Transcript Chapter 44 Animal Behavior Table of Contents Section 1 Development of Behavior Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior.

Chapter 44
Animal Behavior
Table of Contents
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Objectives
• Identify four questions asked by biologists who study
behavior.
• Describe an example of an innate behavior.
• Compare four types of learned behavior.
• Explain how learning and genes can interact to affect
behavior.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
The Study of Behavior
• Ethologists are biologists who specialize in the
scientific study of animal behavior.
• Behavior can be defined as any action that an
individual carries out in response to a stimulus or
to the environment.
– Two examples of behavior are a snake playing
dead and a chimpanzee gathering termites on
a stick.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
The Study of Behavior, continued
• In order to better study behavior ethologists ask four
main questions:
– What causes the behavior?
– What is the role of genes in the behavior?
– What is the behavior’s evolutionary history?
– How does the behavior affect the organism’s
survival and reproduction?
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
The Study of Behavior, continued
• Genes and Behavior
– One important factor of behavior is how certain
genes affect it.
– Ethologists study this by mating an animal that
shows the behavior to a mate that does not.
– By studying the offspring of this mating pair
ethologists can see how the gene is passed
on.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
The Study of Behavior, continued
• Natural Selection and Behavior
– Ethologists have hypothesized that animals
usually behave in ways that promote their
survival and offspring production.
– Because genes control some behaviors,
natural selection can affect genetic variation
that involves behavioral genes.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Innate Behavior
• Some behaviors are inherited actions that are
performed effectively the first time without being
taught. These types of behaviors are called innate
behaviors.
• Fixed Action Pattern
– Fixed action pattern is a type of innate
behavior that all members of a species perform
the same way each time they perform it.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Innate Behavior, continued
• Fixed Action Pattern, continued
– Fixed action patterns continue from start to
finish without modification once an
environmental stimulus triggers them.
– Other factors besides environmental stimulus
may influence whether or not a fixed action
pattern is stimulated.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Innate Behaviors and Roles for Bees
Click below to watch the Visual Concept.
Visual Concept
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Learned Behavior
• When behaviors are modified by experience, it is
called learning.
• Four types of learning are habituation, operant
conditioning, classical conditioning, and problem
solving learning.
• The study of learned behavior is central to much
of ethology.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Learned Behavior, continued
• Habituation
– The simplest type of learning is called
habituation.
– Habituation is a type of learning in which an
animal learns to ignore a frequent harmless
stimulus.
– Habituation can save energy, yet still allow
for other everyday activities.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Learned Behavior, continued
• Operant Conditioning
– A type of trial and error learning is called
operant conditioning, in which specific animal
behaviors are deterred or reinforced by
external actions upon the animal.
– Operant conditioning usually happens in a
controlled setting. Operant conditioning also is
easier to learn if related to natural skills the
animal will use for survival or reproduction.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Learned Behavior, continued
• Classical Conditioning
– Classical conditioning is a type of learning in
which an animal learns to produce a specific
response to a predictive stimulus in
anticipation of receiving external reinforcement.
– Classical conditioning can occur naturally and
artificially.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Conditioning
Click below to watch the Visual Concept.
Visual Concept
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Learned Behavior, continued
• Problem-Solving and Reasoning
– In problem-solving learning, an animal uses
several learning mechanisms, such as
watching an older offspring or trial and error,
to learn a type of behavior.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Learned Behavior, continued
• Problem-Solving and Reasoning, continued
– One type of problem-solving, reasoning,
involves the ability to solve a problem not
previously encountered by the individual in a
way that is not dictated by instinct.
– This type of behavior occurs without trial-anderror, as if the animal developed an insight into
how to solve the problem.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Genes, Learning, and Behavior
• Most ethologists today have come to agree that
animal behavior, especially complex behavior, is
affected both by genes and by experience.
• Imprinting
– One class of behavior that is determined by
both genes and learning is called imprinting.
Imprinting is a form of learning in which a
young animal forms permanent associations
with its environment.
Chapter 44
Section 1 Development of Behavior
Genes, Learning, and Behavior, continued
• Imprinting, continued
– Imprinting occurs during a specific phase in an
animal’s development. This period of
development is called a sensitive period.
– Certain forms of learning that occur during this
time are very difficult to change later.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Objectives
• Discuss the optimality hypothesis and feeding behavior.
• List three types of competitive behavior.
• Describe three different types of reproductive behavior.
• Name five kinds of communication.
• Identify costs and benefits of social behavior.
• Describe four types of cyclic behavior.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Feeding Behavior
• Animals must balance the need to obtain energy
with the amount that they spend to get energy.
• The optimality hypothesis is the idea that animals
tend to behave in a way that maximizes food
gathering, while minimizing effort and exposure to
predators.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Competitive Behavior
• Because most resources are limited, competition
for these resources occurs quite often.
• There are many types of behavior that can be
seen as a result of competition: aggressive
behavior, territorial behavior, and dominance
hierarchies.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Competitive Behavior, continued
• Aggressive Behavior
– Aggressive behavior can be defined as
physical conflict or threatening behavior
between animals.
– Aggressive behavior can be seen among
males looking for a mate.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Competitive Behavior, continued
• Territorial Behavior
– A territory is an area that an animal or group of
animals occupies and defends from other
members of the same species.
– An animal will establish its territory in any
number of ways and defend this area at all
costs, because this helps guarantee the
survival of that animal’s offspring.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Competitive Behavior, continued
• Dominance Hierarchies
– Competition can lead to a clear ranking of
individuals within the group, from most
dominant to most subordinate. This type of
ranking is called a dominance hierarchy.
– This type of hierarchy reduces the need for
competition and aggressive behavior as
subordinates learn to submit to avoid
conflict.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Reproductive Behavior
• Elaborate behaviors have evolved around the
process of reproduction in many animals, which
may allow these animals to recognize members
of the same species or members of the opposite
sex, or may even be an indicator of good health.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Reproductive Behavior, continued
• Sexual Selection
– Animals generally choose mates based on
certain traits or behaviors, and this type of
tendency is referred to as sexual selection.
– These traits or behaviors will appear with
increased frequency in a population, because
these individuals are most likely to produce
offspring.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Reproductive Behavior, continued
• Sexual Selection, continued
– Another means of attracting a mate involves
certain behaviors and is called courtship.
– In some species, courtship can include a
complex series of behaviors called rituals.
• A ritual is usually instinctive and may
consist of specific signals and responses
that indicate a willingness to mate.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Reproductive Behavior, continued
• Mating Systems
– Mating systems increase the likelihood that
young will survive.
– Male polygamy (more than one female),
monogamy, and female polygamy (more than
one male) are reproductive strategies that are
determined primarily by the amount and type
of parental care required by the young.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Reproductive Behavior, continued
• Parental Behavior
– The benefit of parental care is that it increases
the likelihood that young will survive to
adulthood.
– The costs are that parental care can generally
only be provided for a small number of young
because of the large energy investment by the
parent.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Nest Building Behavior
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Communication
• Communication is a transfer of a signal or
message from one animal to another that results
in some type of response.
• There are many ways animals can communicate,
including sight, sound, chemicals, touch, and
possibly even language.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Communication, continued
• Sight and Sound
– Color can be used to communicate certain ideas to another
animals.
– Bright colors often serve as a warning that an animal is
poisonous. This is called aposematic coloration.
– Some animals gain protection by looking like a dangerous
animal. This strategy is called mimicry.
– Animals can also use sound to communicate between
species.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Communication, continued
• Chemicals
– Chemical communication can convey
information over greater distance and time
than can communication by sight or sound.
– Some animals release chemicals called
pheromones that cause individuals of the
same species to react in a predictable way.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Communication, continued
• Touch
– Species that inhabit dark hives or dens often
communicate by touch in addition to using
sound or chemicals.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Communication, continued
• Language
– In order to be considered language, there are
certain criteria that must be met, and most animal
systems are missing at least one of these criteria.
– Among these are phonemes (sounds that can be
combined to form words), productivity (many
combinations of phonemes to produce different
meanings), and grammar (rules for combining
words that affect the meaning).
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Social Behavior
• Social behavior can be defined as any kind of
interaction between two or more animals, usually
of the same species.
• Some species spend the majority of their lives in
social groups, others do not.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Social Behavior, continued
• Social Groups
– Social groups have evolved in the animal
kingdom because there are benefits to living in
a group. These benefits can include protection
from predators and more success in foraging.
– There are also disadvantages to living in a
social group, such as competition during
courtship, theft of eggs by nonbreeding
males, and possibly transmission of disease.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Social Behavior, continued
• Altruism
– When one member of a social group acts in a
way that benefits other members of the group
while putting the individual at a disadvantage,
this type of behavior is called altruism.
– There are several ways in which an individual
can be altruistic towards his social group.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Cyclic Behavior
• An animal displays cyclic behaviors when it has
synchronized its behavior with changes in its
environment.
• Biological Rhythms
– There are many types of biological rhythms.
• A daily biological cycle is called a circadian
rhythm.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Cyclic Behavior, continued
• Biological Rhythms, continued
– Another type of biological rhythm is one based on the
tides, and is called a lunar cycle.
– There are also annual biological cycles. One such
annual cycle is called hibernation.
• Hibernation is a period of inactivity and lowered
body temperature that some animals undergo in
the winter as protection against the cold
weather and lack of food.
Chapter 44
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior
Cyclic Behavior, continued
• Migratory Behavior
– Migration is a periodic group movement that is
characteristic of a population or species.
– Migration is exhausting and risky yet it allows
animals to find habitats with plentiful seasonal
foods and provides nesting sites safe from
predators.
Chapter 44
Animal
Behavior
Section 2 Types of Animal Behavior