ALS/BIOL 4574 Learner Objectives for TEST ONE

ALS/BIOL 4574 “Social Behavior of Birds and Mammals” Learner Objectives for TEST ONE... Slides include: Introduction to Animal Behavior, An Overvn Animal Behavior 1, The develoiew opment of behavior, Nervous System and Behavior: animal senses (1, 2), Case study 1, Evolution of Behavior 1,2, Case Study 2

Social behavior: what can we study about it?

• Evolution 

• Mechanisms 

• Relationship w/ other disciplines 

• Impact, implications for the animals 

• Interactions w/ humans 

• Changing environments 

• Increased urbanization 

• Changing agricultural practices 

• Harvesting of natural commodities (rainforest, oil, animals) 

Social behavior: how can we evaluate these ideas?

Integration of:

• Genetics

• Ethology

• Ecology

• Physiology

• Reproduction

• Nutrition

• Endocrinology

Social Behavior is the understanding of?

interactions w/in individual species and the interactions of animals of different species

What profoundly affects social behavior

The interaction of animals w/ their environment

Birds

A class of warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrates having the body feathered and the forelimbs modified to form wings

Ornithology

The study of birds

Poultry

domesticated birds maintained for eggs or meat

Contour feathers

provide lifting force and balance needed for flight; flight feathers if they extend beyond the body

Down Feathers

trap air close to the body to keep birds warm

Mammals

Any of a class of warm-blooded higher vertebrate animals (including humans) which nourish their young w/ milk secreted by mammary glands

Mammalogy

the study of mammals

Endothermic features

are characteristics of organisms or processes that absorb heat from their surroundings

Important endothermic features:

Hair, skin glands (mammary sebaceous, sweat)

Monotremes

Subclass Prototheria: echidna and platypus

• lay eggs; cloaca 

Marsupials

Subclass Theria (livebearers)

• Infraclass Metatheria

  • their young are born in an extremely immature state (example: kangaroo)

    • bear live young; develop in pouch

Placentals

Subclass Theria (livebearers)

• Infraclass Eutheria

  • their young are born in an advance state

    • nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and wastes exchanged through placenta

Echidna or "spiny anteater"

• Is a Monotremes

• Heavy fur coat w/ specialized spines

• Small mouth at tip of nose

• Long sticky tongue for consuming ants, termites

• Have a pouch

• "Milk Patches"

• Baby is called a "puggle"

• Males: rear spur but it is nonfunctional in terms of venom injection

Platypus

• Is a Monotremes

• Sleek, aerodynamic Swimmer

• Excellent insulative fur coat

• Rubbery, pliable bill

• Tail: broad, flat, fat-storage depot

• Front feet fully webbed, hind feet partially webbed

• No pouch: young live in a burrow until they are ready; one to three eggs, young suckle milk from the mother's fur around ventral openings of the mammary glands

• Uses bill to search for food

• Male spur: venom can be lethal to small mammals, but not humans

Platypus characteristics (regarding sex)

Both sexes have spurs, but female loses it after 3 months of life

Types of Marsupials

• Biggest is the red kangaroo; smallest long-tailed Planigale

• Possum, Tasmania devil, koala

• Only one in North America is Virginia opossum

• Short tailed opossum (south America): lacks a pouch and babies cling to moms teats

Suite of interactions

occur between two or more individual animals, usually of the same species, when they form simple aggregations, cooperate in sexual or parental behavior, engage in disputes over territory and access to mates, or simply communicate across space

Can Microbes Encourage Altruism?

Yes?

Turicibacter sanguinis and Clostridium in a healthy colon drive intestinal cells to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin, which then circulates in the blood. Serotonin affects intestinal muscle tone, but it is also the neurotransmitter on which drugs like Prozac act to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression.

This might in principle be a way for intestinal parasites to influence a host’s GI motility/function and mental state

“Social”

often connotes amicable interaction, but competition frequently occurs

Modern view social behavior

it is a product of the competing interests of the individuals involved

Animal Social Behavior Examples

• Female moth emitting pheromones to attract male potential mates

• Red deer rutting to signal dominance and keep other males away

Social Living benefits

• Defense against predators

  • Strength in numbers

  • Dilution effect (he might not get me!!)

• Improved efficiency of foraging

• Subordinates may live with big group

• Some males may cuckold others

• Opportunity to increase reproductive ability

  • Tossing eggs of others

  • Dumping eggs into others' nests

Social Living Cost

• Eye-catching of grouped individuals to predators

• Transmission of diseases, parasites

• Competition for food among members

• Time/ energy subordinate members expend avoiding dominant individuals

• Male vulnerability to cuckoldry

• Female vulnerability to egg tossing, dumping

Altruism definition

Refers to a behavior by an individual that increases the fitness of another individual while decreasing the fitness of the actor

Altruism Characteristics

• The Selfless concern for the welfare of others

• The Motivation to help others without reward

"The Selfless Gene"

Olivia Judson

Human nature has violence, treachery, cruelty but also produces kindness, generosity and heroism

"Do Animals Feel Empathy?"

Brain structure of humans vs other mammals

Limbic system

Charles Darwin

An exceptional scientist and observer. He treated behavior as an important part of an animal’s equipment for survival. He paved the way for objective scientific experiments and observations

Ivan Pavlov

• Experiments on classical conditioning

• career centered around the laboratory and controlled experiments. Through his experiments with dogs, he developed the key concept of the conditioned reflex

Konrad Lorenz

• Study imprinting

• possessed the conviction that an animal’s behavior, like its physical adaptations, was part of its equipment for survival and was the product of adaptive evolution. Imprinting

Karl Ritter Von Frisch

• Sensory perceptions of honey bees

• His work centered on investigations of the sensory perceptions of the honeybee and he was one of the first to translate the meaning of the waggle dance

Niko Tinbergen

• attempted to understand how the complex behavior machinery of each animal helps it to meet the many pressures of its environment.

• The “4 Whys”

• The Supernormal stimulus

The "4 whys”, what do they do?

Provide a comprehensive, logical approach to study behavior

4 major categories

Mechanism, ontogeny, adaptive value, and phylogeny

Proximate Definition

how an animal behaves; the genetic-developmental bases for behavior and the physiological (neural and hormonal) systems that provide the basis for the behavior

Proximate causes

Mechanism and Ontogeny

Mechanism (Causation)

the physiology of behavior; the mechanistic explanations of why various aspects of an animal’s physiology function and how those aspects contribute to behavior; identification of hormones and neurotransmitters that contribute to behavior

Ontogeny (Development)

How does the behavior change with age, experience and environment?

Ultimate definition

why an animal behaves as it does; the evolutionary causes of behavior (adaptive value of characteristics; how an ancestral trait became modified over time)

Ultimate causes

Adaptive value (Function) and Phylogeny (Evolution)

Adaptive value (Function)

How does the behavior help the organism/ species survive (reproductive fitness or "survival value")?

Phylogeny (Evolution)

How does this behavior evolve in the species?

Prairie voles form…

long-term social bonds w/ their mates and produce multiple litters together

Prairie (monogamous) and montane (polygamous)

Distribution of oxytocin vasopressin receptors in the brain, not the binding characteristics of the receptors, is different between these species due to a large number of vasopressin receptors (V1a) in ventral pallium

Copulation in Prairie Voles

some brain areas release large amount of vasopressin -> binds to ventral pallium vasopressin receptors (V1a) -> neural pathway of reward (positive feedback for mating behavior; brain physiology)

V1a receptor

encoded by the avpr1a gene that has a specific chuck of DNA that is lacking in the polygynous montane vole's version of the same gene

Why are Prairie Voles monogamous? Hormonal/ Nervous system mechanisms:

Proximate cause, bonding of vasopressin w/ (V1A receptors) triggers chemical activity that affects neural pathways, provides the male vole with positive rewards when with one female. They have more vasopressin receptors than other species of voles and therefore the reward for pair bonding is greater because of the vasopressin. This theory suggests that monogamy is a product of brain physiology

Why are Prairie Voles monogamous? Genetic/Developmental explanation

Proximate cause, The avpr1a gene codes for V1A protein receptor, Extra copies of gene in Ventral pallidum means male voles spend more time with partner than with a “stranger”– monogamous. The prairie vole has a genetic difference in the vasopressin receptor molecule. This theory suggests that monogamy is a product of a modified gene.

Why are Prairie Voles monogamous? Selection and adaption Explanation:

Ultimate cause, Mate guarding ensures that males will sire all of a female's offspring

Why are Prairie Voles monogamous? Evolutionary History

Ultimate cause, Certain related species are monogamous

Ancestry: In past, pairs that formed close bonds produced more surviving offspring than males that were polygynous

This theory suggests that monogamy is product of reproductive benefits

Why are Prairie Voles monogamous? Proximate causes

Hormonal/ Nervous system mechanisms

Genetic/Developmental explanation

Why are Prairie Voles monogamous? Ultimate causes

Selection and adaption Explanation

Evolutionary History

Behavior

all processes by which an animal senses the external world and the internal state of its body and responds to the changes which it perceives; “action”

Genetic Success

the ability to leave viable offspring

this is the only way that an individual is able to contribute his/her genes to the next generation

Evolution definition

involves changes in the gene structure of a population; a gradual change in the inherited traits of a population over many generations

Natural Selection Definition

favors those behaviors (individuals) which increase chances of survival and reproduction (success): occurs over a long period of time

What forces contribute to hereditary effects

Hybridization, Inbreeding, Selection

Hereditary Effects

Breed and strain differences that are usually of genetic origin

Dmitry Belyaev

Sliver foxes bred for “tamability.” Experiment was successful in that the foxes would seek human attention. Correlated changes in appearance occurred (phenotype)

Genetic variability

is necessary for genetic progress

Heritability

if high, indicates close association between phenotype and genotype, so genetic progress is relatively efficient

Artificial Selection

Animal Breeders may change behavior through selection, unaware of their influence. Selection for anatomical or productivity traits may change

anatomical or productivity traits may change due to artificial selection

• Irritability

• susceptibility to social stress

• reproductive capabilities

• behaviors, functional characteristics

• resistance/ susceptibility to disease

Fitness

The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce, in the environment in which they find themselves. The consequence of this survival and reproduction is that organisms contribute genes to the next generation.

Epigenetics

A mechanism for regulating gene activity independent of DNA sequence that determines which genes are on or off

Social behavior

any behavior caused by or affecting another animal (of the same or another species)

Sociobiology

biological basis of social behavior, implying evolution as the basic explanatory tool

Inclusive fitness

sum of an individual’s fitness measured by reproductive success and the fitness of relatives, weighted in proportion to their genetic distance from the individual (e.g., ground squirrels)

Allelomimetic behavior

behavioral activities that have strong components of social facilitation, imitation and group coordination, social learning; “contagious behavior”

Social facilitation

phenomenon in which behavior (instinctive pattern) of an animal increases the occurrence of the same behavior among its social partners (e.g., migration, dustbathing)

Premotor "Mirror" Neurons

Neurons that discharge both when the monkey makes a particular action and when it observes another individual making a similar action."resonance behaviors“

The "imitative" behaviors in birds

How do Mirror Neurons help songbirds stay in tune?

brain region HVC: part of the forebrain involved in singing

• Adult birds to keep their song

• Young birds to learn properly this song

Help to decode other's songs: territory defense

Development of Behavior

It is the result of an interaction between the genotype of a developing organisms and its environment (material and experiential environment)

“In garter snakes there is a gene for eating banana slugs”

a particular allele → if the distinctive protein is made along with a required gene and its environment interaction → potential operation of specific physiological mechanism to recognize slugs as food

What is the example of development of behavior in white-crowned sparrows.

different dialects; Acoustic experiences early in the animal’s life led to chemical changes in the bird’s brain.

Modification of the genetic pattern.

Subsequent genetic and neural changes in the physiological system

Epigenetics

“Altering gene function without altering DNA, but modifying the phenotype”

• Genes may turn on or off depending on environmental conditions, causing phenotypic differences

Learning

requires both genes and environment

example: Imprinting

Imprinting

a young animal’s social interactions lead to his learning to different things, along with an appropriate sexual partners

Adaptive developmental homeostasis

The ability of many animals to develop more or less normally despite defective genes and deficient environment

Switch Mechanisms

Learning mechanisms: enabling individuals to use their experience to make adaptive adjustments

in behavior that help individuals cope with a variable environment

• Taste aversion learning

  • Dietary specialist

how animals became well-suited with their normal environment

Selection:

• History of the species

• History of the individual

Species memory

passed from each generation to offspring in the next generation (encoded into the genome); the recorded history of adaptive changes in a species

History of the Species

An individual is born with favorable responses “built in” to the nervous system as a part of inherited structure

• “Instinctive” or “closed genetic program”

• Natural selection

• “Species memory”

History of the individual

An individual is able to modify behavior in light of experiences

• Learning

• Open genetic program

What happened with the rabbits in Australia

• They reproduced exponentially → destruction of large tracts of vegetation → extinction of many plant species. Loss of vegetation →no natural predators

• The introduction of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease or Rabbit Calicivirus (RHDV or RCD) helped control populations

Trophic Cascade: Why would a bunny bust lead to a native mammal boom?

• Ending of rabbit overgrazing: native vegetation to grow back, providing food and shelter for mice and mulgaras.

• Trapping record analysis: precipitous declines in rabbit predators such as feral cats and foxes

neural mechanisms constitute

proximate causes of behavior

Receptor cells

acquire sensory information form the environment → interneurons process the information → nerves → CNS → responses

Lizard Brain

Brain stem and cerebellum

• Autopilot

• Fight & Flight

Mammal Brain

Limbic Systems

• Emotions

• Memories

• Habits

• Attachments

Chemical Sense

taste and smell. Involves the detection of chemicals

Light Sense

Used by animals to determine the layout of their surroundings

Electric Sense

The rarest of all of the senses, is used by some fish to detect the presences of electric fields to communicate

Mechanical Senses

These can range from touch receptors to hearing

Star-nosed moles

highly developed touch to identify prey in the darkness

• tentacles around nose, sensory devices “Eimer’s Organs”

• somatosensory cortex

  • About 25% of the somatosensory cortex is dedicated to decode of the stimuli perceived by appendage 11: cortical magnification

cortical magnification

A key feature of primary somatosensory cortex organization (parietal lobe) that is preserved across mammalian species is that

different areas of the somatosensory surface are magnified depending on the behavioral relevance of the corresponding sensors

adaptive sensory biases