2. Ecology Part 8
Animal Behavior

3. Learning Targets
23. Explain why innate behavior is different from learning 24. Explain how social behaviors (cooperation, agonistic, dominance hierarchies, territoriality, altruism, and reciprocal altruism) affect the fitness and survival of organisms.

4. THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF BEHAVIOR
Behavior is everything an animal does and how it does it
Figure 35.1

5. Behavior is the result of both genes and environmental factors
Natural selection
Preserves behaviors that enhance fitness
Behavior is the result of both genes and environmental factors

6. Innate behavior Requires no learning
Performed the same way by all members of a species
Genetically programmed
Reflexes startle or escape reflexes
Orientation Behaviors  helps avoid
Fixed Action Patterns….next slide

7. Sign Stimulus => unchangeable sequences
Innate Behavior
Fixed action patterns
Innate behaviors
Sign Stimulus => unchangeable sequences
Ensure that activities essential to survival are performed correctly without practice
Figure 35.2

8. Learned Behavior
Is a change in behavior resulting from experience

9. Animal Movement
For some animals movement is random & undirected, this is called Kinesis
Other animals have more complex movements in response to stimuli, this is called Taxis

10. Animal movement Kinesis
Kinesis
We are going to do the pill bug lab. Pill bugs show kinesis.
Picture on right of kinetic energy of molecules. That is my analogy I use to remember what kinesis is.

11. Animal movement
Taxis
I remember taxis is directional because when you get in a taxi they can’t just start moving they need to take you in the direction you ask for.

12. FORAGING Foraging includes identifying, obtaining, and eating food
Foraging includes identifying, obtaining, and eating food
Optimal foraging theory: all animals maximize energy gain and minimize energy expenditure and risk
Need food to be healthy and attractive to mates and to have the energy to mate. Costs: when you are hunting or foraging you are exposed and easier for your predators to get you and any time you are out foraging you are not spending mating.

13. Mating Mating behaviors enhance reproductive success Mating strategies
Mating
Mating behaviors enhance reproductive success
Mating strategies
r strategists
K strategists
Mating systems may be
Promiscuous
Monogamous
polygamous

14. r strategists Reproduce quickly Offspring small, mature quickly
Mortality relatively high
Gestation short
Almost no time/resources needed by parents to take care of them once they are born

15. K strategist Reproduce slowly Offspring larger, mature slower
Mortality relatively lower
Gestation long
Lots of parental care needed for survival

16. The needs of offspring and certainty of paternity help explain differences in mating systems and parental care by males
Promiscuous is more common with no parental care. If male is just offering some general protection then polygamous is common. Monogamy is more common when there is going to be more parental care on the part of the male.

17. Advertise the species, sex, and physical condition of males
Mating behavior often involves elaborate courtship rituals
Advertise the species, sex, and physical condition of males 1 2 3 4
Species so you don’t waste time mating if there can be no offspring.
Physical condition so mates can choose the best possible mate.

18. Territorial behavior
mark and defend

19. Agonistic behavior, including threat, rituals, and sometimes combat
Agonistic behavior, including threat, rituals, and sometimes combat
Settles disputes
Death?
Rarely is this to the death. Usually one will back down when they see they are out matched.

20. Dominance hierarchies are maintained by agonistic behavior
Dominance hierarchies are maintained by agonistic behavior
Agonistic behaviors include shows of dominance like baring teeth.

21. Social behavior requires communication between animals

22. sounds (auditory)
Sounds can be made a variety of ways and used for communication

23. scents (chemical)
Can be to attract mates or to mark/claim territory

24. displays (visual)
Ring tail lemurs can spot and follow other ring tails
Bees waggle dance
chameleons don’t change color to blend in they do it to communicate
Aggressive displays can include posture, baring teeth, fur staning up, etc.

25. touches (tactile)

26. Altruistic acts
Prairie dogs that see a threat stay up and warn others before taking cover
Worker bees spend their whole life working for the good of the hive and not themselves
If a crow finds food it will caw to attract other crows to the area too.
Dolphins will swim under and support a sick individual and even take it to the surface to breathe.

27. inclusive fitness kin selection
inclusive fitness
kin selection
Prairie dogs are related to their group so staying up to warn the others is helping others that contain the same alleles they do. If they survive and reproduce their alleles are passed on.

28. In reciprocal altruism Accident?
In reciprocal altruism
Accident?
Birds will incubate another egg that is in their nest. This might be because they can’t distinguish between them
Vampire bats will regurgitate blood for other bats that were not successful at feeding that night. They did a study and tracked who fed whom and found a bat is more likely to do this for a bat that has given them food in the past.