Biology Exam 1 Study Flashcards - Key Concepts and Definitions

Behavior definition

non-developmental, observable responses of organisms to external or internal stimuli

what does behavior include?

all organisms, not just animals

muscular and non-muscular responses

responses to internal and external stimuli

Why is it important to behave

situation requires immediate response (waiting for protein level or developmental changes takes too long)

rigid vs flexible responses

rigid= instinct

flexible= can adapt to varying situations

Aristotle

first scientific study of behavioral biology

2 distinct sciences of animal behavior

comparative psychology, ethology

Darwin's writings that inspired animal behavior

Origin of Species, Descent of Man, Expression of the emotions in Man and Animal

Comparative Psychology

the study of simple forms of behavior in animals will shed light on more complex forms in humans

George John Romanes

founder of comparative psychology

protege of darwin

George John Romanes's work

"Mental evolution of animals"

anecdotal, uncritical, anthropomorphic

Wilhelm Wundt

father of psychology

Wilhelm Wundt's work

"Principles of Physiological Psychology"

applied hard science approaches of physics and physiology (experimental, quantitative, rigorous)

Conway Lloyd Morgan

moved comparative psychology into the mainstream of psychology

methodological behaviorism

Posed by Lloyd Morgan

Impossible to study the "minds" of animals, only scientifically observe their behaviors (NOT saying animals don't have minds)

Morgan's Canon

If something can be explained by simpler processes, we shouldn't apply higher processes to it

Occam's razor

the simplest explanation is usually the correct one

Morgan's canon is psychological application of this

4 emphases of comparative psychology

1. focus on learned behavior and physiology of behavior

2. laboratory based

3. experimental/quantitative

4. uses a few model systems to develop broad understanding

American school of comparative psych

1. Edward Thorndike

2. John B. Watson

3. B.F. Skinner

4. Robert Yerkes

5. Harry Harlow

6. Frank Beach

Edward Thorndike

discovered operant conditioning

introduced puzzle boxes

Puzzle box method

apparatus used to study how an animal learns to solve a puzzle

John B. Watson

strong believer in philosophical behaviorism

Philosophical Behaviorism

mental states do not belong in animals, only behavior

B.F. Skinner

extended philosophical behaviorism to people

developed skinner boxes

skinner box

more elaborate (specific) puzzle boxes

Primate studies

used in comparative psychology by Robert Yerkes and Harry Harlow using wisconsin general test apparatuses

Frank Beach

founder of Behavioral Endocrinology

Behavioral Endocrinology

study of the effects of hormones on behavior

Ethology

idea that behavior is another aspect of phenotype that has evolved via natural selection

3 forerunners of Ethology

1. Charles Otis Whitman

2. Julian Huxley

3. Oskar Heinroth

3 founders of ethology

1. Konrad Lorenz

2. Niko Tinbergen

3. Karl Von Frisch

4 emphases of Ethology

1. focused on species-specific instinctive behaviors

2. focused on observational studies of naturalistic behavior

3. examined a wide range of species

4. focused on the evolutionary history and current adaptive function of behaviors

Karl Von Frisch

Meticulous experimenter

student of animal senses, honey bee communication

Konrad Lorenz

studied Imprinting

consciously developed new science of ethology

very observational and non-quantitative

Niko Tinbergen

comprehensive approach (field and lab, instincts and learned, vertebrates and invertebrates)

methodological behaviorist

has greatest continued influence

modern behavioral biology

builds on work of three founder of ethology but adds in concepts from modern evolutionary biology, particularly gene selectionism

Gene selectionism (aka selfish gene approach)

behavior does not evolve for the good of the species, group, or individual, but for the propagation of the genes responsible for the behavior

example of selfish gene approach

altruistic alarm calls of ground squirrels

3 levels of selection

1. Individual- do what's best for you, Darwin saw as usual

2. group selection- prevailed 1890-1966

3. gene selection- competition between versions of a gene, introduced in 1966

problem with group selection

one individual expressing a trait is not enough for the whole group

ground squirrel thought experiment

sibling can save self by being quiet, family dies- saves 1 allele copy

sibling warns family, but dies- saves many allele copies

altruism allele will prevail (altruism is genetic selfishness)

Dawkins says parental care is...

kin-based altruism

models of scientific method

1. Induction

2. Deduction

3. Hypothetico-deduction

induction

observe nature objectively to detect patterns and state laws

Law vs. Theory

laws state patterns

theories explain laws

deduction

make preliminary observations and creatively deduce explanations

hypothetic-deduction

1. make preliminary observations

2. creatively devise explanations

3. derive specific hypotheses

4. test them quantitatively

5. TRY TO FALSIFY

Karl Popper

said you can never prove your hypothesis so try to falsify it to make it stronger

hypothesis testing methods

1. experiments

2. structured observations

3. comparative method

4. constructing models

experiment

controlled manipulation of variables

structured observation

correlations not causes, it quantitative and preserves the natural, complex situation

comparative method

-used in historical sciences

-includes cladistics and use of genomic data

-can be used to hypothesize past evolutionary sequences

comparative method concepts from intro bio

1. homology

2. analogy

3. divergent evolution

4. convergent evolution

examples (2) of comparative method

1. ground gulls vs Kittiwakes

Esther Cullen determined that all the ways Kittiwakes differ from other gulls are due to their cliff-nesting; cladistics

2. monogamy/polygyny in voles

stellar evolution

main sequences were determined not from observation of a full cycle but looking at/comparing what is out there right now

Models

-require making predictions and parameters specific and quantifiable

-can be physical, mathematical, a simulation, visual, etc

-best outcome= close but not exact fit

models: optimality

borrowed from economics

cost-benefit

models: game theory

social situations where one's best tactic depends on what others are doing

mobbing

smaller animal/prey attacks predator to try and drive it away

if 45% are being cautious you should be daring

Tinbergen's 4 questions

1. causation/control

2. development

3. evolution

4. function

causation/control

what are the immediate stimuli and neural/physiological mechanisms?

development

how did this behavior come to be present?

evolution

what is the evolutionary history of the behavior?

function

what is the current adaptive value of the behavior?

proximate vs ultimate explanations

proximate= short-term mechanisms, individuals situations, "how" (C,D)

ultimate= longer-term, evolutionary, "why" (E,F)

What ISN'T behavior genetics?

1. gene is completely responsible for trait (one gene, one character fallacy)

2. If you have this gene you will inevitably express this phenotype (genetic determination fallacy)

what IS behavior genetics?

given normal development and all other things being equal, possession of this allele as opposed to an alternative allele mean the trait is frequently different than if the other allele was expressed

ex: white eye gene= with normal development an rr rather than Rr or RR genotype will result in white rather than red eyes

role of genes and environment

traits are due to complex interaction between genes and environment

neither determine, only influence

Dawkin's cake analogy

-recipe= genome; chef and ingredients still matter

-was cake due to recipe, chef or ingredients?

-why are a messy and neat cake from the same recipe different? chef and ingredients

what is genetics the study of?

how differences in genes help explain differences in traits and how those traits are passed on generationally

modern molecular genetics studies...

what the genes do to produce their effects

4 classical genetics methods

1. behavioral analysis of previously-known single-gene mutants

2. behavioral analysis of different inbred strains

3. artificial selection experiments

4. doing mendelian crosses

Behavioral analysis of previously known single gene mutants example

Margaret Bastock's yellow mutant Drosophila

-took existing variant and tested for different behavior

-when presented with WT and yellow males, females always chose to mate with WT, even without visual cues

*yellow males courted less vigorously!

Yellow is pleiotropic gene

pleiotropic gene

a single gene that controls more than one trait

behavioral analysis of Different Inbred strains example

Cooper and Zubek's maze learning differences in rats

-in a standard environment "dull" rats made more mistakes than "bright" rats

- in a poor environment they did the same

- in an enriched environment they also did similarly

*even when genetic differences exist, there are only behavioral differences in specific environments!

Artificial selection experiment example

William Cade's calling durations in Gryllus texensis crickets

-costs and benefits to chirping and non-chirping in males

-made lines of crickets that always and never chirped by breeding them together

heritability

proportion of the variation among individuals in a trait due to genetic variation among individuals

components of artificial selection experiment: "S"

S= selection differential= difference in value between mean of the entire original population and mean of the selected breeders

S= meanS- mean1

components of artificial selection experiment: "R"

R= response to selection= difference in value of the mean of the original population and the mean of the OFFSPRING of the selected breeders

R= mean1- mean2

components of artificial selection experiment: "H"

H= heritability; H= R/S

OR

H= variation due to genetic differences divided by total variation; H= VG/ (VG+VE)

When environment is variable, H is always lower

abuse of heritability example

Race/IQ controversy of Arthur Jensen and William Shockley

- said there is 15 pt IQ difference between African Americans and European American (true)

- said because studies show IQ to be 0.7 heritable that difference must be genetic (false)

fallacies of Jansen's Race/IQ argument

1. heritability is unique for every situation, can't assume H always = 0.7

2. H tells you the extent which differences in a trait are due to genes NOT the if average value of the trait is due to genes or environment

3. within group H says nothing about why group averages are different

Types of mendelian crosses

1. single gene crosses

2. crosses between different strains or breeds

3. crosses between different geographic populations

forward genetics

using phenotypic differences to determine associated genes

reverse genetics

takes a known gene and finds the associated phenotype

single gene cross examples (2)

1. rover vs sitter drosophila larvae (knew mutant, needed to find protein-> forward genetics)

2. fl (filiform) mutant of Teleogryllus oceanicus (jumping and non-jumping crickets due to prenace/absence of sensory hairs on cercus)

different strain/breed cross example

Rothenbuhler's hygienic behavior in honey bees

-van scoy strains are susceptible to disease, brown strains are resistant (due to hygienic behavior)

-VS x B = non-hygienic; not polygenic, non-hygienic is dominant

-backcross= 1:1:1:1 for uncapping, removing, both and neither (must have two genes bc 4 equal types)

*not genes but the difference in genes that allow for differences in behavior

backcross

cross between F1 and recessive parent

tells you how many genes are segregating (2 types= 1 gene, 4 types= 2 genes)

different geographic population cross example

Blackcap warbler migration routes

-populations vary in tendency to migrate

-crosses from different regions showed intermediately migrating offspring in IF they migrated and DIRECTION they migrated in

Migratory restlessness

birds will hop in their cage in the direction they would go for the amount of time they would fly at time of migration when trapped in laboratory

Artificial selection experiments (birds)

1. able to select for delay of migration onset in S. German birds, seen after two generations

2. selected for migrating and non-migrating birds in S. France (partially migratory area), birds quickly became migratory and slowly became non-migratory