Section 3 Acadec

Foraging

Behaviors animals use to obtain food through hunting, grazing, or other methods

Diet

All foods an animal is capable of eating that fulfill its nutritional needs

Foraging behavior plasticity

Ability to change food-seeking strategies during an animal’s lifetime to adapt to current circumstances

Search phase

First stage of foraging in which an animal locates food using its sensory systems

Pursuit phase

Stage of foraging in which an animal approaches, chases, or waits for food

Food handling

Final stage of foraging in which an animal prepares and consumes food

Herbivore

Animal that eats plants

Carnivore

Animal that eats other animals

Ambush predation

Hunting strategy in which a predator hides or disguises itself before attacking prey

Mimicry

Resembling another organism or object to avoid predators or capture prey

Ecological niche

Role of an organism within its ecosystem, including how it obtains food and reproduces

Specialist

Organism adapted to a narrow ecological niche and specific resources

Generalist

Organism capable of using many resources and surviving in diverse environments

Optimal foraging theory

Theory that animals tend to choose food and strategies that maximize energy gained relative to energy spent

Evolutionary game theory

Theory explaining how the success of a strategy depends on the strategies used by competitors

Stable mixed strategy

Population strategy in which multiple behaviors, such as fighting and sharing, persist because each has advantages under different circumstances

Spatial memory

Ability to remember the locations of food, hiding places, and other important locations

Generalization

Applying previously learned knowledge to new situations

Overgeneralization

Applying learned associations too broadly, potentially causing mistakes such as confusing plastic with food

Nutrient homeostasis

Maintenance of the body's proper nutrient and energy balance

Salt-seeking behavior

Foraging behavior motivated by low sodium levels, causing animals to seek salt-rich soil or plants

Foraging reward

Rewarding effects of finding and consuming food that motivate animals to continue seeking it

Communication

Sender

Individual that produces a communicative behavior or signal

Receiver

Individual that perceives and responds to a signal or cue

Eavesdropping

When an animal detects communication intended for others and uses the information

Interspecies communication

Communication between members of different species

Alarm call

Vocalization that warns other animals about a potential predator or danger

Signal

Information-bearing behavior or trait that evolved to communicate information to a receiver and generally benefits the sender and receiver

Cue

Information in the environment that guides a receiver's behavior but did not necessarily evolve for communication

Honest signal

Signal that reliably conveys information about the sender

Deceptive signaling

Communication that misleads a receiver, sometimes to gain access to resources

Body language

Nonverbal communication through posture, movement, or body-part position

Birdsong

Vocalizations used by birds for purposes such as attracting mates, warning of danger, and defending territory

Critical period for song learning

Developmental period when certain birds must hear and practice songs to learn them normally

Cultural transmission

Spread of shared behaviors between generations through social learning

Social learning

Learning by observing, imitating, or interacting with other individuals

Cultural trait

Behavior shared by members of one group but not necessarily by other groups

Neighborhood dialect

Local variation in the songs or calls learned by animals in a particular area

Echolocation

Navigation or prey detection using emitted sounds and the echoes that return

Auto-communication

Using self-produced signals and the resulting sensory feedback to gather information about the environment, as in echolocation

Chemical communication

Using chemicals detected through smell or taste to communicate information, such as mating or territorial status

Chromatophores

Specialized cells in cephalopods that produce rapid color changes for camouflage or communication

Ultrasonic disruption

Production of high-frequency sounds that interfere with another animal's echolocation

Sexual selection

Mate choice

Selection of a reproductive partner based on preferred traits or behaviors

Sexual dimorphism

Significant physical differences between sexes of the same species

Runaway selection

Feedback process in which a preferred trait becomes increasingly exaggerated because preference for that trait is also inherited

Direct benefits of mate choice

Immediate benefits such as food, protection, resources, or help raising offspring

Indirect benefits of mate choice

Genetic benefits that increase the likelihood offspring inherit traits associated with health or fitness

Nuptial gift

Food or another resource offered by one animal to a potential mate during courtship

Sensory bias

Mate preference caused by a preexisting tendency of a sensory system to respond to a particular trait

Social monogamy

A pair lives or raises offspring together but may occasionally mate with other individuals

Polygyny

Mating system in which one male mates with multiple females

Same-sex sexual behavior

Sexual or courtship behavior between individuals of the same sex, which can have different social or reproductive consequences depending on the species

Predatory behavior

Anti-predatory behavior

Behaviors that reduce the likelihood of being detected, caught, or eaten by predators

Sit-and-wait hunting

Predatory strategy in which an animal waits for prey to approach before attacking

Widely foraging

Searching over a broad area for prey, often requiring greater energy expenditure and risk

Pursuit hunting

Chasing prey until it is captured or exhausted

Group hunting

Coordinated hunting by multiple predators that can increase hunting success but requires cooperation and sharing resources

Camouflage

Coloration or appearance that helps an animal blend into its surroundings

Warning coloration

Bright coloration that warns predators that an animal may be poisonous, harmful, or unpleasant to eat

Freezing response

Remaining motionless to avoid detection by a predator

Fleeing response

Escaping from a predator, often using speed or unpredictable movement

Alarm behavior

Calls or actions that warn others of a predator's presence

Mobbing behavior

Group behavior in which smaller animals harass or attack a predator to drive it away

Evolutionary arms race

Reciprocal evolutionary changes in predator and prey as each evolves strategies to counter the other's adaptations

Venom resistance

Ability to withstand the effects of a predator's venom

Sociality

Degree to which animals interact and form social relationships

Eusociality

Highly organized social system involving specialized castes, cooperative care of young, overlapping generations, and division of labor

Caste system

Organization in which group members have specialized roles, such as reproduction, defense, or gathering food

Parasocial behavior

Living or nesting with others while primarily caring for one's own offspring

Polygyny

Mating system in which one male mates with several females

Social monogamy

Pair-bonding and cooperative care of young without necessarily exclusive mating

Intraspecies social behavior

Interactions between members of the same species

Interspecies social behavior

Interactions between members of different species

Symbiosis

Close relationship between species in which at least one benefits and, in mutually beneficial examples, both gain advantages

Mutualism

Relationship in which both species benefit

Parasitism

Relationship in which a parasite benefits at the host's expense

Solitary behavior

Behavior in which an animal generally avoids members of its own species outside mating or parental care

Territorial defense

Protecting an area that provides resources or mating opportunities

Same-sex sexual behavior in social groups

Behavior that may contribute to bonding, reduce conflict, or support care of young in some species

Emotion

Affective state

Longer-lasting emotional state influenced by prior experiences

Arousal

Intensity of an emotional state, ranging from low to high

Valence

Pleasantness or unpleasantness of an emotional state

Cognitive bias test

Test that uses an animal's response to ambiguous information to infer how its affective state influences judgment or expectations

Positive affective state

Emotional state associated with more positive experiences and often greater willingness to explore new situations

Negative affective state

Emotional state associated with adverse experiences and often greater caution toward ambiguous situations

Personality

Consistent, predictable pattern of an individual's behavioral responses to stimuli

Boldness

Tendency to take risks despite potential danger

Shyness

Tendency to behave cautiously and avoid risks, particularly in unfamiliar situations

Heritability of behavior

Degree to which genetic differences contribute to differences in behavioral traits

Domestication

Taming

Training an individual animal to tolerate humans or captivity without necessarily changing the genetics of its species through selective breeding

Neoteny

Retention of juvenile physical traits or behaviors into adulthood

Selective breeding

Intentionally mating organisms with desired traits so those traits become more common over generations

Artificial selection

Human-directed selection of traits through breeding

Domestication criteria

Traits that make a species easier to domesticate, including ease of feeding, rapid maturity, captive breeding, docility, low skittishness, and ability to follow a social hierarchy

Human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC)

Rapid environmental changes caused by human activities that can disrupt animal behavior and survival

Captive release

Returning animals held in captivity to the wild, which requires careful planning because capture and captivity can affect stress, behavior, disease exposure, and surviva