Behavioral Ecology

Lab.17

what is morphology?

the study of forms (morphos) of living organisms

the organisms we have studied have bodies ______ to their enviornments

adapted

how do adaptations arise?

adaptations arise due to a process called natural selection, where advantageous traits that are heritable become more common in a population over time

what is behaviors?

the way organisms responds to stimuli

a stimuli can be? (2)

internal or external

responses in behavior can include what?

movements, lack of movements, or changes in movements

what is innate behavior?

when it does not require learning, behavior is inherited and presented in nearly all members of a species (ex: swimming w dogs)

what is learned behavior?

when something is acquired by and depends on expierence

what are proximate causes?

immediate physiological conditions that lead to behaviors

what are ultimate causes?

adaptive values and evolutinonary origin of behavior

what is antrhopomorphize?

to assign human attributes to something that is not human (such as feelings, intentions, social constructs, etc)

antrho=human

morph= form

“form as human”

“ cat sleep in the sun because they like to be warm” is what?

not an appropriate sentence in scientific writing bc there is no evidence that cats “like” warmth or are drawn to it by some other process

what are exampled of movements? how does morphology effect it?

movemments include running, swimming, crawling, climbing, slithering, sflying, gliding,etc

morpholoy provide fins, wings, legs, feet, etc

what are taxis?

orientation behaviors

• movement directly toward or away from stimulus

positive taxis means?

negative taxis means?

examples of positive?

positive means that it is toward the stimulus

negative means it is moving away from stimulus

ex: positive phototaxis= movement toward light

what is three examples of types of behavior maintenance?

1) sleeping/ resting which allows for health benefits such as energy conservation

2) grooming/preening which removes dirt and ectoparasites, cleaning body

3) vigilance: remaining aware of danger in vicinity, keeping watch

what are the two types of behavior in animals?

1) agnoistic

2) reproductive/breeding

what is agnoistic behavior?

behavior in conflict situations (usually over mates or resources) may be either:

1) aggresive: threaten, approach, attack

2) submissive: withdraw, flee, appease

what is reproductive/breeding behavior? (4) and what are these behaviors?

1) finding a mate

2) courtship

3) mating

4) sometimes offspring care

these behaviors or species-specific

what is nutrient acquisition?

what are the three ways animals obtain food?

food is required for suvival, therefore animals must obtain food

1) herbivores eat autotrophs (plants)

2) parasites (endo or ecto) lives in or on a host, getting nutrients from the host, but DOES NOT KILL THEM IMMEDIATLY

3) predators: catch and kill prey (other animals)

what are the 9 types of behaviors for feeding?

1) filter feeding: passive

2) grazing/browsing: feed on grass/plants

3) searching for food: moving to locate prey

4) ambush: waiting for prey

5) stalking: sneaking up on prey

6) scavenging: seeking prey the organism did not kill (carrion)

7) attacking: seizing and incapacitating prey

8) food handling: taking in edible shells off nuts, leaving the water with a fish

9) eating: ripping, tearing, chewing, swallowing

how does prey avoid being eaten? (6)

1) camoflauge

2) outrun predator

3) hurt predator

4) seeking refuge where predator can not enter

5) poisonous/bad tasting

6) resemble something dangerous

what is aposematic coloring?

when prey is poisonous or bad tasting

what is batesian mimicry?

when a prey resembles something dangerous

what is coevolution? what is two examples of it?

coevolution is when an evolution (and behavior) of one species contributes to the evolution (and behavior) of another species

• an example of it is when preys run faster, predators evolve to run even faster

• another example is some moths have evolved to jam the echolocation signals used by bats to hunt them

what is ecology? what are examples of it?

the study of interactions of organisms between each other and their enviornment

• how organisms interact w same species but also between diff species

  examples are : predator vs prey, competition for resources, mutualists and parasites

what are ecosystems?

community and its physical enviornment

what is biotic? and examples?

(related to life)

all the living organisms (plants, animals, fungi, protists, bacteria, archaea) located in a geographic region (community

what is abiotic?

nonliving factors that effect living organisms. Environmental factors such as sunlight, temperature, precipitation, wind patterns etc. are all
abiotic factors

what type of consumers are each one:

autotrophs

herbivores

carnivores

carnivores

detrivores

autotrophs: primary producers

herbivores: primary consumers

carnivores: secondary consumers

carnivores: tertiary consumers

detrivores/ decomposers

what is the order of trophic levels? (4)

• Producers: Autotrophs (usually
  photosynthesizers– plants)
  ● Consumer: Herbivores: heterotrophs
  directly eating producers
  ● Consumer: Carnivores: heterotrophs
  eating other heterotrophs
  ● Detritivores: heterotrophs gaining
  energy from decomposing other
  organisms.

what are food webs?

• a diagram that shows how organisms are connected through feeding
  relationships.

• Network of food chains, more true to life

• Arrows indicate the direction of energy flow

what is a niche?

An organism’s role in the environment

(sum of all conditions, resources, and interactions required for survivial and reproduction)

Each species has a unique niche in their ecosystem, _________ or _________ ________ between species and allowing different species to coexist

preventing

reducting compeititon

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