Behavioral Ecology

These flashcards cover key concepts, types of behavior, forms of behavior, and the evolutionary causes of behavior in the context of behavioral ecology.

What is behavior in the context of behavioral ecology?

Behavior is a response to a stimulus.

What ranges can behavior display within a single species?

Behavior may range from highly stereotyped, invariable responses to highly flexible, conditional responses and from unlearned to learned responses.

How does behavior increase the fitness of individuals?

Behavior increases fitness by aiding in locating mates, locating food, and avoiding predation.

What are Fixed Action Patterns (FAPs)?

Fixed Action Patterns are innate, inherited, invariable behaviors that are highly stereotyped responses specific to a species.

What is the significance of releasers in FAPs?

Releasers are stimuli that initiate Fixed Action Patterns.

How does learning modify behavior?

Learning is an inherited framework that can be modified by experience, crucial for animals with large brains or living in complex social groups.

What is imprinting in terms of learning?

Imprinting is a rapid, irreversible learning process during a critical period that increases fitness by allowing young to quickly acquire survival skills.

What forms of communication exist in social behavior?

Communication modes include acoustic, visual, olfactory, or tactile signals.

What is the difference between aggregations and social behavior?

Aggregations involve individuals brought together by environmental factors without interaction, while social behavior involves a group of interacting individuals.

What are the evolutionary causes of behavior regarding feeding strategies?

Feeding strategies enhance an individual's ability to locate and capture food, including pursuit, ambush, and cooperative hunting.

How does avoiding predation relate to individual survival?

Avoiding predation increases an individual's survival rate through defensive postures, camouflage, and social behaviors like associating in groups.

What is the role of courtship behavior in evolution?

Courtship behavior alerts potential mates of readiness and helps strengthen bonds between conspecific mates.