Biol 160 – Introduction to Animal Behavior (Lecture 1 Vocabulary)

A set of 25 vocabulary flashcards covering foundational terms from the first lecture of Biol 160: Introduction to Animal Behavior.

Animal Behavior

The scientific study of what animals do and why, focusing on the mechanisms, evolution, and ecological consequences of their actions.

Natural Selection

Differential reproductive success (and survival) caused by heritable variation in traits that affect fitness.

Variation

The existence of differences among individuals within a population.

Heredity

The passing of genetic traits from parents to offspring, allowing variations to be inherited.

Differential Reproductive Success

The condition in which some individuals leave more offspring than others because of inherited traits.

Fitness

An individual’s genetic contribution to the next generation relative to others, ideally measured as number of surviving offspring.

Gene

A DNA sequence that codes for a functional product and can be passed to offspring.

Allele

An alternative form of a gene found at the same locus on a chromosome.

Genotype

The specific genetic makeup (allele combination) of an individual.

Phenotype

The observable traits or behaviors of an organism resulting from genotype–environment interaction.

Genome

The complete set of genetic material (all genes and non-coding DNA) in an organism.

Allele Frequency

The proportion of a particular allele among all alleles for a gene in a population.

Phylogenetic Tree

A hypothesis depicting evolutionary relationships among species, useful for comparative analyses of behavior.

Adaptation

A heritable trait that increases an organism’s fitness under a given set of environmental conditions.

Tinbergen’s Four Questions

A framework asking about mechanism, development, evolutionary history, and adaptive function of a behavior.

Proximate Level

Explanations that address how a behavior is produced (mechanism) and how it develops within an individual (ontogeny).

Ultimate Level

Explanations that address why a behavior exists in terms of evolution (history) and adaptive value (function).

Ontogeny (Development)

The process by which a behavior emerges and changes during an individual’s lifetime.

Mechanism (Tinbergen)

The genetic, neural, hormonal, and physiological processes that produce a behavior.

Adaptive Function

The fitness advantages that a behavior provides, explaining why it evolved.

Evolutionary History

The ancestral origins and modifications of a behavior across generations (descent with modification).

Comparative Analysis

Studying a behavior across multiple species using a phylogenetic framework to infer evolutionary patterns.

Convergent Evolution

Independent evolution of similar traits or behaviors in species with distinct ancestry due to similar selection pressures.

Divergent Evolution

Evolution of different traits or behaviors in closely related species exposed to different selection pressures.

Selective Pressure

An environmental factor (e.g., predators, climate, competition) that influences the survival and reproduction of organisms, driving evolution.