Animal Behavior

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Animal Behavior

• BIOL 151 Winthrop University

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Introduction

• Why do animals do what they do?
• Why do birds sing?
• How do sea turtles navigate the ocean to lay
  their eggs on the same beach where they were
  hatched?
• How do honeybees know when the hive needs more
  food?

Image from http//www.nps.gov
Image from http//www.scottcamazine.com
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Introduction

• Animal behavior asks what, why, and how.
• Animal behavior is also referred to as ethology.
• Scientists who study animal behavior are called
  ethologists.

Image from http//www.arcamax.com
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Introduction

• Animal behavior is centered around the ability to
  move.
• Animals seek food, water, shelter.
• Animals play with each other.
• Animals seek mates.

Image from http//www.e-magine.education.tas.gov.a
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Introduction

• In order for an animal to move, it uses muscles.
• So, in a way, we can think of animal behavior as
  being dependent on muscle movement.

Image from http//www.wildaboutcats.org
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Introduction

• Behavior results as a reaction to a stimulus.
• A stimulus is a detectable change in the animals
  internal or external environment.
• Hunger.
• Sound.
• Pain.
• Visual cues.
• Hormonal changes.

Image from http//www3.nau.edu/biology/
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Introduction

• Ethologists do not attempt to describe WHY an
  animal does a behavior before describing WHAT the
  animal is doing.
• This removes as much bias as possible good
  scientists dont want to just see what they
  want to see.
• Need to make objective observations of animal
  behaviors, analyze the data statistically, then
  come to conclusions about WHY an animal behaves a
  certain way.

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Introduction

• For example, you see two gophers interacting with
  each other, rolling and hopping around, running
  to and from each other.
• As a behavioral ecologist, you would first state
  the behavior you are observing.
• Once you made the observations about WHAT was
  happening, you could begin to determine WHY they
  are behaving that way.

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Introduction

• The behavior you observed could have been many
  different things.
• Play.
• Mating rituals.
• Aggression, defending territory.

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How to determine WHY action patterns.

• Action patterns are complex behaviors that are
  always repeated the same way by a species of
  animal.
• We say that action patterns are stereotyped,
  since they occur the same way each time, and
  through to completion.
• After repeatedly observing action patterns, an
  ethologist can analyze the data statistically.
• Only then do we attempt to determine WHY a
  behavior is being done.

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Niko Tinbergen

• Niko Tibergen was a pioneer in the field of
  animal behavior.
• He observed animals in their natural conditions,
  then manipulated, or varied the conditions to see
  how the animals responded.

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Niko Tinbergen

• Tinbergen observed how a wasp called the beewolf
  finds its nest among other beewolf nests.
• He observed that the beewolf would circle its
  nest in an ever-widening circle before flying
  away to hunt.
• This behavior was an action pattern it was
  performed exactly the same way each time.

Image from http//www.sciencenews.org
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Niko Tinbergen

• After the beewolf flew off, Tinbergen would move
  certain landmarks around the nests.
• When the beewolf returned, it was disoriented.
• So, by manipulating the beewolfs environment,
  Tinbergen came to the conclusion that the beewolf
  commits landmarks to memory to be able to find
  its nest when it comes back from hunting!

Image from http//www.earthlife.org
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Niko Tinbergen

• Tinbergen had to describe and investigate WHAT
  the organism was doing before attempting to
  explain WHY.

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More on Action Patterns

• The egg-rolling behavior of the greylag goose is
  a good example of an action pattern.
• Niko Tibergen and another pioneer in ethology,
  Konrad Lorentz, originally observed this behavior.

Image from http//www.grayimages.co.uk
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More on Action Patterns

• The goose will roll an egg that is outside the
  nest back into the nest in the same manner every
  time.
• Interestingly, the goose will do this with any
  round object placed outside the nest!
• Every time this action pattern is initiated, it
  is carried through to completion.

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Proximate vs. Ultimate Causes

• The question of WHY can have different answers.
• Proximate causes are related to internal changes
  in the animal.
• Hormones.
• Messages from the nervous system.
• Proximate means close.
• Ultimate causes are related to the survival and
  reproductive success of the animal.
• Ultimate means furthest, or utmost.

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Proximate vs. Ultimate Causes

• An example incorporating both proximate and
  ultimate causes Beldings ground squirrels.
• When males reach about two months old, they leave
  the burrow where they were born.
• It is an increase in testosterone, or a hormonal
  change that triggers this behavior.
• So, the proximate cause of the nest-leaving
  behavior involves the increase in testosterone
  levels in the squirrel.

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Proximate vs. Ultimate Causes

• There is more to the story than just hormones!
• When males leave the nest, they avoid inbreeding
  with sisters or cousins, etc.
• Their offspring are therefore healthier.
• The male offspring inherit the same genetic
  information that induces them to leave their
  nests at a young age.
• So, this behavior is passed on genetically, and
  it makes for a healthier population of squirrels.
• Avoiding inbreeding is therefore the ultimate
  cause of this early nest-leaving behavior.

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What influences behavior?

• Environmental pressures.
• Internal influences such as hormones.
• Learning.
• Genetic predisposition (sometimes referred to as
  instinct).
• There isnt a definite combination of these
  influences that affects all behavior.

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Guidelines For Studying Animal Behavior

• Ask clear, specific questions.
• Keep the question simple. Are you sure it is a
  question that can be easily answered?
• Put the question into the, What is the effect of
  _______ on ________? model.
• Formulate a complete hypothesis.
• Decide on the type of data you need to collect
  and how you will gather the data.
• Leave time to run statistical analyses on the
  data, and form conclusions based on your results.

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Your Experiment

• You will be designing and running an original
  animal behavior project from start to finish.
• You will work with your group to come up with a
  comprehensive report/paper about your research.
• You will not only be evaluated by me, your peers
  will have an influence on your grade.

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Your Experiment

• You may do experimental tests on invertebrate
  organisms.
• Crickets, darkling beetles, sowbugs, etc.
• However, because of regulations and hassle, you
  will only be able to do OBSERVATIONAL studies on
  vertebrate organisms.
• This includes humans!

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Your Experiment

• Some ideas for vertebrate observation
• Field studies of squirrel or geese behavior at
  Winthrop Farm and Lake.
• Field studies of animals at the Riverbanks Zoo
  in Columbia (any sample size of 20 or so).
• Flamingos.
• Penguins.

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Your Experiment

• Some ideas for vertebrate observation
• Humans
• Observation of pre-school student behaviors at
  MacFeat Lab Pre-School.
• Observing human behaviors in public at the mall,
  in stores, on campus, in restaurants, etc.

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Your Experiment

• Some ideas for invertebrate observation
• Cricket behaviors in response to sounds, odors.
• Mealworm behaviors.
• Pill bug behaviors.

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Schedule

• Today (9/25) Decide on experimental topic,
  start on experimental design worksheet, share
  contact information, plan out of class meeting
  times. GET APPROVAL from Jen before leaving!
• Wednesday (9/27) Begin data collection, class
  time is open workshop for running experiments,
  advice, etc.
• Monday (10/2) - More data collection, class time
  is open workshop for running experiments, advice,
  etc. You should be working on your rough draft by
  then.
• Wednesday (10/4) More data collection, class
  time is open workshop for running experiments,
  advice, etc.

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• See handout for specifics about formatting and
  other guidelines!