1
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR VOLCABULARY
Accommodation
Action potential
Adaptation
Adaptive radiation
Adaptive zone
Affect
Afference
Aggression
Allele
"Allee
Effects"
Allostasis
in DEVELOPMENT, according to Piaget, existing structures change to accommodate to the new information.
This dual process, assimilation-accommodation, enables the child to form schema. (see Assimilation and
Equilibration)
cell membrane changes conductances for various ions when stimulated. Sodium ions rush in, and the
electrical charge across the membrane becomes positive. Local membrane depolarization stimulates the
neighboring region to depolarize and then returns to its resting state.
a trait that contributes to fitness, BUT the term also refers to the process by which that trait has come about.
"The processes by which organisms or groups of organisms maintain homeostasis in and among themselves in the
face of both short-term environmental fluctuations and long-term changes in the composition and structure of their
environments." (Rappaport, 1971)
Its several definitions are all unified by the idea of compensation for change, either short-term
(such as a stimulus or life experience) or long term adaptations (such as climate change)
Other (complementary) definitions are: "an adaptation is an anatomical, physiological, or behavioral trait that
contributes to an individual's ability to survive and reproduce ("fitness") in competition with conspecifics in the
environment in which it evolved" (Williams, G. 1966. Adaptation and Natural Selection Princeton). and
"a regulatory or advantageous change in response to an environmental stress by an individual or
by a species in the course of evolution" (Bullock 1977)
sensory adaptation is when receptors are less responsive to stimuli after long term exposure to
them --e.g., the smell of food or the feel of clothes. a form of non-associative learning
and see exaptation
(relatively rapid) evolutionary changes in the branches of a phyletic line that enable branches to survive and thrive
in specific niches or adaptive zones.
An environment in which some selection pressures and constraints are reduced allowing organisms to prosper in
new ways and in which adaptive radiation is enabled. But also the "range of tolerance" within the limits of which
organisms can more-or-less thrive. Implicit in the way this term is usually used is the idea that interspecific
competition is "relaxed."
Most simply, affect is emotion or feeling. It can be inferred in others by outward expressions of posture, expression,
or reflexes of the autonomic nervous system. It can "energize" motivation. Along with motivation and cognition
constitute a useful "triad" of psychological functions. Associated with the limbic system in the brains of vertebrates.
[more]
the signal or information from the sense organs, regardless of the type or cause of sensory stimulation. (see
Efference and Reafference)
The expression of force by an animal in order to accomplish a specific end, as in obtaining or defending resources
such as food, territory, reproductive opportunity or mate, and protecting offspring
an alternate form of a gene at the same locus. see gene
When the growth rate of a population is affected by population size. In small populations birth rate may decline
because (e.g.) mates may be hard to find. In some species populations aggregate so that synchronized
birthing/hatching can swamp potential predators with prey so that at least some will survive. (from Adrian Barnett's
essay, "Safety in Numbers," in New Scientist (2001)
maintaining physiological stability by changing set point for regulation. ". . . a fundamental process through which
Altricial
Altruism
Anadromous
Analogy
Animal behavior
Anthropomorphism
Aposematic
Assimilation
Associative
Learning
Attention
Autonomic nervous
system
Balanced
Polymorphism
2
organisms actively adjust to both predictable and unpredictable events. Allostatic load refers to the cumulative cost
to the body of allostasis, with allostatic overload being a state in which serious pathophysiology can occur."
(McEwen 2003)
"young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote
independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching." (see precocial)
the actions of one individual towards another in which the altruist reduces its own apparent fitness while increasing
that of the recipient.
adults spend lives at sea and return to freshwater to spawn
resemblance in characteristics (e.g., body form, behavior) as a consequence of independent adaptation to the same
or similar environmental conditions and not due to common ancestry [more]
The ways in which animals interact with each other, with members of other species, and with the environment
the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, forces of nature, and others. (from the Greek
words, anthrôpos, meaning human, and morphé, meaning shape or form) Can be adapted to the projection from
any relatively well understood system to a less well understood system -- as in "homeothermomorphism" projection
of traits from warm-blooded to cold blooded animals.
"warning sign." It refers to color or other signal that any organism might use to advertise the danger of preying
upon it. Some aposematic species have come to resemble each other (Müllerian mimicry), some harmless animals
have come to resemble aposematic species (Batesian mimicry).
in DEVELOPMENT, according to Piaget, Assimilation involves the incorporation of new events into preexisting
cognitive structures. (see Accommodation and Equilibration)
The association of events such as stimuli and responses with positive or negative consequences which leads to a
change in behavior. Involves behavioral and its underlying neural plasticity. Associative learning is distinguished
from non-associative learning such as change in behavior as a result of habituation or sensitization. --see
Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning
focusing cognitive processes on a specific stimulus, set of stimuli, or percept. Attention and "selective attention" is
arguably at the heart of understanding cognition and consciousness. [The Reticular Formation (RF) is the collective
name for a diffuse network of nerve cells running through the core of the brainstem (medulla, pons), up through the
midbrain (central parts of the thalamus and hypothalamus). It maintains muscle tone, keeps the higher brain in a
state of alert wakefulness (reticular activating system), and filters incoming stimuli. And it controls the sleep/wake
cycle, a special case of arousal/attention controlled by the RF.] Associated phenomena are selective attention
(exercising conscious control over attentional processes) and search image (focusing on the most efficient of
alternative stimuli to meet a specific motivational goal)[more from E&S]
"a division of the vertebrate nervous system serving internal organs such as the heart, blood vessels, lungs,
intestines and also certain glands. The sympathetic nerve pathways have an emergency function and become
active under stress (the adrenal medulla in many vertebrates is really a part of the sympathetic system). They have
the effect of accelerating heart rate, dilating air passages to the lungs, increasing the blood supply to the muscles,
reducing the activity of the intestines. (The parasympathetic pathways serve a recuperative function restoring the
blood supply to normal and countering the effects of the sympathetic activity.)
the maintenance of two or more alleles for a trait in a population at a more or less constant frequency ratio due to
the selective advantage of heterozygotes. For example, the persistence of the sickle-cell trait, deadly in
Bateman's Principle
Behavior
Behaviorism
Bricolage
Bruce effect
Carrying Capacity
Circadian Clock
Circadian Rhythm
Classical
Conditioning
Closed Genetic
Program
Coefficient of
relatedness
Co-evolution
Cognition
homozygotes is attributable to the advantage provided by the heterozygote.
"...variance in net reproductive success will be greater in the sex with the smaller per-offspring investment." This
sex will also likely be subjected to more intense sexual selection (Wilson 1975:163)
all coordinated actions and responses of an individual
a movement in psychology that advocates the use of strict experimental procedures to study observable behavior
(or responses) in relation to the environment (or stimuli)
The solving of practical problems using whatever materials happen to be at hand. Adapted by Claude Levi-Strauss
from the word "bricoleur" --French for the kind of handyman that can brings formidable ingenuity to bear on making
difficult repairs by exploiting whatever materials . Evolution often seems to proceed in this way --solving adaptive
problems with whatever resources the organism has available. (see "Panda Principle")
A possible form of Postcopulatory competition In some taxa, a strange male (or his odor) can cause a female to
abort (previous male's fetus) and make the female receptive. (e.g., Bruce 1966 in mice; Hrdy 1977 with langur
monkeys; Packer 1986 with lions)
(K) an environment's maximum persistently supportable load (Catton 1986); a way to characterize the environment
in terms of how many organisms it can support
An inherent timekeeping mechanism with a capacity to drive or coordinate a circadian rhythm
Biological rhythms with a period of approximately 24 hours (circa-dian)
a type of associative learning in which a stimulus comes to affect a pre-existing stimulus-response relationship as a
result of frequent exposure to it; an organism comes to associate a new (often arbitrary) stimulus (such as a bell)
with a well-learned, reflexive, or automatic response (such as salivating when food is presented); e.g., a person
who has had painful experiences at the dentist's office may become fearful at just the sight of the dentist's office
building. Also called Pavlovian conditioning -- compare with Operant Conditioning. [more]
"Genetic programs" are the genes that influence the expression of a phenotypic trait. "Closed" programs of genes
are not flexible in their expression and not easily influenced by the environment. (Ernst Mayr 1982). A common
example is the genetically determined anatomical morphology which enables speech (including specialized
anatomical and neurophysiological traits) which is the result of a relatively inflexible or "closed" genetic program.
The particular language learned, on the other hand, is a common example of the result of a relatively "open" or
environmentally determined trait.
The proportion of genes shared by two individuals (attributable to descent). "Also known as degree of
relatedness, and symbolized by 'r'" coefficient of relatedness.
the process that describes the adaptive changes that occur when two species act as strong selective forces on each
other. The evolutionary way the influence each other, particularly in competition. An evolutionary "arms race"
(recalling the US/USSR cold war competition to trump each other's weapons and defenses)
The attending to, identifying or categorizing, and acting upon information derived from environmental or internal
information. The mental processes coordinated to selectively acquire, organize, and selectively apply information.
Sensory information is transformed into perceptions which are then categorized and organized, stored, recovered,
abstracted or combined, and used. Cognition includes the use of memory (a "trace" of a past experience) to guide
behavior and "thinking" (the retrieval of stored bits of information and its manipulation to ascertain relationships
between them and (often) new information). Along with affect and motivation constitute a useful "triad" of major
neurobehavioral functions. Associated with the cerebral cortex in mammals. The term cognition is plagued with
3
Cognitive
Dissonance
Collateral Effect
Collective Behavior
Command neurons
Communication
Compass
Complex System
Configurational
stimulus
confirmation bias
Consilience
Consciousness
Cooperative
Breeding
Core Area
4
multiple meanings.
The state of possessing knowledge or beliefs about oneself or the world that is inconsistent with evidence about the
nature of the world or one's self. Individuals are motivated to minimize or eliminate these inconsistencies. People do
this by (1) adding new cognitions or (2) change existing cognitions, or (3) expressing behavioral patterns that have
cognitive consequences favoring consonance, such as seeking new information. A common dissonance is a mismatch
between the model of the world (or self) in one's mind and the external reality that is not in accord with that model.
[Festinger, L.A. (1957): A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford University Press] [more]
an unintended or unexpected consequence concomitant with or accompanying another phenomenon; a side-effect.
A collateral or side-effect of certain arches in architecture is the spandrel, a feature which is "available" for uses
other than the main function of the arches which created them.
social behavior that appears to be spontaneous and is a departure from the norm but is not deviant (in the sense of
violating norms); typically occurs when norms are ambiguous or conflicting. Resembles quorum behavior.
cells which are capable of producing produce complex behavior patterns in the absence of any meaningful external
stimuli
"an action on the part of one organism (or cell) that alters the probability pattern of behavior in another organism
(or cell) in a fashion adaptive to either one or both of the participants" (Wilson 1975); "the transmission of a signal
from one animal to another such that the sender benefits, on average, from the response of the recipient" (Slater
1983).[more] and see metacommunication
mechanisms that allow you to find a particular direction, see Map
a group of relatively simple but interconnected elements which enables the emergence of a higher order
phenomenon. It is also a research perspective that is open to an integrative view of phenomena that makes a more
holistic view possible.
a specific combination of stimuli that derive their potency to elicit a response by virtue of their specific relationship
to each other; typically a pattern of presentation to which a specific reaction pattern is tuned. The mother herring
gull's bill has the red spot and a certain shape.
a selective attention to information that tends to confirm one's beliefs and/or a selective inattention, ignorance, or
undervaluing information that tends to contradict a specific belief.[more] Related to cognitive dissonance [more]
Consilience is when beliefs derived from alternative ways of studying a phenomenon reinforce or corroborate each
other. It is literally a "jumping together" of knowledge across disciplinary boundaries; a transcendence which can,
like a successful mating dance of mutual accommodation and assimilation, result in a unifying accord that can be
one of the supreme experiences of science.The term was devised by William Whewell in 1840 to describe the
corroboration of a belief (actually an induction) derived from one class of facts by a belief derived from another class
of facts. [more]
“Consciousness is a graded integration of multiple cognitive functions yielding a unified representation of the world,
our bodies, and ourselves” (Alan Hobson, 2000). ". . . but in addition, it includes that ineffable feeling of
experiencing oneself as an active agent in the perceived events of the world” (Antonio Damasio, 2001).
when more-or-less closely related relatives assist in raising young; communal nesting involves sharing nest, or
other resources, including, in some cases, milk. Examples exist in most taxa and include rats and ostriches.
the part of an animal's home range of heaviest use. Core areas typically center on a resource such as a nest or
Curiosity
Critical
Anthropomorphism
Cumulative
Selection
DEEP ethology
Delusion
Density-dependent
selection
Determinism
Direct Fitness
Dispersal
Displacement
Activity
Dominance
Domestication
refuge, water or food source.
a motivational prerequisite for exploratory behavior Berlyne (1960)
critical anthropomorphism is an ethologically informed source of hypotheses about the causes and consequences of
behavior in other organisms. Since the minds of other taxa (indeed other humans) are ultimately unknowable, it
builds on shared characteristics while remaining to the often profound differences.
most complex behavioral patterns arose gradually from less complex behavioral patterns by a long slow pattern of
accretion, or accumulation. (Alcock's Animal Behavior, 7th edition, 2001:283)
Consideration of the causes and consequences of a behavioral pattern from the converging perspectives of
Developmental biology, Ecology, Evolutionary biology, and Physiology.
• Developmental biology emphasizes change within an individual's lifespan: ONTOGENY and EXPERIENCE,
• Ecology emphasizes biotic and abiotic ENVIRONMENT;
• Evolutionary biology emphasizes changes across generations and involves transmission of biological information
to subsequent generations utilizing GENES and (possibly) MEMES; "ultimate" causes and consequences
involve changes that occur across generations;
• Physiology involves the proximate NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL and ENDOCRINE causes and consequences of
behavior. “Proximate” and “ultimate” causes of behavior are sometimes distinguished depending on the
number of intervening steps between a putative cause and an effect. The more steps that intervene, the
more problematical the connection.
a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary. (Wikipedia)
population density becomes a selection pressure affecting the fitness of individuals in a population. For example, an
overcrowded population may decrease average fitness leading to underpopulation, possibly evoking the "Allee
effect."
Ideas about how a phenomenon came to be the way it is. "The roots of the notion of determinism surely lie in a very
common philosophical idea: the idea that everything can, in principle, be explained, or that everything that is, has a
sufficient reason for being and being as it is, and not otherwise" (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). It is often
expressed in terms of dichotomies such as nature/nurture or genetic/environmental, reflecting the relative fixity or
flexibility of processes leading to a given outcome. see Determinism in DEEP ethology
probability of reproductive success through one's own offspring. see Inclusive Fitness, Fitness, Indirect Fitness
Travel of Individuals, Ecological process affecting distribution, and genetic process affecting geographic
differentiation and variation
behavior patterns seemingly unrelated to the behavioral context in which it occurs
see social dominance
The transformation of organisms attributable to multiple generations of human breeding, the selection pressure
being some specific human need. - Wikipedia 2005
Domestication typically renders organisms more docile and less aggressive, "possibly all secondary to an evoked
paedomorphism (retaining juvenile characteristics into adulthood) [For example, in silver foxes that were bred into
“tail-wagging, hand-licking pets by Soviet geneticists breeding for passivity (begun by Dmitri Belyaev in 1959 and
continued today by Lyudmila N. Trut). There are also less stress-related hormones such as corticosteroids, more
5
Drive
Ecological
Homeostasis
Ecotype
Efference
Emergent property
Emigration
Emotion
Empathy
Endocrine system
Entrainment
Environment
of Evolutionary
Adaptedness (EEA)
6
serotonin (which seems to inhibit aggression), and (remarkably) a longer breeding season.] Over the 20,000 years
of our “domestication,” we have much less inter-group aggression (Richard W. Wrangham) –evidenced in part by
now smaller jaws and teeth, year-round breeding, and lots of sexuality (reproductive motivation in females at times
other than ovulation) compared to our nearest rather than our immediate ancestors. (Much like bonobos who use
sex for conflict resolution and social bonding --Frans B.M. de Waal). (Thanks to Michael Shermer’s column, “Skeptic”
– in Sept 2003:40, “The Domesticated Savage.”)
The "energy" that activates a Motivational system in order to meet a real or perceived biological need. [see
"motivation" and "instinct" ... "The Standard Edition of Freud's works in English confuses two terms that are
different in German, Instinkt ("instinct") and Trieb ("drive"), often translating both as instinct. 'This incorrect
equating of instinct and Trieb has created serious misunderstandings'[4]] The term "drive reduction" is used by
learning theorists to characterize the biological aspects of learning (e.g., Clark Hull)
A dynamic balance between multiple systems that maintains stability within an ecosystem. Adapted by Odum
(1971) from the idea of homeostasis in physiology in which the stability of the internal environment of the body is
maintained by multiple systems that are constantly interacting by means of their effects on each other. Ecosystems
have powers of self-maintenance and self-regulation --so homeostasis can be said to be true of them also; They
resist change and remain in a state of equilibrium
A genetically distinct population that has adapted to local conditions; for example, the heavy metal, zinc was
leaching into the soil from the galvanized metal in a fence and the grass just beneath it was metal tolerant.
the signal or information that is used to control the motor output, usually represented as a signal in the output side
of the nervous system. (see Reafference)
A property or quality of a phenomenon (such as an organism) that could not have been predicted on the basis of a
knowledge of its constituent parts. (see Complex System and more)
permanent movements out of a specific region. When the movements are sudden they are termed "irruptions."
Apparently there are alternative behavioral patterns that depend on population density to trigger a tendency to
disperse. Irruptions seem most common in places where species are subjected to climatic extremes (arctic, desert).
[more]
The "Emotions are coordinated states, shaped by natural selection, that adjust physiological and behavioral
responses to take advantage of opportunities and to cope with threats that have recurred over the course of
evolution --Nesse & Berridge (1999) [more]
The "ability to recognize and understand the emotion of another. As the states of mind, beliefs, and desires of
others are intertwined with their emotions, one with empathy for another may often be able to more effectively
divine another's modes of thought and mood. [Wikipedia, 2006] It is thought to be influenced by "mirror
neurons". Disorders of empathy are associated with sociopathy. [more] Unlike sympathy, empathy may not
require true consciousness of another's emotion.
combination of neural and glandular mechanisms which control physiological functions/behavior via the secretion of
hormones, carried in the blood. Hormones only affect those cells that have specific receptors for them.
An organism's response to environmental cues such as light that enables resetting of the clock
It is unlikely that any biotic environment in which an adaptation emerged is still intact -- the adaptive peak is always
receding: That is, no contemporary trait can be adaptive (in Reeve and Sherman's (1993) sense) because they were
selected for in an environment that no longer exists. This is sometimes called the "environment of
Epigenesis
Epiphenomenon
Equilibration
Ethology
Ethogram
Eugenics
Eusocial
Evolution
Evolutionarily
Stable Strategy
(ESS)
Exaptation
evolutionary adaptedness" (EEA). Often applied to the environment in which a particular species evolved, but
perhaps more usefully applied to a particular trait. [more]
Interaction of genes and their environment in determining the expression of traits during development, including
behavioral traits; involves specific effects of environment on activation (or inactivation) of specific genes [more]
[examples]
A secondary or collateral phenomenon that results from and accompanies another. Also in medicine, a condition or
symptom in the course of a disease, not necessarily connected with the disease. They are often hard to predict [see
collateral effect]
in DEVELOPMENT, according to Piaget, Equilibration involves a balance restored during development between the
individual and the environment by assimilation and accommodation. "When a child experiences a new event,
disequilibrium sets in until he is able to assimilate and accommodate the new information and thus attain
equilibrium.
• There are many types of equilibrium between assimilation and accommodation that vary with the levels of
development and the problems to be solved. For Piaget, equilibration is the major factor in explaining why
some children advance more quickly in the development of logical intelligence than do others" (from:
http://www.sk.com.br/sk_piage.html (Jean Piaget: Intellectual Development) see
• Assimilation and Accommodation.
The biology of behavior; the pursuit an understanding of the causes and consequences of behavior from the
integrated consideration of developmental, ecological, evolutionary, and physiological variables. This is most valid in
a natural context. see DEEP ETHOLOGY.
comprehensive compilation of the behavioral repertory of a species, a catalogue of actions as complete and precise
as possible, generally showing relationships between units (flow charts) and the context(s) in which they occur.
Sometimes a simple list of behavioral patterns is referred to as a “catalog” or “inventory” of behavioral patterns,
and “ethogram” is reserved for a description of the relationship between the elements of the inventory. [example]
"a science that investigates methods to ameliorate the genetic composition of the human race, a program to foster
such betterment; a social movement; and in its perverted form, a pseudo-scientific retreat for bigots and racists"
(Lundmerer 1978). ". . . by 1935 "eugenics had become `hopelessly perverted' into a pseudoscientific facade for
`advocates of race and class prejudice, defenders of vested interests of church and state, Fascists, Hitlerites
[Nazis], and reactionaries generally'" (Kevles 1985)
[more]
a specific social system (especially prominent in several insect species of wasps, bees, or ants but also a species of
shrimp and naked mole rats) that shows (1) cooperation in caring for young, (2) reproductive castes cared for by
non-reproductive castes (3) overlapping generations such that offspring assist parents in raising siblings.
a processes by which living things first appeared on earth and have since diversified and changed. It involves
change of gene frequency within populations, which ultimately result in behavioral and phenotypic changes
this is a strategy which, if adopted by most of a population, cannot be displaced by any alternate strategy, and will
therefore tend to become established by natural selection. Related to Game Theory
a companion concept for adaptation – this separates historical origins from current utility of a trait – he defined it
as “a feature, now useful to an organism, that did not arise as an adaptation for its present role, but was
7
Experiment
Exploratory
Behavior
Fitness
Folie à deux
Fundamental Niche
Fixed Action
Pattern (FAP)
Game Theory
Gene
Gene Flow
Genetic
Assimilation
Genetic Drift
8
subsequently co-opted for its current function” (Buss et al 1998:539 quoting Gould 1991:47). These “now useful”
traits could have originated for some other adaptive purpose – a “co-opted adaptation,” or they could have derived
from a non-adaptive by-product or side-effect (collateral effect) of an adaptive trait, a “spandrel,” an artefact.
An experiment involves operations designed to determine the extent and nature of the causal relation between two
variables. The independent variable is varied and its effect on the dependent variable is observed. The aim of
experiments is to design them in such a way that the effect of the dependent variable can be attributed only to the
manipulations of the independent variable - these are controls. Controls will help to eliminate alternative
explanations of the results. Controls can be done by randomization or systematic control of extraneous variables.
see Natural Experiment
investigating or otherwise gathering information about an unfamiliar or novel environment; equal or closely related
to curiosity. Functions to minimize and possibly mitigate the stress associated with novelty; or to enhance
autonomic tone in concert with Risk Taking.
A measure of biological success in terms of contribution to subsequent generation, typically quantified by numbers
of successful (surviving) offspring. The probability that an animal of a particular genotype and phenotype will
reproduce; see Inclusive Fitness, Direct Fitness, Indirect Fitness
a shared delusional system (can be more than two mutually corroborative individuals, as in folie en famille or
even folie à plusieurs) (Wikipedia) (how many individuals must share the belief before it is no longer considered
"delusional?")
set of resources and physical factors required for survival and reproduction of individuals of a species - see also
Realized Niche
coordinated responses (often motor patterns) that have a fixed form and need not be learned. Within a species,
different individuals will produce almost identical behavioral responses to a specific sign stimulus; once initiated
FAPs continue until completed (=Erbkoordination) [see "motor programs" and "instinct"]
"... a mathematical tool that is used when the "payoff" an individual receives for undertaking an action is dependent
on what behavior others adopt" (Dugatkin, Principles of Animal Behavior 2004) related to optimality and
evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS)
Genes are specific combinations of DNA at a specific site on a chromosome (its LOCUS). They embody an
assemblage of nuclei acids that constitutes a "code" for the synthesis of proteins, the building blocks of all living
things. The cellular processes that begin with the activation of genes eventually ends with the expression of a
manifest trait. They are not simply on/off switches, but can be variable in their expression depending on context,
especially the activity of a biochemical support system (see epigenesis). An ALLELE is an alternate form of a gene
at the same locus. Most genes are pleiotropic. [In February of 2001, the most complete draft of the human
genome identified 34,000 genes responsible for directing the assembly of about a million proteins. -- the
"proteome"]
The exchange of genes between different groups (species or populations); an influence on "microevolution."
when a phenodeviant can flourish because of an unusually empowering environment that lasts long enough for the
underlying genetic representations to stabilize; the environment can be encountered by chance or the phenodeviant
might in some way (behavioral or other ways) change the environment. The term is associated with C.H.
Waddington. (EOW 1980:34)
an alteration in frequencies of alleles attributable to chance (="sampling error"); most pronounced (or noticeable) in
Genotype
Habitat
Habituation
"Hamilton's Rule"
Handicap
hypothesis
Hardy-Weinberg
law
Heritability
Heterostasis
Hierarchy
Hierarchical
selection
Holism
Homeostasis
Home range
Homing
Homology
Ideal Free
Distribution
Imprinting
Inbreeding
smaller populations; an influence on "microevolution."
The aggregate of specific genes an organism possesses. These may or may not be manifest as a specific
phenotype.
any part of the biosphere where a species can successfully live and reproduce
gradual decline in response after repeated exposure to a stimulus without specific significance; a kind of nonassociative learning
The idea that the genetic relatedness of the performer of an altruistic act to the recipient is a key consideration in a
costs/benefits analysis of its likeliness to be performed and in its evolution.
(the "rule" can be expressed as b/c > 1/r (where b = benefits (extra relatives that exist as a result of the
altruism), c = costs (in terms of number of offspring not produced), and r = coefficient of relatedness))
The idea that apparently harmful traits in males become attractive to females because they indicate the male's
capacity to cope with them.
"gene frequencies in a population remain constant (regardless of changes in population size) as long as there are
not chance fluctuations or outside influences."
an estimate of the degree of genetic determination of a particular trait; Broad sense Heritability refers to the
total proportion of genetic variance in a trait; Narrow-sense heritability refers to the proportion of phenotypic
variance that can be attributed to additive genetic variance (that is the proportion of genetic variance that is
accessible to natural selection -- it is associated with the average effects of substituting one allele for another).
see Allostasis
when there are multiple levels or layers of organization, control, or information flow; higher levels emerge out of or
are supported by lower ones, but lower levels are then at least partly controlled by the higher ones. Systems of
thought, military, ecclesiastical, political, and social systems are typically hierarchical.
An idea championed by S J Gould "that selection can act at any level in the biological hierarchy, from single genes to
entire ecosystems." (H. Allen Orr (2004) “A Passion for Evolution.” Essay review of A Devil's Chaplain by Richard
Dawkins. NYRB 51(3) Feb 26 2004)
The idea that whole entities (like organisms) are greater than the sum of their parts; or that whole entities take
their specific natures from the manner in which their constituent parts are interconnected (see emergent
property; reductionism)
dynamic balance between multiple systems that seeks stability; maintained by negative feedback loops such that
increases or decreases in one variable evokes a compensating response by another. (more). see heterostasis or
allostasis
area which an individual, pair, or group occupies or regularly returns to, see Territory
the ability to return to a home site after being displaced, see Homing, Kinesis, Navigation, Orientation, Piloting,
Taxis
resemblance in characteristics (e.g., body form, behavior) as a consequence of common ancestry; [more]
Individuals should distribute themselves among habitats so that every individual maximizes its net rate of return
capacity to learn specific types of information at certain critical periods in development
preferential mating between relatives, extreme inbreeding: mating between sibs, half-sibs, parent-offspring, see
9
Inclusive Fitness
Indirect Fitness
Individual distance
Individuation
Outbreeding
the sum of Direct Fitness, and Indirect Fitness
probability of reproductive success through non-descendent relatives. see Fitness, Inclusive Fitness, Direct Fitness
defended area surrounding the individual's own body
the developmental process leading to the expression of a single individual's specific traits. Can be viewed as in a
dialectical tension with "socialization" "essential tension" between INDIVIDUATION and SOCIALIZATION
Innate releasing
mechanism
see Releasing mechanism
Innate
referring to built-in, inborn, hereditary, it is no longer used and has been replaced by the spectrum of "open" vs.
"closed" developmental systems more
Intention
Movement
Interspecific
Interactions
Intraspecific
Interactions
Instinct
Iteroparity
K-selected traits
Key Stimulus
Kin Selection
Law of Effect
Learning
Lek
Map
10
behavior patterns that precede or prepare for other behaviors
interactions among organisms of different species (inter = between, among)
interactions among organisms of the same species (intra = within, inside)
The term strongly implies an inborn, genetically controlled mechanism, but most "instincts" studied closely reveal
the influence of learning. [Hailman]. see also "Fixed Action Pattern". William James begins chapter 24 of the
Principles of Psychology (1890) with " . . . the faculty of acting in such a way as to produce certain ends, without
foresight of the ends, and without previous education in the performance . . . " and then critically reviews them
[complete text] [see "drive" and "motivation" ... "The Standard Edition of Freud's works in English confuses two
terms that are different in German, Instinkt ("instinct") and Trieb ("drive"), often translating both as instinct. 'This
incorrect equating of instinct and Trieb has created serious misunderstandings'[4]]
the repeated production of offspring at intervals throughout the life cycle. It is usually contrasted with Semelparity,
where each individual reproduces only once during its life.
K is an attribute of an environment: in equations describing the environment in which a species' population
dynamics are at play, K represents the "carrying capacity" of that environment A trait that is "K-selected is one that
has helps an organism maximize its capacity to survive and thrive very close to that carrying capacity. Contrast to rselection
see Sign Stimulus
selection for traits that lower an individual's personal fitness, but raise a relative's fitness
behaviors that are followed by a positive outcome are repeated, while those followed by a negative outcome or none
at all are extinguished (Edward L. Thorndike)
"change in behavior as a result of experience." Adaptive modification of behavior in response to specific experiences
during an individual's life. Acquiring knowledge or developing the ability to perform new behaviors. kinds of learning
are Associative and Non-associative and (more recently) Perceptual Learning [more]
a communal mating area in which individuals hold small territories solely for courtship and copulation
representation of the traits or landmarks of an area that helps an organism find its way, see Compass
Maternal Effects
Meiotic Drive
Meme
Memory
Merkwelt
Metacommunication
Migration
Mirror Neurons
Mismatch Theory
Model
Motivation
influences of the mother on an offspring's behavior that are not due to direct genetic inheritance
Unequal representation of alleles attributable to the mechanics of meiosis, also called segregation distortion; an
influence on "microevolution."
A unit of information that can be communicated to human minds, possibly altering their behavior and possibly
thereby propagating themselves (Dawkins' idea to emphasize an analogy with "gene") "Individual slogans, catchphrases, melodies, icons, inventions, and fashions are typical memes. An idea or information pattern is not a meme
until it causes someone to replicate it, to repeat it to someone else. All transmitted knowledge is memetic. " see the
Principia Cybernetica'slexicon of memes
Representation of past experience of which we may or may not be conscious; each unique memory is likely a unique
pattern of neural activity, reactivated when called for but potentially vulnerable to neuroplastic changes. The several
forms of memory are each mediated by different patterns of wiring often associated with different regions of the
brain. Two forms are often distinguished, short term ("working") memory and long term memory that is
accessible after years. [more]
the set of all environmental factors that are significant for a species, whether or not they are actually perceptible:
"the set of things it might care about, if only it knew about them; the objective universe that impinges on existence
•• We would say Merkwelt is a species' context: the more complex the creature’’s contextual sensitivity, the more
complex its structure." Term coined by von Uexküll in the 1920s see Umwelt
"Communication which underlies or takes place alongside a given act of communication, and serves to supplement
or enhance it; an instance of this. Also: discourse about communication." (OED)
seasonal (typically annual) movements of animals from place to place, usually the same places each season. It
allows animals to take advantage of different sites with different qualities- such as seasonally available food, safety
from predation (especially when breeding) or conserving energy by finding a climate that does not require as much
energy to cope (particularly when food resources become scarce). [more]
neurons which fire when performing a specific behavior or watching another perform that behavior. when an animal
performs an action and when the animal observes the same action performed by another (especially conspecific)
animal. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of another animal, as though the observer were himself performing
the action. These neurons have been observed in primates, in some birds, and in humans. In humans, they have
been found in Broca's area and the inferior parietal cortex of the brain. There is much speculation that they may
underlie important aspects of empathy and education.
traits (including behavioral patterns) are assumed to have been preserved by natural selection because of their
adaptive function in a specific environment. When that environment changes, organisms may find themselves
progressively "mismatched" to the new environment. ["mismatch" theory]
A selective, simplified representations of the things that are most important (or about which you are most
interested) about a phenomenon. It is a kind of abstraction (like abstract art selectively representing or emphasizing
aspects of its subject, or the abstract at the beginning of an article). wiktionary definition
Processes that account for the direction, intensity, and persistence of effort expended to meet needs or attain a
goal. Along with affect and cognition constitute a useful "triad" of psychological functions. Associated with the
hypothalamus in the brains of vertebrates. [see "drive" and "instinct" ... "The Standard Edition of Freud's works in
English confuses two terms that are different in German, Instinkt ("instinct") and Trieb ("drive"), often translating
both as instinct. 'This incorrect equating of instinct and Trieb has created serious misunderstandings' [4]]
11
Motor Program
Multiple parallel
processing
Mutation Pressure
Mutualism
Natural Experiment
Natural Selection
Naturalistic Fallacy
Navigation
Neurohormone
Neuromodulator
Neuroplasticity
Neurotransmitter
Niche
Nomadism
12
chained sequence of specific (discrete) reflexes or motor responses; often seen in FIXED ACTION PATTERNS (FAPs)
the simultaneous movement (or activation) of information through more than one "information pathway." For
example, there are multiple (sensory) sources of information about the world operating simultaneously,
approximately in parallel. At certain points, these paths sometimes compete with each other to dominate behavior.
The idea is important also in computer science.
Changes in gene frequencies attributable to differential mutation rates alone; an influence on "microevolution."
A relationship between two (or more) different kinds of organisms in which both derive some degree of benefit.
Mutualism is usually temporary or not obligatory. See also: parasitism, symbiosis.
A natural experiment does not involve active manipulation of the independent variable by the experimenter. The
variables are manipulated by circumstance -- for example, insights about ecological colonization might derive from
populations of a species isolated from each other on islands due to rising sea-levels, or the relative effects of
genetics and environment on specific traits might be clarified by identical twins separated at birth and brought up in
very different environments.
the process by which environmental effects lead to varying degrees of reproductive success among individuals of a
population of organisms with different hereditary characters, or traits. The characters that inhibit reproductive
success decrease in frequency from generation to generation [more]
The idea that "whatever is, is right" is an inappropriate equating of a phenomenon with a moral judgement -equating what is with what ought to be (Hume) more
an animal moves about using external cues to determine its position relative to a goal, see Homing, Kinesis,
Orientation, Piloting, Taxis
compound that is released at a synapse and diffuses across the synaptic cleft to act on a receptor located on the
membrane of a postsynaptic cell, which may be another neurone, a muscle cell or a specialized gland cell. It is
released from nerve endings by nerve impulse activity at morphologically distinguishable synaptic junctions
producing suitable changes in the excitability of the postsynaptic membrane, also see Neuromodulator,
Neurotransmitter
compound that is released within a localized region of CNS, the receptor for which is not necessarily sited on an
anatomically apposed postsynaptic cell. Thus a neuromodulator may affect several postsynaptic cells with specificity
conferred mainly by the distribution of receptors. Main action is on second messenger systems, e.g. cAMP or
inositole triphosphate, presumably affecting protein phosphorylation, also see Neurohormone, Neurotransmitter
The ability of neurons to change, manifest in altered cellular activity and connectedness with related neurons in the
nervous system. Can be modest (as in learning) or striking (as in reconfiguring connectedness after trauma)
compound that is released at a synapse and diffuses across the synaptic cleft to act on a receptor located on the
membrane of a postsynaptic cell, which may be another neurone, a muscle cell or a specialized gland cell. It is
released from nerve endings by nerve impulse activity at morphologically distinguishable synaptic junctions
producing suitable changes in the excitability of the postsynaptic membrane, also see Neuromodulator,
Neurohormone
all aspects of an organism's environment that enable it to survive and reproduce; Function of a particular species in
an ecological community; - see also Fundamental Niche vs. Realized Niche and Ontogenetic Niche
when "a colony of organisms pursues an irregular and essentially unpredictable course (typically in a search for
food) which does not involve a return to a home territory." [more]
Non-associative
Learning
Norm of reaction
"Occam's Razor"
Ontogenetic
niche
Ontogeny
Open genetic
program
Operant
Conditioning
Optimality Theory,
Optimization
Outbreeding
Orientation
Pacemaker
Panda Principle
Paradigm
Paradigm shift
a change in behavior as a result of exposure to stimuli that are not associated with positive or negative
consequences -- examples are habituation and sensitization.
The range of phenotypic possibilities for a single genotype, as influenced by the environment - see polymorphism.
The idea that explanations should be no more complicated (involve no more "steps") that absolutely necessary
Simplicity in explanation is one of science's most sought after ideals [more]
the niche occupied by a specific organism during a specific stage in its ontogeny; this can include the multitude of
ecological and social (including parental) characteristics of the environment; adaptive plasticity in ontogeny might
allow an organism to spend more-or-less time in one niche before moving on to the next one as it matures. This is
most dramatic in animals that change dramatically as they develop by (for example) going through a larval stage
(see also West & King 1987)
the progressive expression of programmed developmental change, from conception to death. Sometimes contrasted
with experience, expression of change as a result of accommodation to the vagaries of a specific environment.
"Genetic programs" are the genes that influence the expression of a phenotypic trait. "Open" programs of genes
are flexible in their expression and relatively easily influenced by the environment. (Ernst Mayr 1982). The particular
language people learn is a common example of an open program, and can be contrasted with its enabling
anatomical morphology (including neuroanatomy and neurophysiology) which is the result of a relatively inflexible or
"closed" genetic program.
a form of associative learning in which behavior changes as a result of an action that leads to a specific consequence
(e.g. rewarding, noxious), (same as trial-and-error learning, instrumental conditioning); that is, there is a
contingency between the response and the presentation of the reinforcer. --compare with Classical Conditioning
[more]
A way of thinking about the influences that might affect the implementation of a specific behavioral pattern in terms
of their costs and benefits to the animal's inclusive fitness -- used to great profit by behavioral ecologists. It has
three parts: a list of possible alternative behavioral patterns; the values (such as time or energy) of specific aspects
of an alternative; and the constraints that limit an animal's options) [more]
preferential mating between non- relatives, see Inbreeding
the way in which an individual positions itself with regard to external cues, see Homing, Kinesis, Navigation, Piloting,
Taxis
An internal timekeeping mechanism capable of generating or coordinating circadian rhythms
The evolutionary principle using biological traits at hand to solve adaptive problems. Named after Stephen J Gould's
essay about the "panda's thumb." (The panda's "thumb" is really a wrist bone that functions as a thumb. The first
digit was not available to respond to a dietary selection pressure (which could be coped with by an ability to strip
bamboo leaves from stalks); this influenced the evolution of a wrist-bone "thumb" because in the panda's ancestors
the "real" thumb was incorporated into a foot adapted for running. (see Bricolage)
A set of beliefs that complement each other to create a model of how the world works or even a comprehensive
world-view
A change in one's paradigm precipitated by a growing awareness of inconsistencies within the set of beliefs that
supports it. The shift to a new paradigm that better accommodates the most salient of inconsistent beliefs. Beliefs
that do not fit within a paradigm are dissonant and can contribute to a growing unease [see cognitive dissonance]
that is mitigated by a shift to a more harmonious interpretation or paradigm. Reduced dissonance and harmony of
13
Parental
Investment
Parasitism
Perceptual Learning
Period
Phenodeviant
Phenotype
Philopatry
Philosophy
Phylogeny
Piloting
14
beliefs within a paradigm is promoted by behavioral mechanisms that reduce cognitive dissonance such as selective
perception of supportive beliefs and relative insensitivity to dissonance provoking beliefs. [Thomas Kuhn, The
Structure of Scientific Revolutions]
"any behavior towards offspring that increases the chances of the offspring's survival at the cost of the parent's
ability to invest in other offspring" (EO Wilson 1975). Also, any resources (such as energy) utilized by parents in
bearing and raising young. Since parents seek to maximize their fitness, they must utilize their limited resources in
ways that assures that young that have been produced will prosper but does not diminish the availability of
resources available for additional offspring (see Bateman's pinciple). Males and females have different physiological
and behavioral constraints and possibilities and it is reasonable that they would distribute their resources to relatives
or offspring in ways that will increase their own "inclusive fitness" (Trivers 1972). [more]
A relationship between two organisms, in which one, the parasite,benefits at the expense of the host.. Parasitism
can be considered as a special case of predation. Parasites that live inside the body of the host are called
endoparasites and those that live on the outside are called ectoparasites. Social parasites, take advantage of a
host population of animals such as ants or termites; kleptoparasitism is when the parasite steals food or other
resources from the host. See also: mutualism, symbiosis.
A change in the way in which events are perceived as a result of experience; may involve Associative and nonassociative learning. more
Elapsed time before a rhythm repeats itself
a "scarce aberrant individual that appears regularly in the population because of the segregation of certain unusual
combinations of individually common genes" (EOW 1980:34)
The manifest expression of the genotype in morphology or behavior; the external expression of latent possibilities of
the genotype as evoked (or suppressed) by the interactions of genes with their environment (epigenesis); the
aggregate of all describable traits.
limited dispersal where average propagule moves less than 10 home ranges away from natal site
from philosophia, lover of wisdom: the term is applied to any body of doctrine or opinion as to the nature and
ultimate significance of human experience considered as a whole. More specifically, the word is properly applied to
the critical evaluation of all claims to knowledge - including its own - as well as anything about its own nature and
task. In this latter respect of total self-evaluation, philosophy differs fundamentally from all other disciplines. What
philosophy is - what methods the philosopher should use, what criteria a person should appeal to and what goals a
person should set for themselves - is as perennial a question for the philosopher as any other.
Traditionally philosophers have concerned themselves with four main topic areas:
• Logic - The study of formal structures of valid arguments.
• Metaphysics - Usually defined with ontology, the study of the nature of Being or ultimate reality.
• Epistemology - Or theory of knowledge. Sometimes treated as a branch of metaphysics.
• Axiology - Or theory of value which includes: Aesthetics - the philosophy of taste (especially as applied to the
arts), Ethics - moral philosophy and Political Science." (based on the Greek word for "worth")
The New American Desk Encyclopedia
The origin and ancestral succession constituting the evolutionary descent of a species, or class of species. It traces
the evolutionary origins and transformations by identifying Homologies
active travel between locations using familiar landmarks to reach a goal, also see Homing, Kinesis, Navigation,
Play
Pleiotropic
Polygenic
Polygyny threshold
Polymorphism
Polyphenism
Post-Copulatory
Competition
Precocial
"Prepared"
Proximate cause
(and consequence)
Psychophysics
Quorum Sensing
r-selected traits
Orientation, Taxis
an apparent developmental expression of motor patterns that appear to function primarily to exercise and improve
economy of movements (efficiency) and endurance by coordinating activities with appropriate environmental and
internal signals. Three types are often distinguished: object play, locomotor play, and social play.
as an attribute of a gene, possesses potential for influencing multiple effects; in concert with polygeny, it
characterizes the complex possibilities of the genetic control of phenotype.
an attribute of a trait that underscores its determination by multiple genes; in concert with pleiotropy, characterizes
the complex possibilities of the genetic control of phenotype.
some species have a monogamous mating system, BUT when circumstances are right females may choose to enter
into a polygynous relationship; presumably determined by environmental cues that the female uses to select this
alternate mating system. Environmental cues seem to be assessed to determine if the switch might be more
advantageous.
One of alternative "morphs" or variations of a trait that are present within a population sharing a common genotype
(but multiple alleles of a specific gene) (related =?= to polyphenism, "adaptations in which a genome is associated
with discrete alternative phenotypes in different environments") [more]
One of alternative phenotypes that is not attributable to genetic differences, although "silent" genes may be
capacitated or enabled by epigenetic processes. Mainly developmental, polyphenisms are postulated where discrete
alternative phenotypes are seen in different environments[more][wikipedia]
Competition between males does not necessarily end after mating. One consequence of mating can be deposition of
a copulation plug, left in a female's vagina to thwart subsequent copulators (but female fox squirrels (Sciurus
niger) groom their genitals after copulation and can remove a plug shortly after mating (John Kaprowski) possibly
representing a conflict of reproductive strategies between the sexes.
see also the Bruce effect and sperm competition
young are born "relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching." (see altricial)
when characterizing learning, "prepared" refers to the relative ease with which a change in behavior as a result of
experience might occur. Very rapid learning might be regarded as "highly prepared" while associations that are
made only with great difficulty (if at all) would be "contraprepared." Preparedness for certain associations may
change with ontogenetic stage and implies underlying changes in neurophysiological competence.
“Proximate” (as opposed to “ultimate”) causes and consequences of behavior are those most intimately associated
with the behavior; thus the proximate cause of a reflexive or deliberate movement involves the nervous system; the
proximate consequence of neural activation may be a muscle movement. Distance from the specific event -tracking a chain of causes or consequences as far as possible can lead to the complexities of real life.
use of behavioral assays to establish sensory capabilities of an individual
a type of decision-making process used by decentralized groups to coordinate behavior of the entire group; most
common examples are bacteria and eusocial insects, where a threshold number of individuals (quorum) "cooperate"
in influencing the behavior of the entire local population; often appears spontaneous or sudden and involves a
departure from routine activity (see Collective Behavior)
r is an attribute of an organism. In equations describing population dynamics r represents "the intrinsic rate of
population growth." A trait that is "r-selected is one that has helps an organism maximize expression of that intrinsic
15
Realized Niche
Reafference
recursion
reductionism
Releasing
mechanism (RM)
Reliability
Replicator
Resting membrane
potential
Ritualization
Romer's Rule
Runaway sexual
selection
Search image
16
rate (rate that would be manifest if there were no limiting factors). Contrast to K-selection
the set of resources and physical habitats actually used by individuals of a species in an area (a subset of the
Fundamental Niche)
The component of sensory input an animal receives as a consequence of its own movements. (Thus, in the case of
movement of the limbs, reafference is the proprioceptive or visual sensation that arises as a direct consequence of
the motor act. "process of relaying messages from limbic system via entorhinal cortex to sensory cortices, in parallel
with limbic commands to motor systems, serving (1) to compensate in advance for changes in sensory input
accompanying actions, and (2) to sustain states of expectancy and attention." -- from Freeman, Societies of Brains)
(see Afference and Efference) [more]
manifest when an entity or trait (including a process) incorporates subsequent representations of itself . As when
there is a "story within a story" or the outcome of a process becomes incorporated into its "parent" process. An
example is the Matryoska (Russian nesting) dolls or when the outcome of a physiological process feeds back into the
process that led to it and thereby modifies subsequent iterations -- as in "reafference" when the output of a neuromuscular circuit makes adjustments depending in part on its previous activity. An organism's genes reflect ancestral
genes. "The term has a variety of meanings specific to a variety of disciplines ranging from linguistic to logic. The
most common application of recursion is in mathematics and computer science, in which it refers to a method of
defining functions in which the function being defined is applied within its own definition. In a recursive formula, the
preceding term is part of the definition of the next term of the sequence. See also mis en abyme
the idea that complex phenomena can be explained (at least in large measure) by reducing it to its constituent
parts. Some qualities of phenomena do not seem explainable on the basis of its constituent parts -- see holism)
a functionally organized, neural circuit that recognizes a specific sign stimulus and produces the appropriate
response. previously the RM was called the "Innate releasing mechanism", see for discussion of "Innate" See
Stimulus.
the precision and consistency of data, as well as representation in an appropriate resolution (as opposed to
Validity)
"any entity in the universe which interacts with its world, including other replicators, in such a way that copies of
itself are made. A corollary of the definition is that at least some of these copies, in their turn, serve as replicators,
so that a replicator is, at least potentially, an ancestor of an indefinitely long line of identical descendant replicators"
(Richard Dawkins. 1978. Replicator selection and the extended phenotype. Z. Tierpsychol. 47:61-76)
neuronal membrane with differential conductance for different ions produces unequal concentrations of ions inside
and outside the cell. This results in an electrical potential across the membrane with the inside around -70 mV
relative to outside
the process by which a functional behavior pattern (such as a fragment of a motor pattern or an autonomic reflex)
or structure(color at tip of wing, feathers, dewlaps, many secondary sexual characteristics) is transformed into a
communication signal
"the initial survival value of a favorable innovation is conservative, in that it renders possible the maintenance of a
traditional way of life in the face of changed circumstances." (Hockett & Asher 1964:137)
the process in sexual selection by which positive feedback between an ornamental trait in a male and the female
preference for the trait can lead to very elaborate, even burdensome ornaments.
Restriction of an animal's interest to a single class of object as a consequence of focused attention on particular
Segregation
Distortion
Selection
Selection Pressure
Selective
attention
self-organizing
system
Selfish herd
Semelparity
Sensation-Seeking
Sensitization
stimuli
see meiotic drive
"in Biol., used by C. Darwin (Origin of Species, 1859) and subsequent writers, to designate any process, whether
artificial or natural, which brings about a particular modification of an animal or vegetable type by ensuring that in
successive generations the individuals that reproduce their kind shall be those that have transmissible variations
from the ancestral form in the direction of this modification. -- OED; "change in relative frequency in genotypes due
to differences in the ability of their phenotypes to obtain representation in the next generation" (EOW 1975, 1980)
• (natural selection: the operation of natural causes; sexual selection: that kind of natural selection which
arises through the preference by one sex of those individuals of the other sex; see selection pressure;
hierarchical selection; units of selection)
an environmental variable with which an organism must cope in order to survive and thrive (maximize its fitness).
The "pressure" is for an individual or species to cope with limitations imposed by this variable (e.g., climate,
geology, predators, prey, conspecifics) in competition with other organisms in the same environment. In
"domestication" the selection pressure is a specific human need.
apparent responsiveness to a specific subset of all the stimuli that are in principle detectable by an organism
An aggregate of components (living or otherwise) on which "the constraints on form are internal to the system and
result from the interactions between the components, whilst being independant of the physical nature of those
components. The organisation can evolve either in time or space, can maintain a stable form or can show transient
phenomena. General resource flows into or out of the system are permitted, but are not critical to the concept."
(link at Univ Wisc) "organisms and their environments taken together organize themselves. (Von Foerster, 1960).
"... a self-organizing system [is a] system consisting of the organism and environment taken together. (Ashby,
1960)
• "The concept of a self-organizing system has changed over time. In the early days it was defined as a system
which changes its basic structure as a function of its experience and environment. ... [now] it is important to
note that an organism does not organize itself independent of its environment." -- Principia Cybernetica Web
12/2012)
A herd can consist of individuals that act to minimize danger to themselves by moving into the center of a herd.
Thus the herd appears well integrated but actually reflects the behavior of self-seeking individuals
the occurrence of a single act of reproduction during an organism’s lifetime. Most semelparous species produce very
large numbers of offspring when they do reproduce, and normally die soon afterwards. Contrasted with Iteroparity.
“... tendency to seek novel, varied, complex, and intense sensations and experiences and the willingness to take
risks (e.g., physical and social) in order to have such experiences..” (Sensation Seeking and Risky Behavior By
Marvin Zuckerman. American Psychological Association, 2007, xix + 309pp. ISBN: 1–59147–738–7)
An enhanced responsiveness to a stimulus as a result of exposure to it. e.g., drug-induced sensitization is believed
to underlie certain aspects of drug addiction. A kind of Non-associative Learning. [sensitization to an allergen can
result in enhanced responsiveness over time; "behavioral sensitization to a drug refers to a progressively increased
responsiveness that develops as after repeated exposure and which can remain even after long periods of
withdrawal [more]; attributable to changes in the brain; cross-sensitization is when one stimulus makes the
17
Sensory Adaptation
Sensory
bias/sensory
exploitation
Sensory filter
Sensory selectivity
Sensory
transduction
Sexual Selection
Sign Stimulus
Signal
Sleep
Skinner Box
Social dominance
Social hierarchy
Socialization
Society
Sociobiology
18
organism more responsive to a different stimulus]
decreased signalling of a peripheral sense organ with continued exposure to a stimulus
Congenital or developed dispositions for some stimuli over others based on sense organs: In the evolution of social
signals (see "ritualization"), preferences for a specific sensory stimulus often precedes its development into a signal.
Most experiments use "supernormal stimuli." (Basolo 1990 Sci 250:808)
The "sensory exploitation hypothesis" predicts that the evolution of a trait utilized in communication will take
advantage of preexisting sensory bias or preference. (see Bricolage)
neural mechanisms that discriminate more-or-less salient stimuli that are detected by sensor organs; a low level
mechanism of selective attention; may help prevent "sensory overload."
subset of stimuli, which an animal detects and responds to
chain of physiological reactions which convert environmental energy presented to the sense organs into
electrochemical energy which can be transmitted by the nervous system and affect physiological variables such as
the stability of polarized cells (such as neurons)
the process by which changes in gene frequencies result from individuals that are better than others at either
competing for or at attracting mates -- i.e. the evolution of traits based on differences in mating success
small subset of features or complex environmental cues that are sufficient to elicit a FAP, also see Stimulus; a
stimulus to which a specific reaction pattern is tuned
Physical coding of a message for transmission through environment.
Signals can be discrete or graded (digital (easily distinguished units) or analog (an apparent continuum). They can
also be combined to create a new meaning (composite signals are "combinations" of units) or have their
meaning altered by varying syntax (changing the order of presentation of units)
A state of inactivity during which animals are not responsive to external stimuli. [more]
An animal placed inside the box is rewarded with a small bit of food each time it makes the desired response, such
as pressing a lever or pecking a key. A device outside the box records the animal's responses, see Operant
conditioning
an individual's exercise of priority of access to a resource [more]
a form of social organization which manifests the relative social rank of individuals. They can be linear "peckorder" or arborizing (branching as when one individual influences multiple individuals of lower rank)
the developmental process leading to the accommodation of an individual to other individuals and integration into a
social group "...the sum total of social experiences that alter the development of an individual." A term with
subtly different meanings in various disciplines. In ethology or sociobiology it goes beyond culturally
transmitted/learned behavior to include "morphogenetic socialization" (e.g., caste determination), learning speciestypical behavior, and enculturation. (EO Wilson 1975) Can be viewed as in a dialectical tension with "individuation"
"essential tension" between INDIVIDUATION and SOCIALIZATION
A group of individuals of the same species that is organized in a cooperative manner. It is coordinated by reciprocal
communication extending beyond sexual and parental care.
"The systematic study of the biological basis of social behavior." (EO Wilson 1975). Sociobiology emphasizes an
ecological and evolutionary perspective, including population biology. The emphasis on genetic influences on
behavior invited vigorous controversy about determinism.
Sociopathy
Spectrum disorder
Sperm
competition
Stimulus
Stress
Successful
dispersal
Supernormal
stimulus
Sociopathy has also been called "antisocial personality disorder" and "psychopathy." It is characterized by a
pervasive pattern of disregard for the rights of others, lying, deception, impulsivity, aggressive behavior, lack of
empathy, and lack of remorse.
• In A&O and E&S, sociopaths (and synesthetes) are used to illustrate the difficulty in knowing what another
individual is truly feeling (as opposed to what is indicated by their manifest behavior). It appears that there
are degrees the deficits sociopaths manifest and clear sociopathy may be the end of a continuum; not all
those so constituted are necessarily antisocial. Sociopaths have extremely impaired understanding of the
emotional consequences of their actions and they learn how to relate to others by direct consequences;
because this appears to impair the intrinsic sense of responsibility, morality, or concern for others they may
commit criminal acts, sometimes of an "inhuman" nature. (but not all those deficient in these attributes of
consciousness are sociopaths)”
The expression of a potentially dysfunctional trait that varies in intensity.
a form of post-copulatory competition which occurs when ejaculates from more than one male might be in
female's reproductive tract. The "competition" can be affected by several factors including: sperm number (the more
sperm a male transfers the greater the chance of fertilization); sperm quality (sperm from one male may have
greater longevity or motility); mating order (sometimes the last male to mate with the female fathers the most
offspring); cryptic female choice(a female may be able to preferentially use one male's sperm rather than
another's).
any form of energy that can be detected by the body, requires Sensory Transduction
• SIGN STIMULUS. Any stimulus that activates an innate releasing mechanism (IRM) responsible for evoking
a fixed action pattern (FAP) or species-typical behavioral pattern. (This used to be called key
stimulus recalling the idea of lock & key specificity)
• CONFIGURATIONAL SIGN STIMULUS. A stimulus, the effects of which are dependent upon relationships
between its elements. Examples: (a) Hawk-Goose model or (b) human face
• RELEASER. A sign stimulus emanating from a conspecific Examples: (a) Red spot on gull's bill, (b) Lizard dewlap
display.
• see Supernormal stimulus
Distinguish STRESSOR from STRESS RESPONSE: The stressor is a real or perceived environmental or
physiological condition that threatens an organism's ability to meet its needs, the most urgent of which is
homeostasis. The stress response consists of interacting neural and endocrine mechanisms by which the organism
physiologically or behaviorally copes with the stressor. The principal mechanisms involve (a) the "SAMS axis" --the sympathetic nervous system, adrenomedullary axis involving the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine,
key elements of the "emergency response" to stress) and (b) the "HPA axis" -- the hypothalamus, anterior pituitary
gland, and adrenal cortex involving corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and
adrenal steroids (glucocorticoid hormones, cortisol or corticosterone)
dispersal is successful if propagule obtains opportunity to breed and raise young (i.e. genes migrate)
(in animal behavior) A stimulus that produces a more vigorous response than the normal stimulus eliciting that
particular response. For example, a female herring gull will brood a giant egg in preference to its own eggs, which
are smaller. A supernormal stimulus is an exaggerated sign stimulus.
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Symbiosis
Sympathy
Synaptic plasticity
Synesthesia
the act of orienting towards some external stimulus or combination of stimuli. Spatial orientation, aided by different
sensory modalities, is described by the corresponding term e.g. relative to light (phototaxis), smell (chemotaxis),
sound (phonotaxis), or gravity (geotaxis). If orientation is towards the source, it is called a positive taxis, and
away from the source a negative taxis. In such instances individuals move in a directed fashion along a particular
stimulus gradient until they reach a perceived optimal range. see Homing, Kinesis, Navigation, Orientation,
Piloting
Taxis
Territory
Tip-of-the-Tongue
(presque vu)
Trait
Trial-and-error
learning
Umwelt
Ultimate cause (and
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(in neurophysiology) A stimulus that is more intense than a normal stimulus and is capable of inducing a
response in a nerve fibre during the relative refractory period.
A relationship between two or more organisms that might be parasitic (one benefits at the expense of the other),
mutualistic (both find the relationship advantageous -- often necessary to one or both and not harmful to either) or
commensal, in which one member of the association benefits while the other is not affected. ectosymbionts live on
the body surface of the host (including inside the digestive tract or the ducts of exocrine glands; endosymbionts live
in the intracellular space of a host. See also: mutualism, parasitism.
"to suffer together" when a person's feelings reflect or are like those of another. Sympathy exists when the feelings
or emotions of one person give rise to similar feelings in another person, creating a state of shared feeling." Unlike
empathy, which could simply mirror those feelings or the outward signs of them, sympathy requires consciousness
of another's experience [more]
changes in excitability and transmitter release at synaptic junctions between neurons
In A&O and E&S, synesthetes are used to illustrate the difficulty in knowing what another individual is truly
experiencing. Synesthetes possess an atypical blending of the senses: the stimulation of one modality is perceived
in a different modality, so (for example) one may hear colors, feel sounds and taste shapes. [more]
any defended area; an area of more or less fixed boundaries from which rival conspecifics are excluded, see Home
range
a sense that the retrieval of something you are trying to remember is imminent, associated with activity of the
anterior cingulate, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and right inferior cortex, amongst other sites. (Wikipedia)
a manifest morphological or behavioral attribute of an organism. Traits that are demonstrably adaptive are often
termed adaptations. An ETHOLOGICAL TRAIT is PHENOTYPIC in that it is the MANIFEST expression of multiple
converging streams of information. These originate is activation of specific genes and the paths taken: most genes
are PLEIOTROPIC, most traits are POLYGENIC. Genes respond to their immediate environments and may be silenced
or activated by EPIGENESIS. Any particular trait is described as precisely as possible given its LEVEL OR
ORGANIZATION, from cellular to social.
behavioral plasticity, see Operant conditioning
the unique "sensory world" of a specific organism -- the stimuli to which an animal is responsive in a given
motivational state. It is often presumed that the sensory receptors and neural apparatus for extracting meaning
from sensations (perceptions) has, in any particular species, evolved to respond to those stimuli that are or were
relevant to fitness. Term coined by von Uexküll in the 1920s. see Merkwelt [more]
Word did not find any entries for your table of contents.“Ultimate” (as opposed to “proximate”) causes and
consequence)
Unit of Selection
Vacuum activity
Vagrancy
Validity
Williams Rule of
Parsimony
Zeitgeber
Zugunruhe
consequences of behavior are those most distantly removed from the behavior with which it is associated; thus the
ultimate "cause" of a behavioral pattern is often viewed as the selection pressure that first influenced its presence in
the organism, possibly in some very remote (ancient, ancestral) evolutionary scenario; the ultimate consequence of
a behavioral pattern can only be hypothesized on the basis of its likely contribution to fitness in a future
evolutionary scenario.
level of organization at which selection operates: group selection, kin selection, individual selection (see Hierarchical
selection)
• [WD Hamilton: I don't think one can say there is a unit of selection. Any selection process selects on units at
various levels, starting with ultimate replicators such as the gene, the individual, the community in which the
individual is. All these things could be considered units of selection that are being selected simultaneously,
and all of them are changing the frequency of the ultimate atom of selection, which is the gene, but it is not
possible to say that the gene is the soul [sic] unit of selection." (from Evolution 3rd ed, by Mark Ridley http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/ridley/)]
the performance of consummatory behavior in the absence of any of the stimuli that are normally necessary for its
occurrence.
wide dispersal where average propagule moves more than 30 home ranges away from natal site
the accuracy and specificity of data, as well as its applicability to the question being asked (as opposed to
Reliability) Validity is often characterized as internal or external depending on whether it applies to the case(s) at
hand or to a larger, more general set of case (such as "this individual or all members of the population;" or "this
species or all members of the genus")
"when considering any adaptation, we should assume that natural selection operates at that level necessary to
explain the facts, and no higher." Developed in the belief that the phenomena he considered in describing the idea
of "group selection" in evolution could be explained at the level of the parents and their young. (from George
Williams, "Adaptation and Natural Selection" 1966 ) resembles the famous general principle in logic called "Occam's
Razor"
"time-giver" -- cue that triggers an organism's coordination with an environmental rhythm
migratory restlessness
*Adapted from Bowling Green University's Animal Behavior course
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