PN2002 - Comparative Psychology: Lecture 5 (Predator & Anti-Predator Behaviour)

Flashcards covering predator and anti-predator behavior, including prey selection, detection, antipredatory tactics, and the effects of stress.

Umwelt

The perceptual world in which an organism exists and acts as a subject; highlights that organisms only perceive a limited piece of the world.

The Life-Dinner Principle

Predator and prey have different pressures; the cost of failure is higher for the prey, leading to stronger natural selection for escape mechanisms.

Generalist Predator

A predator that consumes a wide variety of prey types. For example, Siberian Tigers.

Specialist Predator

A predator that focuses on a specific type of prey. For example, the Hibernian Lynx who specializes in catching rabbits.

Genetic Predisposition (Prey Selection)

Innate preference to a particular type of prey due to genetics within a species or population. For example, some snake populations develop a predispostion for consuming toads or fish.

Individual Learning (Prey Selection)

Learning through sampling new items; avoiding items that cause illness and consuming more of the items that don't. For example, Mice, Rats and their sampling of new food items.

Social Learning (Prey Selection)

Learning to eat what others eat; offspring learn from their mothers which foods are good to eat. For example, Wild Pigs and their young learning to eat nuts and berries.

Principle of Proper Mass

Larger cortical sensory regions are associated with enhanced discriminative abilities; cortical representation in the brain are much greater than other species that don't have that sensory.

Taste Aversion

A form of classical conditioning where a taste is associated with nausea or sickness, leading to avoidance of that taste. Also known as the Garcia Effect.

Predator Fear

Fear that predators feel when predator is around or when they detect cues that indicate the presence of a predator. Different from the fear of pain and fear of conspecifics.

Primary Defences

Antipredatory tactics employed prior to an attack or detection; includes immobilization, crypsis (camouflage), mimicry, and alarm calling.

Crypsis

Defense, also known as camouflage, in which a species adapts to surrounding in order to not be detected.

Aposematic Coloration

Bright coloration to warn others; coloration to warn predators you are dangerous. Examples: bees, wasps and hornets.

Secondary Defences

Antipredatory tactics employed after an attack or detection; includes immobilization (death feigning), flight, chemical defense (toxin sequestering), and attack (mobbing).

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Axis (HPA)

The axis that includes the Hypothalamus, Pituitary Gland, and Adrenal Corticoid Gland. Stress is linked to this.

Acute Stress

Sudden, onset duration and beneficial by providing: Energy Mobilization and Activates Fight or flight Response

Chronic Stress

Occurs repeatedly, bombarded with stress and can be Deleterious by providing: Reproductive Suppression, Depressed immune response, Arrested growth and Eventual premature death

Epigenetic

Changes in gene function that do not involve changes in DNA sequence.