E.3
Innate and Learned Behavior
E.3.1: Distinguish between innate and learned behavior.
Innate: Genetically determined/inherited from
parents. No environmental input. No learning
involved. No modification of behavior. Present in all
members of the population.
Learned: behavior develops of changed through
experience. The animal develops the behavior through
trial and error. New behavior developed. Old behavior
modified. Specific behavior may not be naturally
selected. Individuals of a population may show
variation in the behavior.
E.3.2: Design experiments to investigate innate behavior
in invertebrates, including either a taxis or a kinesis.
Taxis: Planaria move towards food (chemotaxis) and
Euglena move towards light (phototaxis).
Kinesis: woodlice move about less in optimum (humid)
conditions and more in an unfavorable (dry)
atmosphere.
E.3.3: Analyze data from invertebrate behavior
experiments in terms of the effect on changes of survival
and reproduction.
The behavior of the animals regardless of whether or
not it is taxis or a kinesis moves the animals away from
negative stimuli or towards positive stimuli. Having
survived to reproduce because of these behaviors the
animals reproduce and pass on the genes for the
behaviors to the next generation. Conversely, animals
whose behavior does not remove them from
undesirable stimuli risk a reduction in their fitness,
gene frequency for such behavior will decline due to
poorer reproduction.
E.3.4: Discuss how the proves of learning can improve the
chance of survival.
Learning can improve the chances of survival because
the innate characteristics can take generations of
selection to change. Relying on this long process
doesn’t provide optimal chances for survival. On the
other hand, learning, the process by which behaviors
can be acquired or modified during the course of a life
cycles, provides the animal with an immediate increase
in chance for survival. However, to become more
frequent in the population “learning” behavior must
have a genetic component.
E.3.5: Outline Pavlov’s experiments into conditioning of
dogs.
Pavlov a Russian physiologist studying digestion
When Pavlov presented unconditioned stimuli (original stimuli)smell or sight of food to the dogs they salivated (their unconditioned
original response). Every time Pavlov fed the dogs with food he rang
bell, this is neutral stimuli (introduced stimuli). After repeatedly
ringing the bell and giving the dogs food, the dogs began to salivate
just when they heard the bell. This is a conditioned response, this
has now become a reflex and is in response to the conditioning
stimuli. In this experiment the reflex of salivation has had the
stimuli changed from the smell of food to the ringing of the bell.
This provides the animal with a flexible behavior which will allow
the modification of the behavior which can improve survival
chances.
E.3.6: Outline the role of inheritance and learning in the
development of birdsong in young birds.
Male birds use song as a means of communication whether singing to
attract the attention of females of signaling their territorial boundaries.
Each bird song is specific to a specific species. For a few birds to the ability
to sing the right song is completely inherited. Most birds, however, are born
with a “template song” which is a crude version of the adult song. The
immature bird hatches with a template song, then these immature birds
develop song through practice. They are forced to learn the song because
there are “sensitive periods” when the adult song is required. There are also
“silent listening phases” in which the immature bird hears the adult song
and begins to be able to execute it as well. The innate part of this is that
they are born with template song so that they don’t learn the wrongs species
song. The learned component allows the bird to modify the song to the
correct local dialect.