Study Notes on Animal Behaviour

Introduction to Animal Behaviour

• Overview of animal behaviour concepts
• Case study: Social behavior of lions

Four Questions in Biology

• Phenotype and evolution
• Natural selection acts on phenotypes
• The extended phenotype
• Tinbergen’s Four Questions:
  • Control: How does it work?
  • Ontogeny: How did it develop?
  • Function: What is it for?
  • Evolution: How did it evolve?

Key Concepts in Evolutionary Biology

• Population genetics: Changes in gene frequencies
• Molecular evolution: Life's history in DNA
• Systematics: Evolutionary relationships
• Palaeontology: Macroevolution
• Evolutionary ecology: Phenotypes and reproductive success

Phenotype and Reproductive Success

• Importance of understanding evolution
• Genes vs. phenotypes: Genes influence proteins, which influence phenotypes
• Key factors:
  • Age at maturity
  • Number/size of offspring
  • Mate choice
  • Parental care
  • Competition for resources

Understanding Behaviour

• Behaviour: Responses to stimuli, instinctive or learned

Applications of Tinbergen’s Questions

• Control: Example of male sticklebacks
• Function: Male sedge warbler’s song and reproductive success

Case Studies

• Evolution of behaviour in Nepoidea bugs: Male parental care
• Fiddler crabs: Claw waving behaviour explained

Summary

• Natural selection is a phenotypic process
• Framework for animal behaviour: Tinbergen’s questions for understanding control, development, function, and evolution.