Animal Behavior
Mader-Chapter 45
See… it works!
Animal Behavior
• Behavior can be explained in terms of its
evolutionary history… in that it serves to
improve an organisms reproductive success
Imprinting, a form of learning, occurs at
a sensitive period in an animals life …
Explain this photograph in terms of
behavior leading to reproductive
success
Explain this photograph in terms of
behavior leading to reproductive
success!!!!
Behavior
• Nature vs. Nurture…. What do you think?
How did
these
lovebirds
add to the
argument?
Twins separated at birth reunite after 15
years…How about humans separated at birth?
Learning
• A durable change in behavior brought about
by experience
Learning in the Laughing Gull…
Explain.
How does the sensitive
period effect
learning… Can you
think of an example in
humans?
Associative Learning and Batesian
Mimics of Nature… What is the
connection?
Classical Conditioning
• The simultaneous presentation of two unrelated stimuli
causes animals to form an association and a response
Why do we want to buy
underwear from Mark
Wahlberg?
Operant Conditioning
-Reinforcement of a stimulus/Response behavior
Explain this classic experiment.
Is this a good way to condition your
child to behave properly?... What is
your opinion?
Adaptive Mating Behavior
• Sexual Selection- adaptive changes in males and
females that lead to increased ability to secure a
mate
• Both sexes seek fitness which is the ability to
produce surviving offspring
• Because females produce few eggs they must be
very selective in their mate…Female Choice
• Because males produce infinite amounts of
sperm, they constantly compete to inseminate as
many females as they can
• How does this apply to both humans and
animals?
find it sexy
when our
How areWethese
examples
of Male
men compete and the
competition?
winner
seems more fit to
reproduce with
Sexual Dimorphism
What are the advantages and
disadvantages of all these flashy
feathers?
Sociobiology… What are the
advantages and disadvantages of living
in groups?
Altruism… What does this mean?
Me too!
Me too!
Me too!
Me too!
Me too!
Me too!
I’m ok
without
mating!
Reciprocal Altruism
Animal Communication
•
•
•
•
Pheromones-Chemical signals
Auditory-Sound
Visual
Tactile