Jan+13+lecture+notes

Page 1: Announcements & Last Lecture

• Announcements:

  • New Assignment Available:

    • Assigned on Wednesday under assignments by discussion section.

    • Task: Read and grade a ChatGPT generated report.

    • Specific instructions available in the assignment tab.

    • Writing assessment worth 30 points (3% of overall grade). Must be completed—this is not part of the 3 or 4 class assignments.

• Last Lecture:

  • Focused on traits favoring domestication, including:

    • Social Behavior

    • Sexual Behavior

    • Parent/Young/Social Connections

    • Response to Human Environment

    • Other relevant traits

Page 2: Consequences of Domestication

• Review Topics:

  • Consequences of Domestication: Things to consider:

    • Traits enhancing survival in environments increase in genetic prevalence through natural evolution, while those that do not help survival decrease.

    • Domestication alters genetics—traits favored by humans increase while undesirable traits decrease.

    • Resultant domesticated species genetically differ from wild ancestors.

• Neoteny:

  • Refers to retaining juvenile traits in domesticated animals and is a consequence of domestication.

• Belyaev Fox Experiment:

  • Bred foxes displaying favorable human responses (less fearful) over generations to produce foxes with neotenic traits, differing genetically from unselected foxes.

Page 3: Dog Evolution from Wolves

• Shared Ancestry:

  • Dogs evolved from wolves, sharing DNA makeup and chromosome count (78).

  • Similar mitochondrial DNA noted.

• Behavioral Differences:

  • Key differences between dogs and wolves:

    • Smaller brain size

    • Decreased environmental perception

    • Enhanced skills in interpreting human behavior

    • Lowered stress responses

• Wolf Pup Development Stages (Coppinger):

  • Reactive

  • Play

  • Heading/Stalking

  • Heeling

Page 4: Locking into Developmental Stages

• Coppinger's Theory:

  • Suggests that dog breeds may become fixed in specific juvenile wolf developmental stages due to domestication (neoteny):

    • Livestock guarding dogs: Reactive stage

    • Retrievers: Play stage

    • Sheep herding dogs: Heading/Stalking stage

    • Australian blue heelers: Heeling stage

  • Mature wild behaviors are not neotenic, implying domesticated breeds reflect selection for particular behaviors.

Page 5: Identifying Neoteny

• Examples of Neoteny Indicators:

  • Yes (Neoteny):

    • Long legs of a thoroughbred horse

    • Kneading of adult cat

  • No (Non-neotenic):

    • Upright ears of a wolf

    • Barking and whining in an adult dog

    • Claws in a desert wildcat

  • Reminder to watch the video on the science of "cute" in companion animals.

Page 6: Behavioral Changes through Domestication

• Nature vs. Nurture:

  • Nature:

    • Genetics influence behavior, physical systems (hormones, neurotransmitters).

    • Different breeds display unique behavioral propensities.

  • Nurture:

    • Environmental influences on conditioning.

  • Best perspective: balance of nature and nurture.

• Behavioral Potential:

  • Range of behaviors dictated by genetics but does not determine precise actions; environment influences within genetic boundaries.

Page 7: Changes in Behavioral Potential

• Domestication's Impact:

  • Alters behavioral potential compared to wild progenitors, as shown in Coppinger's developmental stages.

  • Different breeds exhibit varied potentials and refined traits within breed lines.

Page 8: Environmental Effects on Behavior

• Environmental Modulation:

  • Kittens raised with rats: Slight stress exposure influences stress responses.

  • Behavioral adaptations can result from environmental exposures (e.g., guide dogs benefiting from tough love from mothers).

  • Emotional acclimation through exposure to different stimuli (people, sounds, objects).

Page 9: Socialization and Imprinting

• Socialization:

  • Involves acclimatization to social relationships.

  • Imprinting:

    • Young animals accepting individuals or objects as parental figures or sources of trust.

Page 10: Contribution of Konrad Lorenz

• Pioneer in Ethology:

  • Konrad Lorenz studied animal behavior by raising birds that became attached to him, showcasing imprinting in orphaned or wild animals with human caretakers.

Page 11: Practical Application of Imprinting

• Whooping Crane Imprinting:

  • Dressing as cranes while raising chicks to ensure they recognize their species when released into the wild, avoiding human voice contact during rearing for successful socialization.

Page 12: Social Attachments in Young Animals

• Establishing Social Bonds:

  • Young animals need exposure to diverse stimuli to build social attachments, connect with their environment, and learn to identify safe versus dangerous situations.

  • Importance of positive early experiences to foster adaptability (e.g., prairie voles allowing young to explore).

Page 13: Unlikely Social Bonds

• Interspecies Relationships:

  • Examples of unexpected caregiving and socialization between different species, such as cats nurturing chicks.

Page 14: Further Exploration of Imprinting

• Diverse Social Exposure:

  • Importance of exposing young animals to varied environments and social structures to inform their socialization strategy and reduce stress in unfamiliar situations.