Behave Yourself! A Summary of Animal Behaviors

Innate Behaviors Also known as instinct Born with it, not learned Generally essential to organism’s survival. Example: a spider building its first web. “Hard-wiring” of the nervous system, usually inflexible (a given stimulus triggering a given response)

Suckling A mammal is born knowing how to nurse Example: Pigs suckling at birth

Imprinting Fly Away Home Trailer Some baby bird species will follow the first moving object they see, usually the mother. Example: ducks

Migration Organisms move from one place to another periodically, generally in response to temperature or food availability. Wildebeast, geese, monarch butterflies

Hibernation Hibernation & Homing An organism goes dormant for a long period of time to escape cold temperatures. Bears, chipmunks, frogs

Estivation An organism goes dormant for a long period of time to escape hot temperatures. Example: African bullfrog, fringe toed lizard, turtle

Positive Chemotaxis An organism responds to a chemical by moving towards it. Example: Male cockroach pheromones attract females

Negative Chemotaxis An organism responds to a chemical by moving away from it. Example: the smell of a skunk repels other animals

Positive Phototaxis An organism responds to light by moving towards it. Example: Moths to a light

Negative Phototaxis An organism responds to light by moving away from it. Example: Moles live underground

Circadian Rhythms Periods of sleep and waking in a 24 hour period. Example: Human alertness during the day

Mother bear teachers her cubs what to eat. Learned Behaviors A behavior that is altered as a result of experience : Nest building Mother bear teachers her cubs what to eat.

Classical Conditioning Any time an animal learns to make a connection between a certain behavior and a given reward or punishment. Example: Training a dog

Trial and Error (Operant Conditioning) When faced with two choices, an organism can learn to choose the option with the best reward. Ex: Learning to press a lever for food.

Trial and Error (Operant Conditioning) When faced with two choices, an organism can learn to choose the option with the best reward. Ex: Students who study to improve their grades.

Habituation An organism learns to ignore a stimulus because it is repetitive and is not providing any valuable information. Example: Dog ignores all cars driving by until your car pulls up.

Social Behaviors The various ways in which an organism interacts with members of its own species. Can vary greatly, depending on whether the organisms live together or lead solitary lives (interacting only to reproduce).

Courtship Flamingo courtship An individual performs a ritual – e.g., sounds, visual display, pheromones – to attract a mate or strengthen an existing bond Example: Necking, dancing for mates in condors Courtship grooming and feeding among birds and mammals Scorpion courtship

Territoriality An organism defending or marking a defined living space Example: Wolves mark their territory; male bettas fight other males in their territory

Parental care Care of young, e.g., feeding, grooming, defense of young Example: primates nursing young, elephant mother defending baby elephant, gull regurgitation

Communication Occurs when one organism passes along a signal to another, generating a response; signals include: Visual Sound Touch Chemical/electrical

Visual Signals Killdeer broken wing An organism displays defined movements, coloration, or other behavior that can be seen Cuttlefish changes colors to indicate mood. White tail deer flash underside of tail for warning Killdeer perform “broken wing” display to distract predators

Sounds Birds – singing Dolphins – signature ‘whistle’ and echolocation Primates & Humans - language

Chemical Signals (Pheromones) Bees use pheromones (and visual “dance”) to help indicate to other bees where to find food, nectar, and the hive. Lions use pheromones to indicate readiness to mate and to identify their cubs.