Behavior

-Action carried out by muscles under control of the nervous system-bird uses throat to produce a song-subject to natural selection-assenting part of finding nutrients and a partner for sexual reproduction

Niko Tinbergen's 4 questions

1. What stimulus elicits the behavior, and what physiological mechanisms mediate the response?2. How does the animal's experience during growth and development influence the response?3. How does the behavior aid survival and reproduction?4. What is the behavior's evolutionary history?

Proximate causation

-"how" a behavior occurs or is modifiedEx-color stimulates behavior in male sticklebacks-they attack red color-first two Tinbergen questions

Ultimate causation

why" a behavior occurs in the context of natural selectionTimbergens question three and four

behavioral ecology

the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior

Fixed action pattern

- a sequence of unlearned acts directly linked to sign stimulus(In DNA)-can't change it-sign stimulus triggers itEx-animal attacking red object is a response to the red color

Sign stimulus

An external sensory cue that triggers a fixed action pattern by an animal.

Migration

- a regular, long-distance change in location guided by environmental cues-animals either follow:-The sun, North Star, Earths magnetic field, landmarks-linked to changing seasons

Circadian rhythms

-daily cycle of rest and activity-cycadium clock-24 hour period by external mechanism -Sleep schedule -synchronized with light or dark cycles

Circannual rhythms

-behavioral Rhythms linked to yearly cycle of seasons-influenced by periods of light and darkness in the environment -influenced by new and full moon in fiddler crabs-helps development of offspring

Crabs link their reproduction times to

The greatest tidal movement

Reproduction

Linked to changing seasons

Biological movements linked to

Lunar cycles affect tidal movements

Signal stimulus

Generated by one animal that guides behavior of anotherEx-when male crabs wave their claw they want female to reproduce with them

Communication

-The transmission of information through a common system of symbols, signs, behavior, speech, writing, or signals.-has a role in proximate causation of behaviorEx-pur of a kitten

Four modes of communication in animals

Visual,chemical,tactile,auditory

Stimulus response chain

the response to each stimulus is itself the stimulus for the next behavior

honey bee dance

-All on relation to the sun-half circle straight run half circle-uses to inform other bees about the distance and direction of travel to a source of nectar-Tight circles-food is less than fifty meters away-The angle of straight run relative to the hives vertical surface indicates the horizontal angle in relation to the sun-Angle/waggle indicates distance to food

Pheromes

Animals that communicate through odors or tastes emit chemical substances. -relative to reproductive behavior Ex-plant releases hormone when caterpillar is trying to eat it that attracts wasp who attacks caterpillar trying to eat the plant

Innate behavior

All individual in a population behave alike-fixed action pattern, court ship stimulus response chain, pherome signaling

cross-fostering study

the young of one species are placed in the care of adults from another species-approach to timbergens seocond question-provides measure of how the social and physical environment influences behavior

Learning

modification of behavior as a result of specific experiences-depends on nervous systems organization established during development and genomes

Imprinting

the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life-can only take place during a time in development called a sensitive period-young learn basic behaviors

spatial learning

the establishment of a memory that reflects the environments spatial structure-environment where there is nest sites, hazards, food and prospective mates-some animals use visual landmarks to find their homes

cognitive map

a representation in an animal's nervous system of the spatial relationships between objects in its surroundings-some animals keep track of the halfway point between landmarks rather than a fixed distance

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).ex- blue jay eats monarch butterfly. monarch butterflys eat milkweeds which make blue jays throw up. the blue jay throws up when it eats the butterfly so now they stay away from the species

classical conditioning

-a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events-if a person rings a bell the dog salivates anticipating food

operant conditioning

-"trial and error learning"-animal first learns to associate its behaviors with a reward or punishment and then tends to repeat or avoid that behavior. -rats can associate harmful food with a smell-pigeons can associate danger with a sound

cognition

the process of knowing that involves awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgement

Social learning

Learning through observing others.Ex-monkeys learn how to crack open palm nuts with two stones by copying experienced chimpanzees

Culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of individuals in a population.-culture transfer of information can alter behavioral phenotypes and influence fitness of individuals

Foraging

Behavior associated with recognizing, searching for, capturing, and consuming food.-foraging behavior is a compromise between the benefits of nutrition and the costs of obtaining food-predation risk influences this behavior

optimal foraging model

Natural selection should favor a foraging behavior that minimizes the costs of foraging and maximizes the benefits

internal fertilization

Process in which eggs are fertilized inside the female's body

External fertilization

The process by which the female lays eggs and the male fertilizes them once they are outside of the female

certainty of paternity

the probability that a male is the genetic sire of the offspring his mate produces

Monogamy

one male, one female

polygyny

One male, several females.

Polyandry

One female, several males.

Game theory

the study of how people behave in strategic situations where the outcome depends on the strategies of all the individuals involved-rock paper scissor shoot-one wins in a different way every time -relative performance is the key to understanding the evolution of behavior

Altruism

Behavior that reduces an animals individual fitness but increases the fitness of other individuals in the population. Ex-squairrel makes alarm call to warn the other squirrels about a hawk but calls attention to itself when it does that-honeybees dying after stinging someone

Inclusive fitness

Total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes by producing its own offspring and by providing aid that enables other close relatives to produce offspring.

Three variables in act of altruism

Benefit to the recipient, cost to the altruist, coefficient of relativeness

Hamilton rule

The principle that for natural selection to favor an altruistic act, the benefit to the recipient, devalued by the coefficient of relatedness, must exceed the cost to the altruist.

Kin selection

Natural selection that favors altruism by enhancing the reproductive success of relatives

innate behavior

an inherited behavior that does not depend on the environment or experience

intrasexual selection

A direct competition among individuals of one sex (usually the males in vertebrates) for mates of the opposite sex.

intersexual selection

Selection whereby individuals of one sex (usually females) are choosy in selecting their mates from individuals of the other sex; also called mate choice.