discrete sensory inputs can stimulate both simple and complex behaviors chapter 51, section 1...
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Discrete sensory inputs can stimulate both simple and complex behaviorsCHAPTER 51, SECTION 1 8/28/2015
Overview
The Dutch scientist Niko Tinbergen suggested that understanding any behavior requires answering four questions:
1. What stimulus elicits the behavior, and what physiological mechanisms mediate the response?
2. How does the animal’s experience during growth and development influence the response?
3. How doe the behavior aid survival and reproduction?
4. What is the behavior’s evolutionary history?
Behavioral ecology: the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior.
Fixed Action Patterns
Definition: a sequence of unlearned acts directly linked to a simple stimulus. The trigger for the behavior is an
external cue called a sign stimulus.
Example: Three-spined sticklebacks
Example: Greylag Goose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUNZv-ByPkU
Migration
Definition: a regular, long-distance change in location.
In the course of migration, many animals pass through environments they have not previously encountered. How do they find their way? Solar or celestial cues
Earth’s magnetic field
Behavioral Rhythms
Circadian RhythmDefinition: a physiological cycle of about 24 hours that persists even in the absence of external cues.
Example: release of hormones
Circannual RhythmDefinition: behavioral rhythms linked to the yearly cycle of the seasons.
Examples: migration, hibernation
CircalunarDefinitions: behavioral rhythm linked to the cycles of the moon rather than the amount of light.
Example: reproductive system of marine organisms
Forms of Animal Communication
A stimulus transmitted from one animal to another is called a signal.
Signal transmission and reception constitute animal communication, an essential element of interaction between individuals.
Four common modes of animal communication: visual, chemical, tactile, and auditory.
Example: Male fruit flies exhibit all four types of communication when attempting to attract a female.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-iK2D1mC10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lhVBNQ-Ik8
Pheromones
Definition: a small molecules released into the environment that functions in communication between members of the same species.
Pheromones are not limited to short distance signaling silkworm moths
Pheromones may serve as an alarm signal. 2 hypotheses
Fathead minnow
Honeybees produce pheromones to maintain order.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC4yuC0Ld8k
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