Animal Behavior

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the study of animal behavior, including definitions and explanations of various terms.

Umwelt

The point of view of a particular animal; the organism’s subjective world.

Ethology

The study of animal behavior in natural environments.

Proximate cause

Immediate factors that explain why an animal exhibits a certain behavior.

Ultimate cause

Macro-evolutionary factors that explain why a behavior persists in a population.

Stereotyped behavior

An unchanging response to certain conditions, also known as a fixed action pattern.

Releaser

A stimulus that triggers a stereotyped behavior.

Optimal foraging theory

An explanation of food-related behaviors which balances benefits and costs of foraging.

Hamilton’s rule

A principle that describes how an individual can increase their evolutionary fitness by helping relatives.

Eusociality

A social structure where cooperation is maximized among non-reproductive individuals to increase inclusive fitness.

Agonistic behavior

Behaviors related to fighting, including territoriality and ritualized threat displays.

Cooperative behavior

Behaviors where individuals work together for mutual benefits, such as hunting or caring for offspring.

Brownian motion

A random motion pattern used in foraging when prey is evenly distributed.

Levy flights

A foraging pattern where animals search for food using a non-linear path, typically when prey is unevenly distributed.

Comparative psychology

The study of general rules of behavior that apply to both humans and other animals.

Behavioral ecology

The study of the evolutionary and environmental context of animal behavior.

Sociobiology

The use of ethology to study social behavior in animals.