Ethology - Study of Animal Behavior

Ethology *Ethology: study of animal behavior *Behavior: what an animal does and how it does it; genetic and environmental factors cause; needed for survival and reproduction - Changes due to natural selection *Behavioral Ecology: study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior *Proximate Cause: describes a behavior and “how” it occurs *Ultimate Cause: “why” behavior happens in the context of natural selection/reproduction Innate Behavior *Innate Behavior: developmentally fixed; not learned; expressed in most of population *Fixed Action Patterns: not learned actions (innate); connected to a sign stimulus; unchangeable - Triggered by a sign stimulus → makes sure that necessary actions are done without practice *Kinesis: random movement; how fast random movement is to increase chances of moving in an environment they like *Taxis: oriented/automatic movement; towards or away from stimulus *Migration: innate behavior; regular and long distance movement; WHOLE community moves *Circadian Rhythm: internal biological clock - Long Cycle: maintains 24 hr cycle; find position relative to the Sun or magnetic field - Short Cycle: activity and rest synchronized with light and dark environment *Circannual Rhythm: behavioral rhythms associated with the yearly cycle of seasons; influenced by periods of darkness and light in an environment *Signal: creates a change in behavior; animal communication - Pheromones: chemicals that affect species - Visual: bee wiggle and warning flash - Tactile: touch; Male fruit flies tap female flies to mate - Auditory: screech of blue jay - INNATE BEHAVIOR Learned Behavior *Learned Behavior: behaviors modified based on specific experiences *Young-Fostering Study: young of one species is placed into the care of adults from another species in the same or similar environment - Amount the offspring’s behavior changes → how much social and physical environment affect their behavior - Characteristics can change behavior of generations (mice leaving their children) *Twin Study: the influence of genetics and environment on behavior; identical twins grown up in different households and compare *Habituation: loss of responsiveness to stimuli; birds not being afraid of humans in NY - Simple learning *Imprinting: learning and innate; limited to a sensitive period and irreversible; allows for bonding to occur (pair bond) - Ultimate Cause: higher success of offspring surviving (reproduction success) *Spatial Learning: Cognitive Maps → remember certain locations/resources based on landmarks *Associative Learning: associate one environmental feature to another (bright color = bad taste) - Classical Conditioning: random stimulus doesn’t have to match response (ring bell = dog salivating) - 100% learned behavior *Operant Conditioning: type of associative learning; trial and error → associate OWN behavior to a reward or punishment *Cognition: process of knowing; involving awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgment - Problem Solving Behavior needs cognition *Social Learning: learning by observing others - Forms culture: sharing information through social learning and teachings; influence the behavior of individuals in a population - Alter behavioral phenotypes and influence fitness of individuals Food and Reproduction *Foraging: getting food behavior; recognize, capture, and consume food; minimize cost of energy and max benefits of food - Lowest amount of attempts to get food etc. *Sexual Selection: seeking, attracting, choosing, and competing for mates - Ornaments: health and vitality *Agonistic Behavior: settle disputes over resources (mates) *Sexual Dimorphism: extent to which females differ from males in appearance - Monogamous species look very similar - Polygamous species have shower sex that those of the other sex *Intersexual Selection: members of one sex chose their mate based on their characteristics *Intrasexual Selection: competition between members of one sex for mates *Lower Certainty of Paternity: less investment the males can give to offspring *Promiscuous Mating: no strong pair bonds between animals; greater reproductive success; lower certainty of paternity *Monogamous Mating: relationship M/F; higher certainty of paternity *Polyamous Mating: one sex is mating with many of another sex; greater reproductive success; lower certainty of paternity - Polygny = single male and many females - Polyandry = single female many males Kin Selection *Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH): known as vasopressin; a peptide that binds to a specific receptor in the CNS - Helps form pair-bonds after mating *Altruism: selfless behavior; reduces individual fitness; increases fitness of population *Inclusive Fitness: total effect of an animal in spreading its genes + helping close relatives *Kin Selection: type of natural selection; altruistic behavior; increasing reproductive success of relatives - Ex. sacrifice their own lives so that closely related organisms can live *Coefficient of Relatedness: r; fraction of genes that are shared on average - Hamilton’s Rule: natural selection will favor altruism if the saved have a high coefficient of relatedness to the organism and how many offsprings the saved can make → rB > C - B= how many offsprings can be made if saved - C= cost of altruistic act on organism Ecological Hierarchy *Ecology: scientific study of interaction between organisms and the environment - Biotic Influences: living organisms, their behaviors and interactions with others - Abiotic Influences: nonliving; temp, water, salinity, sunlight, and soil *Hierarchy (Highest at the top) - Biosphere: global ecosystem - Landscape: connected ecosystems - Ecosystem: community of organisms and physical factors - Community: populations of different species in an area - Population: population of a species living in an specific area - Organisms Climate *Climate: long-term weather conditions in an area - Temperature + Precipitation + Sunlight + Wind *Microclimate: small scale environment variation *Macroclimate: seasonal, regional, or local level *Climate Change: some species may not survive shifting ranges *Global Climate Patterns Depend on: - Sunlight Intensity: latitudinal variation - Air Circulation and Precipitation Patterns - Ocean Currents - Mountains that affect rainfall Types of Biomes *Biomes: major types of ecosystems that occupy very broad geographic regions - Climate, elevation determine what type *Climograph: plot of temperature and precipitation in a particular region - Desert: low precipitation and high temperature - Temperate Grassland: medium precipitation and low to high temperature - Tropical Forest: high precipitation and medium temperature *Disturbance: event that changes a community and removes organisms from it; alters resource availability - Storms or human made disturbance *Types of Biomes: Tropical Rainforest, Desert, Savanna (Kenya), Chaparral (mountains with greens), Temperate Grasslands, Northern Coniferous Forest (green evergreens), Temperate Broadleaf Forest (NY), Tundra (no trees), Lakes, Wetlands, Streams, Rivers, Estuaries (fresh mix with salt), Intertidal Zones, Oceanic Pelagic Zone (Open Water), Coral Reefs, Marine Benthic Zone (deep sea and hydrothermal vents) *Thermocline: an abrupt change in temperature; oceans and lakes; separates upper, warmer layer from colder, deeper layer Biogeography *Biogeography: geographic distribution of a species - Factors: - Dispersal: movement away from origin - Behavior: habitat type - Biotic Factors: other species, food resources, competition, predators, pollinators - Abiotic Factors: temp, water, oxygen, salinity, sunlight, rocks and soil *Territoriality: the defense of a bounded physical space against encroachment by other individuals Dispersion of Population *Population: group of individuals of a SINGLE SPECIES living in the same general area - Density= # of organisms/area - Dispersion: pattern of spacing between individuals *Patterns of Dispersal: - Clumped: most common; near resource - Uniform: competitive interactions - Random: unpredictable spacing; not common in nature Survivorship Curve *Survivorship Curve: represents # of individuals alive at each age