1. Chapter 52 Biology Raven and Johnson 7th Ed.
Behavioral Biology
Chapter 52
Biology Raven and Johnson 7th Ed.

2. Outline Behavioral Genetics Learning The Development of Behavior
Animal Cognition
Migratory Behavior
Courtship
Communication in Social Groups
Behavioral Ecology
Foraging Behavior
Territorial Behavior
Reproductive Strategies
Sexual Selection
Mating Systems
Altruism
Kin Selection
Social Systems

3. Approaches to the Study of Behavior
Behavior can be defined as the way an organism responds to stimuli in its environment.

4. Behavioral Genetics
Recent studies have shown identical human twins, separated at birth, develop many similarities, even though they were raised in very different environments.
Behavior may be controlled by one, or many, genes.

5. Learning Influences Behavior
Comparative psychologists focus on learning as the major element that shapes behavior.
nonassociative learning
Animal is not required to form association between a stimulus and a response.
examples
habituation - decrease in response to a repeated stimulus with no positive or negative consequences
sensitization - increased responsiveness to a stimulus

6. Learning Associative learning
Association between two stimuli or between a stimulus and a response.
Classical conditioning - Paired presentation of two different stimuli creates an association between the stimuli (Pavlovian conditioning).
Operant conditioning - Animal learns to associate its behavioral response with a reward or punishment.
trial and error
Skinner Box- mice learn to push a lever to release food.
(They will push a lever to get cocaine and ignore food, sex, and play, until they die.)

7. Learning
Instinct
Investigations have shown some animals have innate predispositions toward forming certain associations.
Learning preparedness demonstrates that what an animal can learn is biologically influenced.
An animal’s ecology is key to understanding what an animal is capable of learning.

8. The Development of Behavior
Parent-offspring interactions
imprinting - social attachments to other individuals that will influence behavior later in life (Konrad Lorenz)
sensitive phase or critical period

9. Fig

10. The Development of Behavior
Interaction between instinct and learning
Genetic templates may guide young birds to learn appropriate song.
During critical period, the template will accept the correct song as a model.
Template is selective, and leaning plays a role.

11. Animal Cognition
What does thinking mean?

12. Animal Cognition
Central question in animal behavior is whether animals show cognitive behavior.
Do they process information and respond in a manner that suggests thinking ?
Some examples are compelling:
chimpanzees
ravens

13. Fig

14. Orientation and Migration
Taxis - movement toward or away from a stimulus
positive (toward) and negative (away)
Kineses - increase in general activity level due to increased stimulus intensity
Migrations - long-range, two-way movements
monarch butterflies

15. Orientation and Migration
Navigation
navigation - ability to set or adjust a bearing and follow it
orientation - ability to follow a bearing
Inexperienced starlings appear to migrate by orientation, while older birds use true navigation.
magnetic field
celestial clues

16. Courtship
Stimulus - response chain in which behavior of one individual in turn releases behavior of another individual
Courtship signaling
Signals are often species-specific .
Reciprocal responses provide a continuous check on species identity.
Stickleback- see next slide

17. Stimulus-Response Chain

18. Courtship
Pheromones and acoustic signals
Pheromones are chemical messengers used for communication between individuals, and often serve as sex attractants. (in humans egg and sperm—they are from two individuals, right?)
Silk moths are the most famous example.
Many insects, amphibians, and birds produce species-specific acoustic signals to attract mates.

19. Communication in Social Groups
Communicated information:
alarm calls
alarm pheromones
trail pheromones
dance language
Waggle dance of European honeybee relays direction and distance of a located food source.
primate vocalizations

20. Waggle Dance of Honeybees

21. Behavioral Ecology
Behavioral ecology is the study of how natural selection shapes behavior.
examines adaptive significance and survival value of behavior
effect on fitness

22. Foraging Behavior
Optimal foraging theory - Natural selection favors individuals feeding on prey that maximize net energy intake efficiency.
two assumptions:
Natural selection will only favor behavior maximizing energy acquisition if increased energy reserves lead to increases in reproductive success.
Optimal foraging has resulted from natural selection.

23. Territorial Behavior
Territoriality is behavior in which individual members of a species maintain exclusive use of an area containing a limited resource.
defense against intrusion
made on cost:benefit basis centered around fitness

24. Competition for Space
6 birds species removed (R) were replaced by existing species and by 4 new species (N).

25. Parental Investment and Mate Choice
Mate choice occurs when individuals do not mate at random, but appear to make decisions on mates base on quality.
common in females, usually they have a larger reproductive investment
Parental investment refers to contributions each sex makes in producing and rearing offspring.
usually higher in females
In mormon crickets, the male invests in a high energy sperm, and the males are more selective.

26. Reproductive Competition and Sexual Selection
Sexual selection occurs when individuals compete for mating opportunities.
involves both intrasexual and intersexual selection
leads to evolution of secondary sexual characteristics

27. Products of Sexual Selection
In many species, the boys dress up for the girls : )
a. African paradise whydah b. Peacock c. Eyespots/ Mates

28. Reproductive Competition and Sexual Selection
Intrasexual selection
Individuals of one sex compete for the opportunity to mate with individuals of the other sex.
Selection will strongly favor sexual dimorphism.
sperm competition

29. Intersexual Selection
benefits of mate choice
Males may help rear young, gather food, defend nest, etc..
Indirect benefits
Females may choose healthiest or oldest males.
overall genetic or physiological health
more vigorous offspring

30. Intersexual Selection
Handicap hypothesis
Only genetically-superior males can survive with a handicap.
Sensory exploitation involves evolution in males of an attractive signal that exploits preexisting biases.

31. Mating Systems
Number of mates
monogamy - one male and one female
polygyny - one male and many females
polyandry - one female and several males
Needs of offspring
altricial - require extensive, prolonged care (ex. Humans)
precocial - require little parental care

32. Mating Systems
Extra-pair copulations -- (cheating)
Researchers found that in one study, 20% of red-winged blackbird offspring were a result of extra-pair copulations.
may be very pervasive
Males benefit by increased mating success.
Females may benefit by increased rearing assistance.

33. Factors Favoring Altruism and Group Learning
Altruism - performance of an action that benefits another individual at a cost to the actor (nest helpers)
Natural selection would seem to argue against altruism.
Such acts may not be truly altruistic, and may be benefiting the actor.
Nest helpers may gain parenting experience or inherit territory.

34. Factors Favoring Altruism and Group Learning
Reciprocity - Individuals may form partnerships in which mutual exchanges of altruistic acts occur. Ex: Vampire bats will share blood with those who have shared with them in the past.
Kin selection - By directing aid toward close genetic relatives, an altruist may increase reproductive success of its relatives enough to compensate for the reduction in its own fitness.
The more closely related the individuals, the more likely the potential genetic gain.

35. Altruism
Hamilton’s Rule- Altruistic acts (acts that benefit another member of the same species) are favored when rb > c
r = relatedness –proportion of shared alleles
b = benefit
c = cost

36. Examples of Kin Selection
Belding’s ground squirrel
sound alarm calls when spot predators
Females are more likely to call than males because colony is mostly her relatives.

37. Group Living - Evolution of Social Systems
Society - group of organisms of the same species organized in a cooperative manner
Insects
All ants, some bees, some wasps, and all termites are eusocial.
Eusocial colonies are composed of different castes of workers that differ in size and morphology and have different tasks to perform.

38. Vertebrate Societies
Vertebrate social groups are usually less rigidly organized and cohesive.
Some complex systems exhibit both reciprocity and kin-selected altruism.
also display higher levels of conflict and aggression among group members

39. Summary Behavioral Genetics Learning The Development of Behavior
Animal Cognition
Migratory Behavior
Courtship
Communication in Social Groups
Behavioral Ecology
Foraging Behavior
Territorial Behavior
Reproductive Strategies
Sexual Selection
Mating Systems
Altruism
Kin Selection
Social Systems