Behavioral Ecology and Social Behavior

These flashcards cover key concepts related to behavioral ecology, types of behaviors, the role of cognition, and the social dynamics of animal interactions.

Proximate Behaviors

Behaviors that answer the question HOW, focusing on immediate causes such as environmental influences, hormonal triggers, and genetic influences.

Ultimate Behaviors

Behaviors that answer the question WHY, focusing on the evolutionary significance of the behavior.

Innate Behavior

Behavior that is developmentally fixed and can be seen in species such as Kittiwake where chicks show innate aversion to cliff edges.

Fixed Action Patterns

Sequences of behaviors that are unchangeable and usually carried to completion once initiated, such as the Herring Gull's sign stimulus.

Cognition

The ability to be aware of the environment and make decisions based on that awareness.

Operant Conditioning

A form of learning based on trial and error, demonstrated by animals like coyotes learning not to touch porcupines.

Habituation

A learning process where animals ignore irrelevant stimuli over time.

Imprinting

A type of learning limited to a sensitive period, where young animals form attachments to the first moving object they encounter.

Altruism

Behaviors that are risky to an individual’s own fitness but increase the fitness of others.

Hamilton's Rule

A principle stating that natural selection favors altruistic acts when the benefit to the recipient multiplied by the coefficient of relatedness exceeds the cost to the altruist.

Kin Selection

A form of natural selection whereby individuals help raise the young of their relatives.

Territoriality

Behavior where individuals defend a particular area for access to resources such as food and mates.

Cooperative Behaviors

Social behaviors where individuals work together to obtain resources.

Agonistic Behaviors

Contests involving threats and submissive behaviors among individuals of the same species.

Dominance Hierarchies

A ranking of individuals within a group that often dictates access to resources and mating.

Communication Modes

Various methods animals use to convey information, including chemical, visual, and auditory signals.