XIV' Ethology

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XIV. Ethology

• A. Definition Philosophy
• B. Learning
• C. Pheromones
• D. Behavioral Ecology
• E. Sociobiology

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A. Definition Philosophy

• 1. Study of animal behavior
• 2. Predominantly field oriented
• 3. Endeavors not to disturb the animal so the
  behavior observed is the animals natural
  behavior not a response to being observed

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B. Learning

• 1. Short term, long term, or permanent change in
  behavior that results from experience
• 2. Experience- retention utilization of past
  memories
• 3. Nonassociative Learning
• 4. Associative Learning

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3. Nonassociative Learning

• a. No association between two stimuli or between
  a stimulus a response
• b. Habituation- decrease in response to a
  stimulus that has no positive or negative
  consequences
• c. Learning not to respond to a stimulus
• d. Deer humans

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4. Associative Learning

• a. Association between two stimuli or between a
  stimulus response that conditions or modifies a
  behavior
• b. Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning
• c. Operant Conditioning
• d. Sensitization
• e. Imprinting

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b. Classical Conditioning

• 1.) Paired presentation of two stimuli causes
  animal to associate the two
• 2.) Pavlov presented dogs with food rang a
  bell, soon the dogs associate the ringing bell
  with being fed salivate at the sound of a bell
  w/o food
• 3.) In nature?

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c. Operant Conditioning

• 1.) Animal learns to associate behavior with a
  positive or negative consequence
• 2.) Birds monarch butterflies, frogs bees,
  and caged rat food lever

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d. Sensitization

• 1.) Increase in response to a stimulus
• 2.) Opposite of habituation
• 3.) Prey become acutely aware of smells sounds
  of predators and vice versa

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e. Imprinting

• 1.) Process early in development, animal forms
  preferences social attachments that will
  influence later behavior
• 2.) Filial Imprinting
• 3.) Sexual Imprinting

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3.) Filial Imprinting

• a.) Social attachments between parents their
  offspring
• b.) Geese imprint on the first object they see
  after hatching

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4.) Sexual Imprinting

• a.) Individual learns to direct its sexual
  behavior towards members of its own species
• b.) Some birds raised by parents of a different
  species attempt to mate with members of their
  foster parents species

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C. Pheromones

• 1. Chemical messengers that influence behavior
  used for communication between individuals
• 2. Alarm pheromones- signal attack in bees ants
• 3. Sex pheromones- facilitate reproduction by
  attracting mates insects, fish, mammals
• 4. Maternal pheromone- keeps female crayfish from
  eating her young

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D. Behavioral Ecology

• 1. Studies how natural selection shapes behavior
• 2. Considers adaptive significance of behavior
• 3. How behavior increases survival reproduction
• 4. Foraging, territorial, mating behavior

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E. Sociobiology

• 1. Structures of societies genetically based, E.
  O. Wilson, 1978
• 2. Studies the biological evolution of social
  behavior
• 3. Cross-cultural behavior- smiling, eye brow
  flash, raised hand in greeting
• 4. Altruism- behavior increases survival at risk
  to altruistic individual, explained by common
  genes

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