The Process of Science: Studying Animal Behavior

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Chapter 3

• The Process of Science Studying Animal Behavior

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Concept 3.1

• Biologists study through observations and
  experiments
• Key Terms
• Animal Behavior
• Immediate Cause
• Ultimate Cause

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Asking Questions about Animal Behavior

• Why do whales make bubble nets?

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Observing Behavior in Natural Environments

• Jane Goodall observed chimpanzees in their
  natural habitat

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Designing Experiments on Animal Behavior

• Niko Tinbergen
• Digger Wasp

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Immediate and Ultimate Causes of Behavior

• Immediate Cause
• Immediate interactions with the environment
• Explains How?
• Ultimate Cause
• Explanations based on evolutionary
  characteristics
• Explains Why?

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Concept 3.2

• Experiments show that both genes and environment
  affect behavior.
• Key Terms
• Innate behavior
• Fixed action pattern
• Circadian rhythm

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Nature vs. Nurture

• Behavior is due to genes (NATURE) or environment
  (NURTURE)

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Innate Behaviors

• Behavior performed correctly by all individuals
  of a species, even if they have no prior
  experience.
• Nest Building
• Web Weaving
• Suckling

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Fixed Action Pattern

• Greylag Goose
• Egg Rolling
• Yawning

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Rhythms of Behavior

• Circadian Rhythm
• Biological clocks
• Jet Lag
• Migration

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Concept 3.3

• Learning is behavior based on experience.
• Key Terms
• Learning
• Habituation
• Imprinting
• Conditioning
• Insight

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Learning vs. Habituation

• Learning
• Change in animals behavior resulting from
  experience
• Habituation
• Animals learn NOT to respond to stimulus
• Hydra to touch
• Humans ticking clocks, jewelry, etc
• Scarecrows

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Benefits to Habituation?

• Animals do not waste time or energy on less
  important stimuli and instead focus on food,
  mates, or real danger

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Imprinting

• Limited to a specific time frame
• Critical learning period
• Often results in a strong bond between 2
  organisms
• Konrad Lorenz

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Conditioning

• Learning that a specific stimulus/response is
  linked to a reward/punishment
• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning

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Classical Conditioning

• Otherwise associated with meaningless behavior
• Pavlovs Dogs

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Operant Conditioning

• Trial-and-Error Learning
• Animals learn that their behavior have a positive
  or negative effect

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Insight

• Animals are able to respond to a new situation
  WITHOUT previous experience
• Ability to analyze problems and test solutions
• Octopus Jar
• Chimp Boxes Banana

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Play Behavior

• Practice Hypothesis
• Animals practice behaviors that are required for
  survival
• Exercise Hypothesis
• Play helps keep the animals cardiovascular and
  muscular systems in top condition

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Concept 3.4

• Social behaviors are important adaptations in
  many species.
• Key Terms
• Aggressive behavior
• Dominance heirarchy
• Territory
• Courtship ritual
• Communication
• Cooperation

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Competitive Behaviors

• Animals sometimes live in social groups that
  compete for food, space, and mates
• Aggressive Behavior
• Dominance Hierarchies
• Territorial Behavior

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Aggressive Behavior

• Actual physical struggles
• Tests of strength (or the more determined)
• In most cases one individual stops threatening
  and submits to the other

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Dominance Hierarchies

• Ranking from the most aggressive to least
  aggressive animal in the group
• Each animal has a specific location on the
  pecking order that way they dont waste energy
  fighting and instead have specific jobs based on
  their role in the group

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Territorial Behavior

• Animals establish specific territories for
  themselves and protect it from other members of
  the same species
• Fighting
• Scents
• Sounds
• Territories are used for breeding sites, places
  to raise young, as well as access to the best
  food sites

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Courtship Behavior

• Elaborate rituals before mating to attract the
  best mate

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Communication

• Different animals use a variety of ways to
  communicate within their species
• Sounds
• Odors
• Visual displays
• Touching

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Cooperation

• Individuals work together in a way that is most
  beneficial to the group
• Packs of Wolves
• Musk Oxen