Individual Behavior
An action carried out by muscles under control of the nervous system
Evolution vs Behavior
Behavior is subject to substantial evolutionary selection over time, which affects anatomy
Function of Behavior
Behavior is an essential part of acquiring nutrients and finding a mate; contributes to homeostasis
Behavioral Ecology
Study of ecological and evolutionary basis of animal behavior
Innate Behavior
Fixed action patterns; behavior that is unlearned and genetically fixed
Fixed Action pattern
Sequence of unlearned acts that is directly linked to a simple stimulus
Sign stimulus
A simple stimulus that is linked to a fixed action pattern
Stickleback Fish Fixed Action Pattern
Attacking anything with a red underside (red underside is the sign stimulus)
Examples of Innate Behavior
Migration, courtship-stimulus responses chain, pheromone signaling
Migration
A regular, long-distance change in location. During migration, many animals pass through environments they have never encountered before
What guides migration?
Environmental cues such as time-compensated sun compasses, tracking position in relation to the earth's magnetic field
Time-compensated Sun Compass
Some animals track their position relative to the sun or the North Star, adjusted by their circadian clock
Circannual Rhythm
Guide the yearly cycles of migration; influenced by periods of daylight and darkness in the environment
Circadian Clocks
Continually oscillate in constant conditions with a period of approximately 24 hours
Do Circadian clocks run at different speeds at different temps?
No, they run about the same speed regardless of temperature, even in cold-blooded animals and plants
What are Circadian clocks synchronized too?
Circadian clocks are usually synchronized tot eh daily light/dark cycle of exactly 24 hours
What defines the time-compensated sun compass?
The circadian clock & the sun
What happens if the clock of a monarch butterfly is shifted 6 hours?
When released from the artificially lit chamber, the monarch's migration will be off by 90 degrees
Relative time of Day is maintained by the
Circadian clock
Intraspecies diversity in Innate Behavior
Within a species there is a significant amount of genetic diversity, which can impact innate behavior.
Example of Intraspecies Diversity in Innate Behavior
Blackcap warblers of two different regions of Europe which migrate different directions were raised under similar conditions, but showed different migratory orientations
Signal
A stimulus transmitted from one organism to another
Communication
The transmission and reception of signals between animals; often has a role in the causation of behavior
Five Modes of communication
Visual, chemical, tactile, auditory, and electric
Stimulus-Response Chain
Response to each stimulus is the stimulus for the next behavior; seen in fruit fly courtship
Waggle Dance of Honeybees
Informs the hive about the distance and direction to food
Round Dance
Performed if the food is near (<50m). Odor informs the source
Waggle Dance
Performed if food is far
Process of Waggle Dance
Half circle in one direction, straight run with a waggle, and half circle in other direction. Angle of the straight run relative to the hive's vertical surface represents the horizontal angle of the food relative to the sun. The longer the straight run, t
Pheromones
Odorants used in communication between members of a species
Pheromones in Social Insects
Maintain social order and castes
Pheromones in fish and mammals
Serve as danger signals
Pheromones in other insects
Used to attract mates
Experience and Behavior
Some behaviors vary with experience, and thus, differ between individuals
Experience during development
Experience during development can modify physiology in a way that alters parental behavior, extending the influence of environment to a subsequent generation
Learning
The modification of specific behaviors based on experience
Learning and the formation of memories
Learning involves the formation of memories by specific changes in neuronal connectivity
Imprinting
Establishment of a long-lasting behavioral response to a particular individual or object
Sensitive Period
Specific period of development during which imprinting takes place
Function of Imprinting
Imprinting between parent and offspring forms a bond that facilitates the learning of basic behaviors
Imprinting in birds
Sometimes can take place only during the first two days after birth; bonding is usually via visual cues
Spatial learning
The establishment of a memory that reflects the environment's spatial structure
Cognitive Map
Stores the spatial relationship between objects; sometimes involved in spatial learning
Associative Learning
The ability to associate one environmental feature with another
Associative learning in blue jays
Blue jays avoid eating monarch butterflies because they associate monarch butterflies with vomiting and indegistion
Cognition
The process of acquiring knowledge that involves awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgment
Problem Solving
Evidence of cognitive learning
Social Learning
Many animals learn to solve problems by observing the behavior of other individuals
Culture
Formed from social learning; a system of information transfer through social learning or teaching that influences the behavior of individuals in a population
Summary
Animal behavior has a genetic basis and is modified by experience (learning). It often results from an interaction between Nature and nurture, Instinct and learning, and genetics and the environment