Ch. 22 - Communication Mammalogy [Dr.Wood]

Behavior; Why is it difficult to study?

Hard to study, nocturnal, small, secretive

Neocortex

advance processing of sensory input, coordinate behavior

Display

conveys message from 1 indvl to another

Message

describes the sender's state

Meaning; The importance of another understand in a message?

It must be received by another individual

Signal

physical form in which a message is sent in the environment

Adaptive

signal/response enhances survival,reproduction; controlled by genetics/natural selection

Ritualized

exaggerated, repeated but with minimal amt energy spent

Deceit

Rare, natural selection favors ignoring deceit/punishing deceit

Northern elephant seal

Young males mimic females to sneak copulations

• Females vocalize loudly, so the harem master chases off young male impostors, and the youg male can die

Discrete

signals sent in a simple either/or manner

Equids

•ear position, mouth opening

•Hostility: flat ears; friendliness = raised ears

Graded

signals are more variable, different intensities

Composite

signals: more than or equal to 2 signals

Syntax

The order of signals

Context

situation dependent

Odor

•Earliest form (pheromones)

•Mate i.d., attraction, spacing, alarm, terr.

• Nocturnal, persistent

Priming pheromones

cause physiological changes in an animal that ultimately result in a behavioral response.

Signaling pheromones

immediate motor response (mounting)

Flehmen

Retract the upper lip after/during olfaction

Sound

• flexible traits

• Frequency, modulation changes

Sound window

ideal frequency range for a species. Blue monkeys high pitch, Howler monkeys low frequency.

Echolocation

Found in bats

Extra cred: Noctoid Moth

•tympanic membrane for hearing, but don't vocalize

• Listen for sound waves from bats/evade

• Also jamming sounds

foot drumming

Banner-tailed kangaroo rats use for territoriality

Elephant Rumbles

Elephants' 14-35 Hz can be heard over several km

Visual displays

location in space-time in Daylight, short-distance signaling

Flagging behavior example

white-tailed deer

Flagging Behavior Functions

1. Distract the predator from others

2. warn herd

3. Confuse the predator with group display

4. loss of surprise

5. elicit premature pursuit

6. intraspecific social signal

Lion's mane

Females prefer males w/darker mane, rival males avoid darker-maned males

Touch: tactile grooming

• Remove ectoparasites, enhance social bonding in social species

• Try to groom individuals of higher rank

• Groom kin over non-kin

Tactile stimulation

can initiate ovulation, positioning for copulation

Spacing signals

1. distance-increasing

2. distance-maintaining (home ranges)

3. distance-reducing

4. proximity-maintaining (grooming)

Species recognition

reduce infertile matings with other species

Kin recognition

reduces inbreeding by knowing familly

Phenotype matching

visual, but most likely olfactory recognition (rodents)

Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)

immune system recognition of self/non-self

Grivet monkeys: Case Study

Use different calls for different predators. Look in different strata for different predators (snakes, eagles, leopards), and their ID improves with age

rally

African wild dogs: rally before hunt to synchronize behavior

Agonistic behavior

offensive/defensive behaviors given

Agonistic behavior Functions:

1. territoriality

2. dominance

3. sexual

4. parental

Exploitation

deprive others of resources

Home range

range covered by a mammal over its lifetime

Core area

heavy use area w/in the Home range

Territory

defended area w/in Home range

Economic defensability

benefits outweigh costs, or must reduce HR/T size

Lek

topis, males congregate, display, females visit the lek to find a mate

Dominance

social groups, access limited by dominance displays

Dominance 4 possibilities:

1. linear dominance hierarchy

2. 1 dominant indvl, others equally subordinate

3. circular dominance

4. coalitions/alliances

Physiological consequences of dominance

Subordinates have poor condition, malnourished/diseased

What is the effect on Subordinates from a dominant male

high levels of glucocortical hormones than the dominants

Infanticide

Ex: hanuman langur monkeys

• New male kills older male, infants

• Females enter estrus when they lose their young

• New male breeds females

creches

Females form ______to protect young

Facultative siblicide

Found in spotted hyenas

• Poor food supplies, siblings fight, often to death, especially if same sex

• If food supplies are good, no siblicide, but instead form strong bonds