BIOL 1442 Ch 45 Behavioral Biology

Behavior

the change in activity of an organism in response to a stimulus

Behavioral Biology

study of the biological and evolutionary bases for such changes

The most consequential sciences for the study of behavioral biology include

ethology and comparative psychology

innate behaviors

strong genetic component and are largely independent of environmental influences

learned behaviors

result from environmental conditioning

reflex action

involuntary and rapid response to stimulus

kinesis

undirected movement in response to a stimulus

taxis

directed movement towards or away from a stimulus

fixed action pattern

series of movements elicited by a stimulus such that even when the stimulus is removed, the pattern goes on to completion

migration

long-range seasonal movement of animals

only some species that migrate always migrate, which is known as

obligate migration

foraging

act of searching for and exploiting food resources

signals

way animals communicate with eachother; can be visual, chemical, aural, or tactile

pheromone

secreted chemical signal used to obtain a response from another individual of the same species

courtship displays

series of ritualized visual behaviors designed to attract and convince a member of the opposite sex to mate

aggressive displays

communicate not only the willingness of the animal to fight, but also its fighting ability

distraction displays

designed to attract a predator away from the nest

altruistic behaviors

behaviors that lower the fitness of the individual but increase the fitness of another individual

selfish gene

the sacrifice of an individual benefits related individuals that share genes that are identical by descent

kin selection

the lowering of individual fitness to enhance the reproductive fitness of a relative and thus one’s inclusive fitness

intersexual selection

individuals of one sex choose mates of the other sex

intrasexual selection

competition for mates between species members of the same sex

Intersexual selection is often complex because it may be based on a variety of

visual, aural, tactile, and chemical cues

monogamous system

one male and one female are paired for at least one breeding system

mate-guarding hypothesis

males stay with the female to prevent other males from mating with her

male-assistance hypothesis

males that help guard and rear their young will have more and healthier offspring

female-enforcement hypothesis

female ensures that the male does not have other offspring that might compete with her own

polygynous

one male mating with multiple females

polyandrous

one female mates with many males

simple learned behaviors include

habituation and imprinting

habituation

simple form of learning in which an animal stops responding to a stimulus after a period of repeated exposure

imprinting

type of learning that occurs at a particular age or a life stage that is rapid and independent of the species involved

conditioned behaviors

types of associative learning, where a stimulus becomes associated with a consequence

classical conditioning

a response called the conditioned response is associated with a stimulus that it had previously not been associated with, the conditioned stimulus

operant conditioning

conditioned behavior is gradually modified by its consequences as the animal responds to the stimulus

cognitive learning

the manipulation of information using the mind; the most prominent method of human learning

sociobiology

interdisciplinary science defined as the extension of population biology and evolutionary theory to social organization

The main thrust of sociobiology is that

animal and human behavior can be explained almost solely in terms of genetics and natural selection

sociobiology links genes with

behaviors