selection

behavior that lowers an individuals own fitness but enhances the reproductive success of relatives

Inclusive fitness

total number of copies of genes passed on through one’s relatives or as one’s own offspring

Reciprocal altruism

behavior where an organism provides a benefit to another, with exception of receiving a benefit in return at a later time. (female vampire bats share food)

Coefficient of relatedness, r

probability that any two individuals will share a copy of a particular gene is the quantity r.

Genetic relatedness

impacts the evolution of social behaviors, particularly the favoring of altruistic genes through natural selection

Hamiliton’s rule

predicts altruistic behavior based on genetic relatedness

Polygyny

involves a male with many females (ex: elephant seals)

Polyandry

one female with many males (ex: pipefish)

Monogamy

one male and one female forming a pair bond (ex: birds)romP

Promiscuity

males and females having multiple partners (ex: chimpanzees)

Fixed action patterns (innate Behavior)

involuntary, automatic sequences of behavior triggered by a specific stimulus ( egg-rolling in geese)

Migration (Innate Behavior)

seasonal, long distance movement of animals typically driven by genetic and environmental changes

Foraging (Learned Behavior)

The act of searching for and exploiting food resources which can be refined through experience and social learning

Imprinting (Learned)

A form of learning occurring at a specific life stage where young animals form attachments and learn behaviors from their parents

Classical Conditioning (Learned)

Associative learning where an animal learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a significant one

Operant Conditioning (learned)

Behavioring is shaped by rewards or punishments (rat pressing lever to receive food)

cognitive learning (learned)

Involves understanding, problem solving, and reasoning often through observation and insight ( chimpanzees using tools to obtain food)

Fisher’s Principle

If one sex becomes less common, individuals of that sex will have a higher reproductive value, leading to a natural selection pressure that favors producing offspring of the less common sex until the balance is restored.

Sexual dimorphism

refers to the differences in appearance, size, or other characteristics between males and females of the same species