CH 51 - Animal Behavior
Proximate causation – “how” a behavior occurs
Ultimate causation – “why” a behavior occurs
Behavior - any action that can be observed and described.
Ethology - the scientific study of animal behavior
Fixed Action Patterns – directly linked to simple stimulus (external cue) that causes unlearned
behavior
Oriented Movement
Kinesis = non-directional movement in response to a stimulus
Taxis = directional movement in response to a stimulus (toward or away)
Example: When you flip a container of fruitflies upside down, the flies will move toward the top of the
container (gravitaxis)
Other examples: thermotaxis, thigmotaxis, phototaxis, chemotaxis
Migration
Behavioral Rhythms
Animal Signals and Communication
EX. Pheromones – chemical odor communication
51.2 How animals learn
1) Habituation
2) Imprinting
3) Spatial Learning
4) Associative Learning
5) Cognition and Problem Solving
51.3 Nature vs. Nurture: Genetic Influences
Studies of animal behavior often focuses on what behaviors are genetically based and what is learned
(Nature vs. Nurture)
Examples: Lovebirds, garter snakes, twin studies in humans (showed genetic basis for many behaviors)
51.1 Nature vs Nurture: Environmental Influences
Learning - change in behavior as a result of experience
Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) - specific behaviors performed in specific ways, they rarely change, though
some can improve
Imprinting - form of learning, a response to only one kind of animal or object
Associative Learning - behavior that involves an association between two events
1. Classical Conditioning (Pavlov's Dogs)
2. Operant Conditioning (Skinner Box)
Other types of learning: insight, imitation, habituation, trial-and-error
Animal Communication
1.
2.
3.
4.
Chemical (pheromones)
Auditory
Visual
Tactile (touch)
51.4 Adaptive Mating Behavior
Sexual Selection - type of evolutionary selection that increases an animal's ability to mate and produce
offspring
Sexual Dimorphism - males and females have distinctive appearances
Female Choice - females invest more in the offspring, tend to be choosier about their mates; this
influences male behavior and evolution
Good Genes Hypothesis - females choose mates based on traits that improve chance of survival
Photo Credit: fanz via Compfight cc
Runaway Hypothesis - as a result of female choice, traits in males become exaggerated (peacock
feathers)
Male competition - males will compete for access to females, leads to dominance hierarchies and
territoriality
51.5 Sociobiology and Animal Behavior (studies social behavior in animals)
Altruism vs Self Interest - altruism has the potential to decrease lifetime reproductive success of an
individual, but benefits the success of family members (army ants, honeybees, wolf packs) - kin selection
& inclusive fitness
Reciprocal Altruism - offspring or close relatives help each other raise offspring