AP Behavioral Biology

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AP Behavioral Biology

• Chapter 51

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• Behavioral ecology- scientific discipline that
  studies how behaviors are controlled, developed,
  evolved, and how they contribute to survival and
  reproductive success.
• Behavior- everything an animal does and how it
  does it

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• Ethology-the scientific study of how animals
  behave, particularly in their natural
  environments

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Core questions

• 1. What is the mechanism basis of the behavior,
  including chemical, anatomical, and physiological
  mechanism?
• How does development of the animal, from zygote
  to mature individual, influence the behavior?

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• 3. What is the evolutionary history of the
  behavior?
• 4. How does the behavior contribute to survival
  and reproduction?

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Proximate vs. Ultimate Questioning

• proximate questions of behavior focus on the
  environmental stimuli, if any, that trigger a
  behavior, as well as the genetic, physiological,
  and anatomical mechanisms underlying a behavioral
  act
• Ex. How does day length influence breeding by
  red-crowned cranes?

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• Ultimate questions address the evolutionary
  significance of a behavior
• Ex. Why did natural selection favor this behavior
  and not a different one?

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• Fixed action pattern (FAP), a sequence of
  unlearned behavioral acts that are unchangeable
  once initiated and carried through completion
• Imprinting- a type of behavior that includes both
  learning and innate components and is generally
  irreprehensible (must take place during a crucial
  time period)

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• Innate behaviors- behavior that is
  developmentally fixed (have a strong genetic
  influence)
• Learning- the modification of behavior based on
  specific experiences

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Forms of learning

• Habituation
• Spatial learning (locations of landmarks, food,
  hazardsetc)
• Cognitive maps (internal recognition or code)
• Associate learning (color with a bad taste)
• Cognition and problem solving

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• Classical conditioning- form of associative
  learning an arbitrary stimulus is associated with
  a reward or punishment
• (Pavlovs dog)
• Operant conditioning-trial and error learning

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• Altruism- behavior that reduces an individuals
  fitness but increases the fitness of other
  individuals within a population selflessness