BIOA02 Lec 02 Animal Behaviour

  • Habituation: A learned behavior where an organism stops responding to a stimulus after repeated exposure without any threat.

  • Sensitization: An increased reaction to a stimulus following exposure to a noxious or strong stimulus.

  • Associative Learning: Learning that occurs when an association is formed between a stimulus and a response.

  • Innate Behavior: Behavior that is genetically inherited and does not require learning.

  • Key Learning Objectives:

    • Understand the significance of genetic, nervous system, and hormonal influences on behavior.
    • Differentiate between dispersal (permanent movement) and migration (regular round-trip movements).
    • Identify and describe various hypotheses explaining animal dispersal, such as competition and inbreeding avoidance.

  • Nervous System and Behavior:

    • Afferent Pathways: Carry sensory information to the CNS.
    • Efferent Pathways: Carry motor commands away from the CNS.
    • Feature Detection: Specialized receptors responding to critical environmental signals.

  • Hormonal Influence on Behavior:

    • Hormones can result in long-lasting behavior changes by signaling between different body parts.
    • Experiments illustrate the physiological role of hormones in reproductive readiness.

  • Artificial Selection: Breeding organisms to enhance desirable traits, demonstrating genetic influence on behavior. Example: Silver Fox domestication.

  • Habitat Selection: Decisions made by organisms based on resource availability and competition levels. Relevant hypotheses include resource competition and inbreeding avoidance.

  • Dispersal vs. Migration:

    • Dispersal: Movement from one area to another without return, often to reduce competition or inbreeding.
    • Migration: Seasonal or periodic round trips between locations; orientation and navigation are critical processes. Orientation uses cues such as the sun, stars, and geomagnetic signals.

  • Biological Clocks: Enable animals to organize their activities based on daily, lunar, or annual cycles affecting migration and behavior.

  • Examples of Migration and Homing: Monarch butterflies use a sun compass for navigation, while homing pigeons rely on multiple cues including a sun compass and geomagnetic compass.