LECTURE 20: ANIMAL BEHAVIOR PART 1

Flashcards covering the history of ethology, Tinbergen's four questions, innate and learned behaviors, orientation, and social evolution based on lecture notes.

Which three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in $1973$ for pioneering the study of animal behavior?

Niko Tinbergen, Konrad Lorenz, and Karl von Frisch.

What is the study of animal behavior under natural conditions called, as pioneered by the $1973$ Nobel laureates?

Ethology.

According to Tinbergen's four questions, what are the two 'proximate' explanations for behavior?

$\text{1. Causation}$ (physiological mechanisms) and $\text{2. Development}$ (how behavior develops).

According to Tinbergen's four questions, what are the two 'ultimate' explanations for behavior?

$\text{3. Adaptive function}$ (survival and reproduction) and $\text{4. Evolutionary history}$ (evolution over time).

How are innate behaviors defined?

Behaviors that are instinctive and carried out regardless of earlier experience.

What is a Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)?

A sequence of species-specific behaviors that, once triggered by a key stimulus, is followed through to completion.

In Niko Tinbergen's study of the goose, what is the 'key stimulus' for the egg-retrieval fixed action pattern?

The sight of the misplaced egg.

What term describes an exaggerated response to an object that triggers a fixed action pattern, such as a beetle attempting to mate with a beer bottle?

A supernormal stimulus.

In the lizard species Anolis carolinensis, how does a male's courtship behavior affect a group of females?

It causes $100\%$ of the females to become reproductively active, compared to only $80\%$ in all-female groups.

How does the asexual Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) reproduce?

Through gynogenesis (sperm-dependent parthenogenesis), where sperm triggers development of diploid eggs without contributing genetic material.

What did William Dilger's breeding experiments with Agapornis lovebirds suggest about nest-building behavior?

The behavior has a genetic basis, as hybrid offspring showed intermediate nesting techniques.

What is sensitization in the context of learning?

A form of non-associative learning where a strong or novel stimulus enhances the response to a subsequent stimulus.

How does classical conditioning differ from operant conditioning?

Classical conditioning involves associating two events (like a bell and food), whereas operant conditioning involves a behavior becoming more or less likely over time based on an outcome.

Compare kinesis and taxis as forms of orientation.

Kinesis is a random, undirected movement in response to a stimulus, while taxis is a movement in a specific direction toward or away from a stimulus.

In the honey bee waggle dance, what two pieces of information are communicated?

The distance to the food source (communicated by the duration of the waggle) and the direction relative to the sun (communicated by the angle of the waggle run).

What is inclusive fitness theory?

A theory that seeks to understand social behavior through the lens of relatedness, such as when relatives help care for young (allomothering).