Animal Behavior and Welfare Exam 1

Gaab-Kuntzmann Fall 2026

Ethology

Observation and detailed description of behavior of animals, with the objective of finding out how biological mechanisms function

Behavior

Way in which an organism outwardly acts in response to an external or internal stimulus

Charles Darwin

• On the Origin of Species

• Evolution, basis of biology

• Behavior in context of evolution and natural selection

George Romanes

• Comparative Psychology

• Animal Intelligence anecdotal essay, v anthropomorphic

Comparative Psychology

Animal behavior studied in the lens of human behavior

C. Lloyd Morgan

• “Morgan’s Canon” - assume behavior is as simple as possible

• Behaviorism

Behaviorism

Assume no higher reasoning until proven

Fixes anthropomorphism of comparative psych, but it assumes no reasoning capacity

Studies behavior independent of mental stage, only input and output

E.L. Thorndike

• Comparative psych, v. scientific

• Puzzle boxes + operative conditioning

• Concluded animals solve puzzles by only trial and error

Operative conditioning

Animal learns that

• neutral stimulus requires performing a task

• reinforcement effect can be positive or negative

• also called instrumental conditioning

• Produce specific response as a result of an association with a stimulus that is intrinsically important

• “The behavior is the instrument by which the reinforcement is obtained”

B.F. Skinner

“Skinner Boxes” to study operant conditioning

Ivan Pavlov

• classical (Pavlovian) conditioning

• actual piece of shit

Classical Conditioning

• Neutral stimulus provokes biologically important stimulus → reflexive response

• Eventually, neutral stimulus causes reflexive response through association

• Neutral “conditioned stimulus” is immediately followed by an “unconditioned stimulus” that is important to the animal, resulting in a response.

• Stimuli are associated long enough that the conditioned stimulus elicits the response without the unconditioned stimulus

What is the main difference between classical and operative conditioning?

Operative conditioning requires learning a task, classical conditioning does not

Who was one of the first individuals to use animal behavior as a way to better understand human behavior, by comparing subjective experiences and feelings?

George Romanes

Who is best known for utilizing puzzle boxes to conclude that animals learn by trial and error?

E.L. Thorndike

Why is Behaviorism referred to as the “black box” approach to studying behavior?

Because the mind of an animal was considered an empty, unimportant “black box”

Margaret Floy Washburne

• 1st woman to get psych PhD

• “The Animal Mind”, collection of animal behavior research

• motor theory of consciousness

Motor Theory of Consciousness

Compromise between behaviorism and consciousness

Karl Von Frisch

• Honeybee waggle dance

• More complicated thinking than just reactiveness

Konrad Lorenz

• Sign stimulus

• Fixed action pattern

Sign Stimulus

stimulus that elicits strong immediate behavioral responses

Fixed Action Pattern

Predictable behavior that occurs in response to sign stimulus

Nikolaas Tinbergen

4 Questions to understand behavior

• Mechanism

• Adaptive Function

• Development (Ontogeny)

• Evolutionary History (Phylogeny)

• Standardized Method

Which of Tinbergen’s 4 Questions addresses HOW a behavior works on a physiological level as the animal is performing the behavior?

Mechanism

Mechanism

• What mechanism(s) underly behavior?

• What external stimuli elicit behavior?

• What neural circuits are involved?

• What hormones are involved?

Adaptive Function

• How is the behavior useful to the animal today?

• Selective advantage?

• How does the behavior improve fitness now?

Development (Ontogeny)

• How did behavior develop in the life of the animal?

• When does the behavior show up?

• What experiences shaped the behavior?

Evolutionary History (Phylogeny)

• What normal, everyday activities do the behavior stem from?

• Why is there a particular response from other animals to this behavior?

• Why is the behavior evolutionarily favorable?

Which of the 4 questions is Proximate (how) and historical context?

Development (Ontogeny)

Which of the 4 questions is Ultimate (why) and Current context?

Adaptive Function

Which of the 4 questions is Ultimate (why) and Historical context?

Evolutionary History (Phylogeny)

Observational method of studying behavior

• Just watch

• Nature, lab, etc

• Risk of assuming causation

Experimental method of studying behavior

• Controlled for variables

• Manipulate specific features

• Allows causation assumption

Comparative method of studying behavior

• Between species

• Use phylogeny to trace how and why behavior exists

• Can determine extinct species behavior by comparing to today

Presence/Absence of behavior

Is it happening or not?

Frequency of occurrence of behavior

How often does the behavior happen? Once a day? Once every 3 years? Is it repeated back-to-back?

Duration of activity

How long is the animal performing the behavior before stopping?

Intensity of activity

Are they performing the behavior with intense focus? Can they be easily interrupted?

Timing of behavior, related to other activities

What time of day does the behavior occur? Does it occur related to feeding, socializing, etc?

Latency of occurrence

How long before behavior occurs again, after the last time it happened?

How should you describe behavior?

Be objective, not interpretive

What is the correct way to describe this chicken’s behavior?

“The chicken is standing in place with an elongated neck and body position, with its wings up and its feet on the ground”

Ways to be descriptive

• Individual muscle movements

• Muscle group movements

• Whole limb movements

• Parts of body relative to other parts of body

• Whole animal movements

• Effect on environment

• Effect on another individual

Ethogram

A list and description of the types of behaviors performed by particular individuals in a particular environment

State

Long duration with start and stop points

Event

Short duration with less clear start and stop points

Ad-Libitum Behavior Recording

• Similar to AL feeding, as much as you can/want

• Any behavior you feel is interesting

• Good for early research stages

• Not great for actual data collection

• Behavior-based sampling

Behavior-based sampling

What you record is dependent on the behavior that you are seeing

Conspicuous/Continuous Behavior Recording

• Continuous observation, but looking for certain kinds of behaviors and only recording those

• Can also be recorded automatically

• Used mostly for rare behaviors that may otherwise be missed

• Miss other behaviors that may be important

Time-based sampling

What you record is based on timing

Point/Instantaneous/Scan Sampling

• Observe @ regular predetermined points in time, recording behavior of interest if in that time

• You may miss rare events

• You have trouble recognizing behaviors that take a time to be certain of

• You can do this when you have many animals and one person

• Time-based

Period Occurrence/One-Zero Sampling

• Whether or not behaviors were observed within a set time period are recorded as a “yes” or no”

• 1 if occurred, 0 if not occurred

• You don’t miss rare events

• You don’t get an accurate representation of the length of duration of each behavior

• Must have short time between observation periods

• Time-based

Domestication

• Where we draw the line between natural selection and artificial selection; necessitates artificial selection

• Adapting wild animals and plants to man and to the captive environment for human use by a combo of genetic changes and environmentally induced events, over the course of generations

• Goal: to meet human-specific requirements

• Can be domesticated for food/fiber, companionship, work

• All tend to be more docile than wild counterparts

What is the term for a specific cue, often visual, that triggers a predictable behavioral response?

Sign Stimulus

What is the major difference between “taming” and “domesticating” animals?

Timeline: a lifetime vs. generations

True or false: there is NO proof that animals raised in isolation do any worse as adults than animals that are raised in social situations, and that is simply an anthropomorphic opinion.

False, there IS proof

Artificial Selection

Direct human intervention over what traits are passed down through generations

Taming

Behavioral modification of an individual; requires abolishing fear of humans, by habituation to humans and human-related things.

Doing this to an animal does not override its innate instincts; complicated species still have complicated thought processes and instincts

Feral animals

• Captive animals that have escaped or have been placed into the wild

• Revert back to wild behaviors and physiologies within relatively few generations

• Have little/no dependence on humans

• Not all wild animals that have been tamed can/should be released in to the wild

Development of a trait

Genotype + Environment, nature + nurture

A to G substitution in the DA D4 receptor gene results in?

More curious thoroughbreds

Foals fed a high fat/fiber diet were more what than foals fed high starch/sugar diets?

Curious

Heifer calves kept in individual pens over 8 months were what?

Socially Stunted, and calves raised in pairs fare better

(Rhesus Monkey Experiment) Infant monkeys given opportunity to spend times with others had what outcome in comparison to those isolated?

Social monkeys more normal

Sensitive Phase

Time @ which a small amount of experience can have a major effect on the animal’s later behavior

Timeline is behavior-specific

Can appropriate behavior be learned later in life, after the sensitive phase?

Yes, but it is more difficult

Behavioral Genetics

How genetics can influence an individual behavior, often a result of selective breeding and domestication

Individual gene identified as responsible behavior- feline

“A” form of a particular oxytocin receptor allele results in female spayed cat that tends to be more dominant/aggressive

Heritable trait

Passed from parent to offspring

Feline example of heritable trait

The ways in which cats respond to strangers, rats, and aggressive adult cat sounds (defensiveness vs submissiveness) is related to how their parents respond

Feline Genetic example: coat color

• Sex-linked female orange cats, black & white cats, and gray & white cats are more frequently aggressive toward humans

• Siamese & Tonkinese color patterned cats are more likely to have separation-related issues

Canine example of breed differences: ability to follow human pointing gesture

Border collies > Airedales > Andalusian shepherds

Canine examples of breed differences: Reaction to punishment (“no” + newspaper swat)

• Basenjis do not gaf

• Beagles listen and correct actions

Canine examples of breed differences: training to sit, heel, and stay/jump on command

• Cocker spaniels excelled and learned quickly

• Shelties got their leashes tangled

Canine examples in Heritability

• Golden retrievers: Aggression highly heritable (0.9)

• Police German Shepherds: Hyperactivity and impulsivity are heritable traits that have been traced to variants of the dopamine receptor allele

Equine examples: Breed Differences

Quarter horses are faster learners than Thoroughbreds when learning visual discrimination tasks

Equine examples: Coat differences

Tennessee waling horse: bay mares are more likely to exhibit separation anxiety vs black mares

Beef cattle breed differences

Angus more likely than Simmental to show maternal protectiveness

Cattle Hair Whorls

Cattle w/lower facial hair whorls calmer than those with whorls located higher on the face

Savaging in Sows

Attacking their own piglets; thought to be highly heritable

Breed differences in pigs

• Yorkshires more aggressive than Berkshires

• Male Hampshires assert more dominance over females than male durocs

• Landrace ad more likely to have low libido

Breed differences in Sheep

• Forest breeds are more likely to stay close together than mountain breeds

• Merino sheep more likely to abandon a twin than Dorsets or Romneys

• Tunis known to be uniquely calm and docile

Cognition

The mechanisms by which animals acquire, process, store, and act on info from the environment

Includes perception, learning and memory, decision making, navigation, communication, language, and reasoning

Is cognitive ability the same for every individual?

No, animals have different sensory and physical capabilities and different ways in which they process info

Umwelt

The specific way in which an animal experiences and interacts with their environment; highly individualistic

Cognitive Abilities

Increase with time and expertise; not always clear what is intentional vs innate, stimuli can also affect and alter components of the behavior

Cognitive representation of objects

Picture objects without the object being explicitly in front of them

Object permanence

Understanding that objects still exist when out of sight

Copying actions

Learning by observation requires significant level of cognitive ability, depends on action being copied and physical capability

Detour paradigm

Modifying information about the location of a resource in able to obtain it, like going around a fence or wall to get food

Other cognitive ability examples

Mirror, self, and object recognition

Time estimation/delayed gratification

Metacognition

To know what you do know and be aware that there are things that you dont know

Does brain size = Brain function?

No, brain : body weight ratio is the most important

it’s about what you need to do with your brain, larger brains are energy expensive

Brain Function vs. Anatomy

Different parts of the brain express complex analytical functions.

Some mammals: high lv. analysis in Cortex

Birds: comparable lv. of analysis in Striatum

Fish: Same basic function, but in different places, and have some structures that do not exist in mammals

Memory

The ability to store, retain, and retrieve learned information over time

Short-term memory

Seconds-minutes in animals

Long-term memory

Anything longer than seconds-minutes

Learning

A change in the brain, which results in behavior being modified for longer than a few seconds, as a consequence of info from outside the brain

Reinforcement of behavior

Perpetuating, or encouraging it to continue

Punishment of behavior

Reducing, or encouraging it to disappear