1. Introduction to Animal Behavior

2. Shearwater migrations
Shaffer S A et al. PNAS 2006;103:

3. Behavior is driven by two causes

4. Proximate Causation

5. Ultimate Causation

6. Another example Proximate mechanisms Ultimate mechanisms
One male produces stronger signal
vocal, visual, etc.
Elevation in sex hormones
progesterone, estrogen
Increase in epinephrine and serotonin
Leads to copulatory behavior
Male – What do you look for in a mate?
Female – What do you look for in a mate?
Ultimate mechanisms
Females that display a preference for particular males
Produce more offspring
Have healthier offspring
Have larger offspring – maybe feed more as babies
Their offspring are simply more attractive

7. Shearwater migrations
Why do birds migrate?
Shearwater migrations
Shaffer S A et al. PNAS 2006;103:

8. What are the mechanisms that cause behavior?
How does the behavior develop?
What is the survival value of the behavior?
How did the behavior evolve?

9. History of Animal Behavior
Contempt

11. Schools of Behavior Nikolas Tinbergen Jan Smith Alicia Mathis
Gerard Baerends
Miles Keenleyside
Jan Smith
Brian Gall
YOU!

12. Classical Ethology Observation Generate hypotheses
Limited manipulation
Comparative approach

13. Example of the comparative approach in early animal behavior…

14. Enter the Kittiwake…

15. Let’s do what early ethologists wouldn’t….
Design an experiment to ask:
Do gulls remove egg shells to protect chicks from predation?
Break into 4 groups
Start with 40 (independent) gull nests
May use unlimited number of eggs
May be more than one way to test question
Team with the best design gets?

16. What triggers the behavior?
Stereotypic Behavior
Whitman and Heinroth
Motor response (i.e. behavior) initiated by environmental stimulus and continues to completion without the influence of external stimulus
What triggers the behavior?

17. Begging in Herring Gulls
Tinbergen, 1950

19. FAP’s in Stickleback What is the fixed action pattern?
What is the fixed action pattern?
What is the sign-stimulus?
Tinbergen 1951

20. Goose Egg Retrieval Lorenz and Tinbergen, 1938

21. What do you think will happen if you provide a greater intensity sign-stimuli?
Why?
In all of these cases, NS strongly favors individuals that exhibit the correct behavior

22. Supernormal Stimuli in hatching gulls

23. Criticisms of FAPs