chapter 39
ethology
study of animal behaviour particularly in natural environments
behaviour
response to external and internal stimuli
niko tinbergen
suggested four questions to explain behaviours called tinbergens four questions
dutch
tinbergens four questions - two proximate level
1. what stimulus elicits the behaviour and what physiological mechanisms mediate the response 2. how does the animals experience during development and growth influence the response mechanism
tinbergans four questions - 2 ultimate level
1. how does the behaviour aid survival and reproduction 2. what is the evolutionary history of the behaviour
proximate level focuses on
genetic, physiological and anatomical mechanisms underlying a trait, the environmental cues that trigger a behaviour ie. immediate causes of behaviour
ultimate level focues on
evolutionary origins of behaviour - the adaptive significance of a behaviour and its evolutionary origins
behavioural ecology
study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behaviour
T or F ultimate causation is central to the study of behavioural ecology
true
fixed action pattern
a sequence of unlearned innate behaviours that is unchangeable, once initiated usually carried out, sign stimulus
sign stimulus
a fixed action pattern is triggered by an external clue
migratory behaviour
regular long-distance change in location, animals use sun, magnetic feild, ocean currents, olfactory cues to orientate themselves
behavioural rhythms
circadian clocks for daily activities, circannual rhythms for longer scale biological cues like migration or hibernation, some are not set by light patterns but by moonlight or rainfall
signals
specially evolved messages containing info to modify the behaviour of the receiver
communication is constituted by
signal transmission and reception
hypotheses of parent-child communication
signal of need and signal of quality
signal of need hypothesis
child is telling parent i am hungry
signal of quality hypothesis
child is telling parent i am worthy of feeding
pheromones
odors emit chemical substances to communicate
environmentally driven learning
an animals environment can influence behaviour through learning
the capacity for learning is ___ driven
genetically
what shapes learning and development of behaviour
nature and nurture
modification of behaviour is based on
experiences
cross fostering study
putting young from one species into nest of another species
benefits of cross-fostering study
help behavioural ecologists identify the contribution of the social and physical environment to an animals behaviour
innate behaviour
developmentally fixed and under strong genetic influence
imprinting
behaviour that includes innate and learned components and generally irreversible
imprinting is different from other learning because
it has a sensitive period - a limited developmental phase that is the only time when certain behaviour can be learned
spatial learning
behaviour based on experience with the spatial structure of the environment
cognitive maps
an internal representation of spatial relationships between objects in an animals surroundings
associative learning
animals associate one feature of their environment with another
learning is subject to natural selection
true
cognition and problem solving
cognition is the process of knowing (awareness, reasoning, judgement) , problem solving is the process of devising a dtrategy to overcome an obstacle
three questions of foraging behaviour
where to forage, what to eat, when to search for prey
process of what to eat
optimal diet model - prey is ranked by benefit (energy) per unit of handling time
top is never rejected bottom is sometimes rejected
process of where to forage
central place foraging
central place foraging
return to den or nest after foraging, prediction is that longer travel times are only worthile if you can bring back better food
process of when to forage
need to get food, dont want to become food, whatever time is best fit for that
mating systems
monogamous or polygamous
polygamous categories
polyandry= 1 female polygyny= 1 male polygynandrous = many of both
expensive offspring favour
monogamy
when young can feed themselves, males leave because
maximize reproduction
certainty of paternity is important because
males can increase reproductive success either by leaving and reproducing more or by helping female raise offspring
types of sexual selection
intra and inter
intrasexual selection
competition between members of same sex for mates
intersexual selection
members of one sex choose mates on the basis of certain traits
female choice sexual selection
type of inter
females choose a male
male competition sexual selection
type of intra
guys fight eachother
most behaviours are not based on genetics at all
false
behavioural variation is mostly governed by ____
many genes
altruism
animals behave in ways that reduce their individual fitness but increase the fitness of others
inclusive fitness
the total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes by producing offspring and helping close relatives produce offspring
three variables to an altruistic act
B-benefit to recipient C-cost to altruist r-coefficient of relatedness (fraction of on average shared genes)
equation og altruism
rB > C