IB 329 Exam 1

Animal Behavior: General Interactions

• Definition: Animal behavior is concerned with how and why animals interact with each other (within and among species) and with their environment.

Human Interest in Animal Behavior

• Motives for Study:

  • Possible first science.

  • Control/Management of species.

  • Understanding/Modification of human behavior.

  • Intellectual curiosity: Science for science's sake.

  • Enhancing understanding of other species.

Historical Context of Animal Behavior Study

• Evolution of the Field:

  • Ethology: Focused on observing animal behavior in natural environments.

  • Behaviorism: Analyzing behavior through observable actions and environmental stimuli.

  • Modern Interdisciplinary Approaches: Combines various scientific disciplines to study animal behavior.

Key Figures in Animal Behavior Study

• Whitman (1842-1910):

  • Coined the term instinct to describe the display patterns of pigeons.

• Tinbergen (1907-1988):

  • Developed a foundational method for studying animal behavior.

  • Aimed to understand the ultimate (evolutionary) reasons for behavior.

  • Demonstrated that digger wasps utilize visual landmarks to find their nests.

• Lorenz (1903-1989):

  • Investigated genetically programmed behaviors, notably imprinting in geese.

• Von Frisch (1886-1982):

  • Pioneered research in bee communication and foraging behavior.

  • Discovered that honey bees have color vision and use a dance language to convey resource location.

• Skinner (1904-1982):

  • Developed behaviorism through the Skinner Box, a method for experimentally studying behavior in controlled settings.

  • Proposed universal principles of behavior through classical and operant conditioning.

• Darwin (1809-1882):

  • Proposed the concept of sexual selection, differentiating traits related to mate acquisition from other traits affected by natural selection.

• Von Uexkull (1864-1944):

  • Introduced the concept of sign stimuli, which are triggers for instinctive, stereotyped behaviors.

• Washburn (1908):

  • Studied the behaviors of over 100 species from an experimental psychology viewpoint.

• Goodall (1986):

  • Conducted significant research on the behavior of chimpanzees at Gombe.

• Strum (2001):

  • Wrote Almost Human, exploring baboon behavior.

• Galdikas (1996):

  • Authored Reflections of Eden, focusing on orangutans.

• Fossey (1983):

  • Studied gorillas in her work Gorillas in the Mist.

Sociobiology

• Wilson (1975):

  • Explored how modern ethology principles elucidate the evolution of social systems, sparking significant debate regarding its implications on human behavior.

Related Concepts

• Anthropomorphism:

  • The attribution of human characteristics to non-human entities or animals.

• Instinct:

  • Innate behavior that arises in response to stimuli, executed without prior experience.

  • Can be triggered by various stimuli.

• Sign Stimuli:

  • Specific cues that provoke instinctive, stereotyped responses.

Ethology and Behaviorism

• Ethology:

  • The scientific/objective study of behavior, typically through field observation.

• Behaviorism:

  • Experimental studies of behavior within laboratory settings that often manipulate variables using model organisms.

Theories of Selection

• Sexual Selection:

  • A concept proposed by Darwin, detailing how traits associated with mate selection differ from those influenced by natural selection.

• Imprinting:

  • A phenomenon described by Lorenz where young animals construct a mental image of their parent figure based on recognition during early development.

Research Methodologies

• Theoretical Approach:

  • Uses models and simulations for predictions, grounded in data.

• Experimental Approach:

  • Involves a manipulative experiment to predict outcomes if the hypothesis holds.

• Comparative Approach:

  • Gathers data across varied groups with minimal factor variation.

• Control:

  • Involves separating variables into experimental and control groups, ideally with only one differentiating aspect.

• Replication:

  • Involves repeating experiments to neutralize bias or false correlations.

Phylogenies in Research

• Utilization:

  • Phylogenies enable comparisons among species while accounting for independent evolutionary events, often through comparative methods such as independent contrasts.

Data Types in Research

• Qualitative Data:

  • Descriptive, non-numerical characteristics of properties (subjective).

• Quantitative Data:

  • Numerical data that can be precise, detailing size or magnitude.

Ethograms

• Definition:

  • A systematic graph outlining the timing or transitions within a series of behaviors.

Limitations of Science

• Science is constrained by:

  • Focus on logically testable and falsifiable questions.

  • Multiple hypotheses may yield the same outcomes.

  • Results may have arbitrary interpretations leading to varied conclusions.

  • Hypotheses are continuously reassessed and altered with new data.

Species Definition

• Species:

  • Defined as groups of interbreeding organisms capable of producing viable offspring naturally.

Evolutionary Concepts

• Evolution:

  • The change in allele frequencies within a population over generations, not confined to individuals.

• Speciation:

  • The process through which new species emerge over evolutionary time.

• Natural Selection:

  • A fundamental mechanism determining which individuals in a species reproduce to pass their genetic material to subsequent generations.

• Co-Evolution:

  • An evolutionary process where two or more species influence each other's trajectories through close interactions.

Mechanisms of Evolution

• Factors driving evolution:

  • Mutation

  • Drift

  • Migration

  • Natural selection

  • Sexual selection

Constraints on Adaptive Evolution

• Factors limiting evolution:

  • Lack of genetic diversity.

  • Historical selection pressures.

  • Effects of pleiotropy and co-evolution.

Group Selection

• Concept:

  • Suggests populations with self-sacrificing individuals may outcompete those of selfish members.

  • However, this is not evolutionarily stable due to susceptibility to selfish behaviors.

• Wynne-Edwards (1906-1997):

  • Advocated for the idea of group selection.

• Williams (1926-1997):

  • Argued that natural selection predominantly favors the individual over the group.

Proximate and Ultimate Causes

• Proximate (HOW):

  • Mechanisms outlining interactions and behaviors.

• Ultimate (WHY):

  • Examines how interactions influence survival and reproduction.

Tinbergen's Four Questions

• Causation:

  • Investigates sensory/motor mechanisms responsible for behavior.

• Ontogeny:

  • Explores the interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental factors influencing behavior development.

• Function:

  • Analyzes selective processes that shape behavior based on fitness advantages.

• Phylogeny:

  • Studies historical influences and evolutions that constrain behavior forms.

Song Learning in Birds

• Proximate Mechanisms:

  • Developmental influences through auditory and social environment, and physiological factors like neural circuitry and hormones.

• Ultimate Reasons:

  • Serve functions such as attracting mates, territory holding, and adapting to ecological necessities; likely evolved multiple times independently.

Conditioning Theories

• Classical Conditioning:

  • A learning method through associative responses where an unconditioned stimulus (like food) is linked with a conditioned stimulus (like a bell) to elicit a response (salivation).

• Operant Conditioning:

  • Refers to learning through the association of behavior with consequential outcomes, employing reinforcement strategies.

Innate Behaviors

• Instinct:

  • Behaviors studied by ethologists, appearing fully developed upon first performance, often triggered by specific cues.

• Fixed Action Pattern:

  • Defined as an innate behavior that is executed to completion once activated by a triggering cue.

Genetic Factors in Behavior

• Norm of Reaction:

  • Describes the range of phenotypic variations for a single genotype due to environmental influences.

• Heritability:

  • The percentage of variance in a trait attributable to genetic variation, expressed in the formula: $P = G + E + (G \times E)$ (where P = phenotype, G = genotype, E = environment).

• Measurement Methods:

  • Control environmental variations, assess similarities between relatives and non-relatives, conduct selection experiments, and utilize modern techniques (like induced mutation experiments, knock-out, or knock-down experiments, QTL mapping, and gene expression analysis).

Genetic Relatedness Coefficients

• Identical (monozygotic) twins: 1.0

• Parent-offspring: 0.5

• Fraternal (dizygotic) twins: 0.5

• Full siblings: 0.5

• Half siblings: 0.25

• Step-siblings: 0

• Non-relatives: 0

Genetic Interactions

• Dominance:

  • The influence of one allele over another at the same genetic locus.

• Epistasis:

  • Interaction where one genetic locus affects another independent locus.

• Pleiotropy:

  • A phenomenon where one gene influences multiple phenotypic traits.

• Plasticity:

  • The interaction between genetic factors and environmental conditions.

Developmental Flexibility and Homeostasis

• Developmental Flexibility:

  • Changes in behavioral development based on environmental variations.

• Developmental Homeostasis:

  • The capacity for specific behaviors to develop consistently despite environmental fluctuations.

Kin Discrimination Mechanisms

• Various social and aggressive behaviors including:

  • Sexual behaviors

  • Imprinting

  • Phenotype matching

  • Genotype matching

Fluctuating Asymmetry

• Definition:

  • A pattern of bilateral variation, characterized by environmental influences such as stress, hybridization, inbreeding, and mate selection.

Hormones

• Definition:

  • Chemical substances released into the bloodstream from specialized glands or clusters of cells affecting target cells in various organs.

  • Types include:

  • Lipids

  • Peptides/Proteins

  • Amines/Other small molecules

• Production Locations:

  • Peripheral Production: From endocrine glands.

  • Central Production: Created within the brain and transported via blood.

• Functions:

  • Govern reproductive processes, growth, osmotic balance, heart rate, and other physiological functions.

Hormonal Effects on Behavior

• Activational Effects:

  • Short-term and reversible effects on behavior in fully developed organisms.

• Organizational Effects:

  • Long-term and irreversible impacts that affect tissue differentiation and development, influencing behavior through either direct (brain) or indirect (ovary) mechanisms.

Sensory Systems Overview

• General Properties:

  • All neurons show sensitivity to environmental stimuli.

  • Sense organs are tailored to respond to specific stimuli.

  • Sense organs filter environmental inputs.

Functionality of Sensory Systems

• Key Concepts:

  • Functions include stimulus processing, tuning, and topographic organization.

  • Information perceived is often relative and context-dependent.

Sensory Reception Types

• Photoreception: Detecting light (vision).

• Chemo-reception: Detecting chemical stimuli (smell and taste).

• Mechanoreception: Detecting physical touch or movement (hearing).

• Somatoreception: Involves pain and temperature detection.

Recognition Systems

• Types:

  • Self/Non-Self recognition

  • Kin recognition

  • Mate identification

  • Individual recognition

  • Species recognition

  • Prey/Predator identification.

Communication and Signaling

• Evaluator: The individual receiving, discriminating, and acting based on a signal.

• Signaler: The individual emitting a signal to provoke a response.

• Label: A signal or stimulus perceived by the evaluator, examples include chemical odors, cell surface proteins, songs, color patterns, and stereotyped displays.

• Template: The standard against which the evaluator compares the signal and can be genetically predisposed or acquired through learning or imprinting.

• Referent: Basis for a template that is not genetically derived.

• Decision Rules: Various recognition systems operate on different matching principles.

• Production: Nature and development of labels by signalers.

• Perception: Detection of labels followed by comparison to a template.

• Action: Modifying behavior based on the assessment of a signal in relation to an evaluator's template.

Optimal Threshold Model

• Graphical Representation:

  • Shows the relationship between signal acceptance errors and rejection errors concerning frequency and similarities between templates and cues.

Ecological Character Displacement

• Definition and Context:

  • Describes competition for resources shaping species' traits and behaviors, influencing evolutionary processes.

Hybridization

• Discussion:

  • The implications of hybridization between species, particularly in the context of mate recognition and evolutionary outcomes.

Reproductive Character Displacement

• Dynamics:

  • Changes in reproductive traits in response to hybridization and competition, leading to shifts that enhance reproductive isolation between species.