Behavioral Biology Chapter 51

Behavior – what an animal does and why they do it. Has proximate (immediate responses) and ultimate (evolutionary reasons) causes. Innate behavior – present at birth.

Human grasp reflex – innate behavior

Fixed action pattern (FAP) – These Triggered by a stimulus.

These chicks peck at red spot on mothers beak to stimulate regurgitating reflex.

Optimal foraging theory – foraging is balance between cost and reward. Animals expend the least amount of energy to get the most food.

Hummingbirds must constantly eat in order to keep up with demand.

Learning Modification of behavior because of specific experiences. Different from maturation (change due to development in neuromuscular system) If stimulus is overused, habituation occurs. (no response)

* A Imprinting – learning limited to specific period in animal’s life (sensitive period) Seen in songbird’s song – bird must learn song during sensitive period or it won’t learn it.

B Associative learning – associating one stimulus for another. 1 Classical conditioning – one stimulus gives reward or punishment (Pavlov’s dogs) 2 Operant conditioning – trial and error learning

C Play – no external goal, but has goal-directed behaviors. Could be for exercise or for practice (i.e. play fighting)

Cognition Ability of animal’s nervous system to perceive, store, process, and use information gathered by receptors. 1 Kinesis and taxis – kinesis – change in activity due to stimulus; taxis – movement towards/away from stimulus.

Sowbugs exhibit kinesis – they are more active in dry areas, less in humid areas. This ensures they will always be in wet areas.

Before adding light After adding light The organisms exhibit positive phototaxis and orient towards the light.

2 Landmarks – more complex; ability to use objects as memory tools. 3 Cognitive maps – code of spatial relationships among objects. Blue jays can remember thousands of storage areas for food.

Cognition studied through migration (movement over long distances)

Social behavior Any interaction between 2 + animals, usually the same species. 1 Agnostic behavior – involves threatening/submissive behavior – winner earns something (mate, food) Involves rituals, reconciliation behavior.

Ritual behavior in birds

2 Dominance hierarchy – pecking order from top-ranked to bottom. 3 Territoriality – defends territories for mating, feeding, etc.

Dominance hierarchy in bears

Mating behaviors 1 Courtship – behavior patterns leading to mating. Amount of time proportional to parental investments (amount of time needed to produce/raise young) 0http:// 0

2 Mating systems – vary in species. A Promiscuous – no strong relationships. B Monogamous – one male/one female.

C Polygamous – more than one partner; polygyny – 1 male/<1 female; polyandry – 1 female/<1 male

New evidence shows that this fox, once thought to be monogamous, may exhibit polyandry.

D Signals – behavior that causes change in behavior in other animal. 1 Phermones – chemical signals emitted from animals.

Altruism – reduces individual fitness but increases fitness of recipient. Leads to inclusive fitness – total effect an individual has on passing on genes by producing offspring and helping to raise close relatives.

Kin selection – form of altruism specific to families. Weakens with hereditary distance. Reciprocal altruism – altruism outside of family (seen rarely; i.e. humans)

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