Animal Behavior Exam 2 Terminology

Migration

Migration

the movement of organisms over long distances; the seasonal movement of animals from one region to another

Orientation

an organisms preferred direction of movement

Navigation

use of cues for directions during migration

Stopover

a resting/refueling site visited during migration

Dispersal

movement of individuals from one location to another

Emigration

out of subpopulation

Immigration

into a subpopulation

Active dispersal

mobile organisms (walking, flying, swimming, etc)

Passive dispersal

dispersal with the aid of another organism (seen in mostly stationary organisms, insects, aquatic invertebrates and larvae

Dispersal agent

mobile organism or another environmental feature (wind and water currents) that facilitates passive dispersal of another organism

Assisted dispersal

human activity expands the range of a species (intentionally or unintentionally

Learning

context-specific change in capacity for behavior as a result of stored information from previous experience

Filtration

separate useful information from unnecessary information

Focused learning

information with critical immediate survival value (burned into memory)

Generalized learning

conditions future behavior, problem solving

Short-term learning

memory stored and available for a short-time (seconds to minutes, 6-7 bits)

Long-term learning

memory stored over an extended time (week to months)

Long-lasting learning

memory stored for months → lifetime and triggered by strength of stimuli and association

Habituation

learned reduction in response to a stimulus that has proven repeatedly to be harmless

Sensitization

increase in responsiveness to a stimulus due to experience with that stimulus

Associative learning

learned association between 2 events where certain conditions are associated with certain outcomes

Classical conditioning

animal associates a relevant stimulus (unconditioned stimulus) with an irrelevant stimulus (conditioned stimulus) to generate a conditioned response

Reinforcement

increases likelihood of the behavior being repeated

Punishment

decreases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated

Learning Curve

Quantifications of a rate of learning from a particular stimuli (Hermann Ebbinghaus 1885) a visualization of
learning w/time trials on x-axis & learning performance on y axis.

Forgetting

loss of learning/memory due to failure to reinforce a memory

Extinction learning

gradual decrease in response to a conditioned stimulus when the stimulus is presented without reinforcement

Cognition

ability of an animal to separate itself from the moment, contemplate the past and the future, and adjust present actions

Insight learning

sudden realization of the solution of any problem without repeated trials or continuous practices

Mental time travel

thinking about the past and using that information to inform future plans/actions

Play

engagement of an animal in seemingly purposeless activity that has no immediate apparent survival value

Object play

inanimate objects

Locomotor play

Vertical leaps, bucks, somersaults, handstands, etc.

Functions: motor skill development, endurance and strength (muscle fiber development), cerebellum synapse develop (limb coordination, movement)

Social play

forging social bonds (social cohesion), fine-tuning motor skills, and development of cognitive skills

Aggression

behavior that appears to be intended to inflict noxious stimulation or destruction on another organism

Agonism

conflict between conspecifics (threats, submission, chase, combat)

War of attrition

display aggressively but not actually fight

Sequential aggression

series of “bouts”- continual assessment (sampling), sequential increase of aggression

Winner effect

winning past aggressive interaction increases probability of future wins

Loser effect

losing past aggressive interactions increases probability of future losses

Bystander effect

“eavesdropper” individual observes an aggressive interaction among others and changes assessment of those observed. (key to dominancy hierarchy dynamics)

Audience effect

individuals engaged in aggressive interactions change behavior if watched

Siblicide

killing of a sibling

goal: secure greater resources (via parental care) ***

Personality

inter-individual variation in behavioral traits

Communication

transfer of information by a signaler to a recipient (often eliciting a behavioral change)

Signal

any act or structure which carries a specific meaning and alters the behavior or other organisms- evolved specifically for communication

Co-opting

evolution of something the animal already does or has for use in communication

Ritualization

association through evolution of a meaning with a signal

Stereotypy

selection over time favors reduction in variation in the signal (meaning of signal clearly communicated)

Redundancy

>1 signal, offered in different modes to communicate same message (multi-modal)

Honest signaling

information being sent and received is true (mutual interest/benefit in result among sender and receiver)

Dishonest signaling

information being sent and received is false (one organisms exploits another-sends inaccurate signal) to improve fitness)

Cultural transmission

transfer of information from individual to individual through social learning or teaching individual’s phenotype

Social learning

learning facilitated by observation of/or interaction with another individual or its products

Teaching

learning in which one individual instructs and at least one other individual is a student

Vertical cultural transmission

information is transmitted across generations from parents to offspring

Oblique cultural transmission

transfer of information across generations (not parent to offspring)

Horizontal cultural transmission

transmission of information among individuals of the same age group (peers)

Imitation

acquisition of topographically novel response through observation of a demonstrator

Copying

observer repeats what a model does, but does not need to be novel nor involve learning (something already learned)

Tradition

when a new preference emerges and becomes commonplace within a group