7.1 Behavioral Ecology

ecology = ? + ? interaction within an environment

biotic + abiotic

scale of ecology

1) organismal ecology (physiological & behavioral)

2) population ecology

3) community ecology

4) ecosystem ecology

behavior = the ? response of organisms in response to internal or external ?

observable; stimuli

behavioral ecology = studies how behavior contributes to the ? & ? of organisms

differential survival & reproduction

? observed ? hatch & parents remove the ?. he placed the broken eggs by the nests and predators (?) found nests with ? & ? hatchlings. nests without egg shells had ? predation > concluded that eggshell removal behavior is ? (reduces ? and thus increase the offspring’s chances of ?)

tinbergen; gul nestlings; shells of the eggs; crows; broken eggs & ate hatchlings; less; adaptive; predation; survival

nature (?) = obvious that ? guide development of ? & potentially the ?

innate; genes; nervous system; behavioral responses

nurture (?) = animals may also develop in a rich ? & have ? that guide behavior

learned; social environment; experiences

ethology = study of the ? causes of behaivoir

genetic & physiological

innate behavior is ?, does not require learning. they are preset paths in ? = ?

instinctive; nervous system; genetic-fixed action pattern (FAP)

examples of fixed action patterns:

? in geese

? territoriality

rueben’s (his cat) ?

egg retrieval

stickleback fish

sweeping (burying food)

neuroethology = what happens between releasing ? & ?

stimulus (key or sign stimulus) & behavior

? help drive the rxn to stimulus. endocrine hormones: ?, ?, ?. neurotransmitters: ?, ?

internal signals; cortisol, norepinephrine, epinephrine; dopamine, serotonin

techniques of neuroethology include:

-identifying & mapping individual ?, their ?, & connections to other ?

-how their ? & ? regulate behavior

neurons; dendrites; neurons

impulses & neurochemicals

examples of functional magnetic response imaging (fMRI):

-how the human ? responds to seeing ?

-response does not occur the ? (as expected)

-occurs in ? in the ? (normally involved in reward & pleasure)

brain; food

visual cortex

nucleus accumbens in forebrain

behavioral genetics:

-some behaviors have been ? described

-mice fosB gene (single gene) determines whether female mice ? their young

• if both fosB alleles are disabled = ? young

• normal mothers = ? behavior

genetically

nurture

ignore

protective maternal

learned behavior:

-altered behavior as a result of ?

-nonassociative learning = does not require an animal to form an ? between 2 ? or between ? & ?

• no ? consequences

• habituation: ? in response to a repeated stimulus

previous experiences

association; stimuli; stimulus & response

• + or -

• decreases

learned behavior:

-associative learning = association between ? or ? & ?

• ? behavior thru association

• 2 types ?, which differ in the way ?

2 stimuli or stimulus & response

• conditioned

• classical & operant conditioning; associations are established

associative learning:

-2 main types

• ? = ? response becomes associated with ? or ? with a stimulus that did not ? elicit the response > ? = dog gets used to reciveing food on ring so gets excited even without food just on bell stimulus

• ? = animal’s behvaior is reinforced by a ? (?) > skinner box where rat bumps into a lever & gets food, associated lever w food, also called ? learning, no need for ? stimulus (butterflies will learn to avoid bad tasting butterflies)

classical conditioning = involuntary; + or -; originally; pavlovian

operant conditioning; consequence (reward/punishment); trial & error; secondary

cognitive learning = ability to solve problems with ? and without direct ?

conscious thought; environmental feedback

behavior is often a mix of ? factors > birds are genetically programmed to learn but they will sing the correct song only if the correct songs are heard

innate & learned

optimality theory = an animal should behave in a way that ? of a behavior minus its costs

maximizes benefits

optimal foraging theory = an animal seeks to obtain the most ? possible with the least expenditure of energy > selection for the maximum return on investment > more net energy gained, the greater the ? success

• shore crabs eat dif sized mussels.. prefer ? mussels with highest rate of energy return (? mussels yield more energy but take longer to open, ? mussels are easier to open but yield less energy)

energy; reproductive

• intermediate; larger; smaller