Animal
Behavior
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fpat/3375999258/
Kinesis versus Taxis
Movement (random) as
a response
Directional response
(toward or away from
a stimulus
Ex. fish startle when
tank is bumped
Ex. plant grows
toward light
This plant exhibits THIGMOTAXIS
http://ticklemeplant.com/
( Mimosa pudica )
Behavior - any action that can be observed and described.
*Response to a stimulus (stimuli)
Ethology - the scientific study of animal behavior
Why do behaviors exist?
45.1 Nature vs. Nurture: Genetic Influences
Studies of animal behavior often focuses on what
behaviors are genetically based and what is
learned (Nature vs. Nurture)
How much of who you are is in
your genes, and how much of it is
a result of your upbringing and
environment?
Does this
experiment
suggest that nest
building is an
innate behavior or
a learned
behavior?
Is there a genetic basis for food preference?
Background: In California, there
are two populations of garter
snakes.
Coastal snakes eat slugs
Inland snakes eat aquatic
organisms such as fish and frogs.
Inland snakes refuse to eat slugs in a lab, hybrids of will have an
intermediate acceptance of slugs.
Further experiments showed that inland snakes are not sensitive to
a slug’s smell.
Does this support an innate or a learned cause for the behavior?
How can you determine whether a behavior is
something that is innate or something that has been
learned?
In humans, twin studies showed that even in twins that
were raised separately, there were startling similarities.
Serial Killer, Ted Bundy
Is a serial killer born that way?
Some human instincts….
44.2 Nature vs Nurture: Environmental Influences
Learning - change in behavior as a result of experience
Imprinting - a type of learning, during key periods birds
will imprint on the first thing they see.
Why would rescue
workers use puppets
to feed their
orphaned birds?
FAP = Fixed Action Pattern
A behavior that is innate, like the
spinning of a web by a spider.
Some patterns can improve with
practice, such as bird nest
building.
Associative Learning
A change in behavior that involves an association between
two events. (also called conditioning)
1. Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
2. Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov's Dogs)
OPERANT CONDITIONING
Involves "training" a behavior using
a reward or punishment system.
Skinner Box
The Skinner Box used to train rats
Chimpanzee vs Human Learning
From an evolutionary perspective, suggest a reason why the
human’s behavior is an advantage (for humans)?
Other Forms of Learning
1.
2.
3.
4.
Insight
Imitation
Habituation
Trial and Error
45.3 Adaptive Mating Behavior
Sexual Selection - evolution, increases offspring
success
Male competition males will compete for
access to females,
leads to dominance
hierarchies and
territoriality
Sexual Dimorphism
Human Mating
Do humans display sexual dimorphism?
What attributes do human females look for in a mate?
What attributes do males look for in a mate?
Why would they not be the same attributes?
Two Models for why some features become extreme
due to sexual selection.
Good Genes Hypothesis
Runaway Hypothesis
45.4 Sociobiology and Animal Behavior
Altruism vs Self Interest
Altruistic behavior has some benefit for the population.
Direct Selection: reproductive success of an individual
Indirect Selection: also called KIN SELECTION , refers to
reproductive success of relatives
* the pool of genes is indirectly passed to the next generation
Inclusive Fitness - includes
personal reproductive
success and the success of
your relatives.
Ex. Wolf packs are family
units, only the alphas breed.
Reciprocal Altruism
- an animal helps another animal, but the benefit may not
happen until later (can occur in family groups or among
unrelated individuals)
Florida Scrub Jays are one of the few
cooperative breeding birds in North
America.
Fledgling Florida Scrub Jays remain in
their parents' habitat for several years
and help to rear young, watch for
predators, and defend territory against
neighboring Florida Scrub Jay family
groups.
What advantage might this have for the
offspring?
For humans, what is the advantage of being
helpful?
Altruism or coincidence?
44.5 Animal
Communication
Chemical (pheromones)
Auditory
Visual
Tactile (touch)
*Only humans have
LANGUAGE
Chimp vs Human vs Dog - why is the dog
behavior advantageous?