Animal Behavior

Behavioral ecology

study of how specific behaviors contribue to increased fitness

Behavior

action carried out by muscles under control of nervous system in response to stimulus

Innate behavior

not learned (instinctive) and biologically inherited, influenced by natural selection and should increase fitness, may require maturation to appear (ex. reflexes)

Reflex

involuntary action that occurs automatically in response to a stimulus

Simple reflex

fast, basic nervous system response involving directly connected neurons with one sensory input leading to one motor output ex. knee jerk reaction

Complex reflex

more complex nervous system response involving an interneuron in the spinal cord ex. touching something hot

Fixed action patterns

innate, complex behavioral response to specific “sign stimulus/releaser” that follows a predictable sequence of actions, not learned behavior, almost always carried out to completion once initiated, exhibited by all members of the species

Examples of fixed action patterns

Graylag goose egg rolling, male stickleback fish attacking object with red underside, spider webs

Imprinting

when a long-lasting behavioral response is established in response to a specific individual, object, or location; occurs during specific time period in development called “sensitive/critical period”

Examples of imprinting

Graylag goslings imprint on any moving object during first day of life, salmon imprint on odors associated with birthplace (can travel thousands of miles away and back)

Learned behavior

develops and changes as a result of experience and environmental interaction

Learning

process of developing and modifying behavior based on experience

Associative learning

ability to recognize/learn that two stimuli/behaviors/events are connected

Types of associative learning

classical conditioning, operant conditioning, spatial learning, observational learning

Classical conditioning

associating a biological response to a neutral stimulus for purpose of converting a neutral stimulus to a conditioned stimulus to trigger a conditioned response ex. Pavlov’s dogs

Operant conditioning

learning where animal modifies behavior through trial and error by associating it with reward or punishment

Spatial learning

process animals use to store information to better navigate their environment and remember specific locations ex. wasps associating pinecones with location of nest

Observational/social learning

by watching and imitating behavior or another without having any experience themselves ex. monkey see monkey do

Insight

when an animal is exposed to a new situation and without prior experience performs a behavior that generates a positive outcome

Habituation

learned behavior that leads to a decreased response to a repeated stimulus that has no effect over time

Spontaneous recovery

recovery of a response after habituation

Sensitization

increased response to repeated stimulus (opposite of habituation)

Stimulus generalization

tendency of a new stimulus to evoke a similar response as the conditioned stimulus

Stimulus discrimination

ability of an organism to differentially respond to slightly different stimuli

Animal communication

process by which one animal provides information to another animal for behavioral response

Types of animal communication

chemical, visual, auditory, tactile

Pheromones definition and functions

chemical signals released by animals to trigger a social response in members of the same species; communication, attract mates, mark territory, accelerate reproductive maturity

Releaser pheromones

trigger immediate behavioral changes (ex. ants leading other ants, fish alarm pheromones)

Primer pheromones

cause long term physiological changes (ex. queen bee blocks ovary development in workers, exposure to male pheromones accelerates maturity in female mice)

Territoriality

defense of a physical area against outside individuals

Courtship rituals

specific behaviors and displays animals use to communicate their fitness, availability, and willingness to made

Kinesis

non-directional movement of an organism in response to a stimulus, involves rate of movement (ex. randomly moving woodlouse slows down in favorable dry environment)

Taxis

directional movement in response to a stimulus, involves a change in direction (positive taxis toward, negative taxis away, ex. moth moving to light positive phototaxis)

Migration

a regular or seasonal long-distance change in location

Altruistic behavior

action by an animal that benefits another individual at the cost of putting itself at risk

inclusive fitness

a combination of direct fitness and indirect fitness (relatives)

Kin selection

form of natural selection where individuals are more likely to help close relatives

Reciprocal altruism

occurs when unrelated members of same species help each other with expectation that they will receive help in return at a later point in time

Polygyny vs polyandry

male with multiple females vs female with multiple males

Mate choice copying

occurs when animals in a population copy the mating choices of others (can be overcome by high quality mate option, high competition, etc)

Game theory

success of a particular behavior (reproductive strategies) is dependent on the strategies/behaviors used by others in the population (ex. rock paper scissors of lizards)

Semelparity

when an animal only reproduces once before death (tends to have lots of babies and low survival odds ex. salmon)

Iteroparity

when an animal reproduces multiple times over the course of its lifetime (tends to have few babies with high survival odds ex. humans)

Foraging behavior

how animals search for, recognize, and capture food

Search images

help animals find favored and typical foods based on specific and abbreviated target images (ex. birds broadly scan for distinctive features associated with prey)

Concealment

animal is hidden from a predator’s view from formation of large group

Animal behavior in groups

concealment, vigilance, defense

Concealment strategies

group size, dilution effect, confusing visual signals

Dilution effect

in a big group, individual risk of being targeted is lower (“diluted”)

Collective vigilance

behavioral adaptation in which animals living in groups take turns monitoring their surroundings while others can forage or sleep

Offensive grouping

AKA pack formation, allows successful attack of larger prey