Exam 1 Review

Covering Ch.1-4

Chapter 1: Principles of Animal Behavior

1. What are the 3 foundations of ethology?

• Natural selection
• Learning
• Cultural transmission (aka social learning)

2. Know precise definitions for the following terms: ethology, natural selection, evolution, individual learning, cultural transmission, social learning

Ethology: the study of animal behavior, combines insights from biologists, anthropologists, mathematicians, economists, and psychologists

Natural selection: process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Evolution: the rise of species through mutation and natural selection

Individual learning: Learning from previous experiences

Cultural transmission: situations where animals learn something by copying the behavior of others (same as social learning?), vertical (parent to offspring) and horizontal (individual to individual), Passed down through generations

Social learning: same as cultural i think, Herd mentality

3. Peter and Rosemary Grant studied finches on the Galapagos Islands. What did they learn?

How the songs of different birds are a cultural transmission. Finches learn it from their paternal line of genetics.

4. Why were African mole rats xenophobic (Andrew Spinks, in case we need to know)? In what ways was this behavior manifest? What other species did we discuss in class that also display xenophobic behaviors?

The arid rats were more competitive than the mesic (moist environment) rats because in the arid there are more scarce resources. They were more aggressive in male-male and female-female interactions, more tolerant when there is a possible mate. Probably the bears and their charge distance in relation to population density (more bears leads to shorter distance in which they will charge a human).

Resource availability with bears in Katmai versus Denali. The Katmai bears had an abundance of food so why waste energy competing. Whereas in Denali there is not an abundance of food so the food is worth fighting for. Like Hangry bears.

5. Dukas and Bernays studied learning in grasshoppers. What did they learn?

Foraging grasshoppers could remember scent and color of food that is more nutritious to them when given choice between deficient and superior diets. They made associations and when they switched the food they were confused at first but over time still chose nutritious. Found those that selected for nutritious grew to maturity much faster than deficient, those that used the cues achieved maximum fitness rate.

6. Galef and Wigmore studied cultural transmission in rats. What did their studies show?

Rats were in two different groups, one group would be “foragers” and the other “non-foragers” . There were food sources that the “foraging” rats could find and some sources were better than others. When the foragers went back to the group the researchers then had the “non foragers” go out and the “non-foragers” knew the location of the “better food” because it learned from the “foraging” rats through cultural transmission.

7. Be able to describe the difference between conceptual, theoretical, and empirical approaches in ethology.

Conceptual: Integrating formerly disparate and unconnected ideas. Tends to create experimental work

Theoretical: typically generates a model, usually mathematical of a behavior

Empirical: designed to test theories and concepts that have been proposed as explanations for behavior, gathering data by observation and experiment

Chapter 2: Natural Selection

1. What is the difference between ultimate and proximate questions that can be asked in an ethological context?

• Proximate: How is that…? What is that..? Involves factors that are immediate
  • What an animal does, such as daily food choices.
• Ultimate: WHY is that…? Involves factors that are evolutionary.
  • Why the animal chooses that food, typically something like over time that food source has provided the greatest nutritional value.

2. Define artificial selection and be able to provide an example of it.

• Humans choosing certain varieties of an organism over others or Humans selecting and breeding for specific traits in animals.
• Nature is not making the choices, humans are.

Ex: Darwin's pigeons: bred to have many different colors and tail feathers, OR corn: bred for thousands of years to be what it is today, OR dogs bred from wolves for specific characteristics like friendliness or specific looks. Teacup poodles were the example in the video.

3. What is natural selection? Be very specific in how it works.

Natural selection: process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

“If one variety of traits helps individuals survive and reproduce better in their environment than another variety and if the trait can be passed down across generations, then natural selection will operate to increase its frequency over time.”

4. What must be in place for natural selection to take place?

• Variation
• Fitness consequences associated with differences in trait ( trait allows for greater fitness)
• Mode of inheritance

5. What role does genetic variation play in natural selection? How does it occur?

Variation that occurs from Mutation and plays a role in natural selection because if a mutation causes a trait that increases fitness of an animal that animal will breed and soon much of the population will have that trait.

Mutations: New variations in the population. Any change in the DNA

Genetic recombination: Swapping in new genetic variations

Migration: New individuals with different traits

6. How would you define fitness?

Ability of an organism to pass genes down into the next generation.

7. What is heritability?

Measure of the proportion of variance in a trait that is due to additive genetic variance

Broad sense = the total proportion of variation in a trait (eye colors can be blue, brown, green, etc)

Narrow sense = measures the proportion of genetic variance in a trait that is accessible to natural selection (does natural selection work on eye color for some type of advantage?)

8. What are Mendel’s rules for inheritance?

Principles of segregation

Law of independent assortment

Dominant and recessive genes

9. What is a gene? An allele? Polygenic trait?

An allele is a gene variant. One of two or more alternative forms of a gene.

Polygenic traits are traits that are associated with variation at more than one locus.

Gene: unit of heredity transferred from parents to offspring, determines some characteristic of offspring.

10. Richard Dawkins wrote about the selfish gene. Be able to explain this concept.

A model of evolution; a gene's eye view of natural selection. Genes are replicators and individuals are their vehicles. Basically they promote themselves.

Natural selection favors certain alleles that increase the expected relative reproductive success of their bearers.

The process of natural selection will choose these genes that help themselves

11. Reznick and colleagues studied anti-predator behavior in guppies. Be able to briefly summarize their findings.

• At high predation site guppies had faster reproduction, more, smaller babies, and put more resources into reproduction
• At low predation sites: slower reproduction to get bigger, have less, larger babies.
• Schooling : High predation sites: school more closely
• low predation: less schooling
• Guppies modify behavior based on predation pressure.

12. Define adaptation and brood parasitism. What benefits did brood parasitism confer on the parents?

Adaptation: traits associated with the highest relative fitness in a given environment, traits that natural selection molds

Brood Parasitism: animals that rely on others to raise their young (often the parasitic young will kill the true offspring to reduce competition)

• Benefits its parents by no need for hands on parenting so they can go have more broods, and their genes are still passed on

13. What is eusociality? What species exhibit this? What benefits accrue for eusocial animals?

Eusociality is the highest level of organization of sociality. Includes cooperative care, division of labor.

Increase in fitness through kinship theory. Food, resources, and protection within the group.

Ex: naked mole rats.

14. Be able to explain what kinship theory is.

The more related individuals are, the more you expect to see cooperation and altruism.

Example:

a. Naked mole rats: one queen and a few males that breed. The rest of the rats don’t live as long and are workers. (proximate)

b. Why? Ultimate: looked at DNA and all the mole rats were related. So they were dividing labor because it's your genes and still benefits your fitness.

15. What is a coalition? Give an example.

Cooperative action taken by two or more individuals or groups against another individual or group.

Ex: Cheetahs hunting and cooperating in groups.

Chapter 3: Proximate Factors

1. Explain how one can study behavior from both an ultimate and proximate perspective.

• Proximate: How is that…? What is that..? Involves factors that are immediate
• Ultimate: WHY is that…? Involves factors that are evolutionary.

Ex: finches

Proximate: What causes differences in color in males? Diet.

Differences between males and females in color? -> Different foraging behavior: males actively seek out carotenoid-based food females just eat whatever and don’t actively search.

Ultimate: Why do males (but not females) actively search for carotenoid-based foods.

Hypo: males receive benefits from colored plumage while females do not.

2. Why ask why questions when studying animal behavior?

Asking “what” questions are especially useful when you don’t know anything about a species. But once you know all the “what’s”, you need to know why.

Tom studied mountain sheep and figured out the types of habitats that each age group/gender would use. Once they figured out what the habitats were, they needed to know why they chose those things. When you understand why, you can make predictions about areas that haven’t been studied before

Understanding behavior is about both proximate and ultimate. Without the ultimate answer, we can’t fully understand their behavior.

3. Geoff Hill studied finch coloration from both an ultimate and proximate perspective. Be able to summarize his findings.

Finches

Proximate: What causes differences in color in males? Diet.

Differences between males and females in color? Different foraging behavior: males actively seek out carotenoid-based food females just eat whatever and don’t actively search.

Ultimate: Why do males (but not females) actively search for carotenoid-based foods.

Hypo: males receive benefits from colored plumage while females do not.

Mating opportunities, males with brighter colors had less parasites and fought off disease, signals they are good at finding food.

Color manipulation: Finches that were brightened got mates much faster than the finches that were dulled.

4. What is the endocrine system? The General Adaptive Syndrome? How does it work?

Endocrine: hormone system in the body.

Hormone: chemical messenger that carries a signal from one cell (or group of cells) to another via the blood. Regulate the function of their target cell. Effect growth, metabolism, reactions to stress, aggression, and reproduction,

General adaptive system??

5. What is helping behavior? How does helping behavior increase one’s fitness?

When young but still sexually mature individuals stay at their nest and help to raise younger siblings rather than seeking out their own mating opportunities. Why? Because of kinship selection theory. By helping your siblings you are still increasing your own fitness.

6. What role does testosterone play in influencing animal behavior?

Effects behaviors like aggression and sexual activity.

Some examples are testosterone in utero in gerbils or mice. Males with females on either side of them are exposed to less testosterone led to less aggressiveness and less mating than to males with a males on each side. 2m Males were more aggressive in behavior and mated more because of increase in testosterone.

7. What is a neuron? What does it do? How does it do it? What role does the nervous system play in shaping animal behaviors?

Neurons contain a nucleus, cell body, axon, dendrites, and axon terminals

Through the axon, they transmit electrical information from one cell to another.

Whenever an animal responds to outside stimuli, the response is a byproduct of all the neurons communicating with one another. They can either respond by moving, eating, flying, etc. Inhibition of behavior is when the threshold is not met the signal is not sent. This is sometimes good because it stops the animal from running when they do need to be still.

8. The Plain Midshipman fish was studied by Andrew Bass. Can you summarize his findings?

Discovered Type I and Type II males.

• Type I males: build nests, 4x larger than type II, higher gonad to body size ratio, produce more sounds
• Type II males: small, low gonad to body size ratio, don’t build nests, “sneakers”, don’t hum to attract females, only sometimes produce sounds

Found that type I males have higher levels of KT in their testes and type II had higher cortisol levels

9. What role does a mushroom body play in spatial learning in insects, bees in particular?

Mushroom body: cluster of small neurons in front of bee’s brain.

• Before leaving to forage bees do a “orientation flight”
• Mushroom bodies were bigger in forager bees so it is being used more when foraging

10. John Rattenborg studied sleep in mallard ducks. What was interesting there?

• They sleep with one eye open and one side of the brain “on” and the other “off” as a predation defense.
• Mallards on the “edge” of the group did it more often and had their eye open out away from the group to look for predators.

11. Why is understanding the environment’s role in sex determination of reptiles have any relevance in a course on animal behavior?

Sex determination is by temperature of incubation. During a critical period of embryonic development, the temperature of the environment determines whether an egg will develop into a male or female. This process is influenced by the enzyme aromatase, which converts sex steroids from male to female hormones (found this on the internet)

12. We studied how environmental factors can influence sex ratio in red deer. What did T. H. Clutton-Brock learn with regard to this?

when conditions are poor, females are more likely to survive to adulthood than males due to their lower energy requirements for reproduction

Chapter 4: Learning (chapter 5 in new book)

1. Why was damselfly aversion to water in which pike had been kept not an example of learning?

The researchers hypothesized that damselfly larvae might use chemical cues to learn about the potential dangers associated with pike. Their study showed that damselflies associate the scent of pike and damselfly or pike and minnow with danger, but do not make an association between pike, mealworm, and danger.

2. What is individual learning? A phenotype? Phenotypic plasticity?

Individual learning = a relatively permanent change in behavior because of experience Social learning = learning from other individual

Phenotype = observable characteristics of an organism

Phenotypic plasticity = the ability of an organism to produce different phenotypes depending on environmental conditions

• When certain invertebrates live in colonies without predators, they don’t develop certain anti-predatory characteristics such as a spine.

3. Dr. Cecila Hayes stated that there are 3 types of experience that can lead to learning. What are these?

Single stimulus

Stimulus-stimulus

Response-reinforcer

4. Define simple learning, sensitization, and habituation.

Simple learning =

Sensitization = becoming more sensitive to a stimulus over time

o Noticing the blue stick more often

Habituation = becoming less sensitive to a stimulus over time

o Noticing the blue stick less often

o Lions and zebras are placed next to each other at Hogle Zoo. Zebras are not worried about lions getting them because they have been habituated to their presence. This is fine in this setting, but habituation can be dangerous to animals that are reintroduced to the wild.

5. Define Pavlovian (classical) conditioning and be able to provide an example.

Pairing a stimulus with a second stimulus

• When the blue stick is placed, the smell of a cat is also given off which teaches the rat to associate the stick with a predator.

6. What is the difference between a conditioned, and unconditioned, stimulus?

Conditioned = stimulus that initially doesn’t elicit a response but does adter it is associated with the unconditioned stimulus

• Blue stick

Unconditioned = elicits a vigorous response in the absence of training

• Cat odor

7. What are appetitive and aversive stimuli?

Appetitive stimulus = stimulus that is positive, pleasant, or rewarding

o Ex: food, a potential mate, safe habitat, etc.

Aversive stimulus = stimulus that is negative or unpleasant

o Ex: shock, noxious odor, etc.

8. Define Instrumental (operant) learning.

Operant conditioning = response made by animal is reinforced by the presentation of a reward or termination of a bad stimulus.

- An action or response must be completed in order for learning to occur.

- Rat presses lever to get food dropped in the cage

9. What is the ‘law of effect’?

Law of effect = if a response in the presence of a stimulus is followed by a positive event, the association between the stimulus and the response will be strengthened.

If a positive event follows a response, the relationship is strengthened.

10. Thorndike submitted cats to ‘puzzle boxes’. What kind of learning was demonstrated when cats worked their way out? What reward was there for a cat that got out?

Instrumental (operant)- rewarded with food

11. John Garcia studied the way in which rats learn. What did his ‘tasty’ water and ‘bright-noisy’ water experiment show?

Tasty water was gustatory, and the bright noisy water was audiovisual cue.

Natural selection would pair a gustatory cue with internal discomfort to survive. In nature, rarely are food cues associated with audiovisual cues. Peripheral pain is associated with some audiovisual cue like hearing or seeing a predator so natural selection would favor pairing sound with pain.

12. What is an extinction curve? How was this demonstrated in stomatopods?

Graphical representations of the weakening and then ending of paired associations. males and females recognize one another for at least two weeks-the duration of the experiment. What makes this study fascinating is that, based on his thorough understanding of stomatopod biology, Caldwell hypothesizes that individuals might actually be able to recog­nize each other for four weeks. Why four weeks? It turns out that the females guard their brood for this period of time, after which the brood leaves its cavity for good. At the four-week point, then, males need not worry about being aggressive toward former mates, as such aggression will not harm their own brood

13. Animals that live in groups learn more quickly than those that do not. Why?

You have to compete with other individuals for resources.

14. How do salmon navigate back to natal streams to spawn?

Learn odors of the home stream and use that to guide them back.

15. Why does the degree of parental investment an organism have play a role in its ability to learn where mates can be found?

Offspring can learn mating locations from parents

16. Why is knowing who your family members are (and ways to recognize and remember) important for many species of wildlife?

Kin selection/inclusive fitness