2006-2007AP Biology

Animal Behavior

meerkats

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What is behavior & Why study it? Behavior

everything an animal does & how it does itresponse to stimuli in its environment

innate = inherited or developmentally fixedlearned = develop during animal’s lifetime

Why study behavior?part of phenotypeacted upon by natural selection

lead to greater fitness?greater reproductive success?greater survival?

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What questions do we ask?Proximate causes

immediate stimulus & mechanism“how” & “what” questions

Ultimate causesevolutionary significancehow does behavior contribute to survival & reproduction

adaptive value“why” questions

male songbird→ what triggers singing?

→ how does he sing?→ why does he sing?

male songbird→ what triggers singing?

→ how does he sing?→ why does he sing?

→ how does day length influence breeding?→ why do cranes breed in spring?

→ how does day length influence breeding?→ why do cranes breed in spring?

Courtship behavior in cranes→ what…how… & why questions

Courtship behavior in cranes→ what…how… & why questions

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Ethologypioneers in the study of animal behavior

Niko TinbergenKarl von Frisch

1941 | 1973

Konrad Lorenz

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Types of behaviorsInnate behaviors

automatic, fixed, “built-in”despite different environments, all individuals exhibit the behaviortriggered by a stimulus

Learned behaviorsmodified by experience

triggered by a stimulusvariable

does lipstick create a supernormal stimulus in humans

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court on swollen belly stimulus

Innate behaviorFixed action patterns (FAP)

sequence of behaviors essentially unchangeable & usually conducted to completion once startedsign stimulus

the releaser that triggers FAP

male sticklebacks exhibit aggressive territoriality

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Fixed Action Patterns (FAP)

Do humans exhibit Fixed Action Patterns? The “eyebrow-flash”

Digger wasp

egg rolling in geese

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Directed movementsTaxis

change in directionautomatic movement toward (positive taxis) or away from (negative taxis) a stimulus

phototaxischemotaxis

Kinesischange in rate of movement in response to a stimulus

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MigrationComplex behavior, but still innate

“migratory restlessness” seen in birds bred & raised in captivitynavigate by sun, stars, Earth magnetic fields

Monarchmigration

Sandpiper

ancient fly-

waysBobolink Golden plover

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ImprintingLearning at a specific critical time forming social attachments

both learning & innate components

Konrad Lorenz

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Conservation biologists have taken advantage of imprinting by young whooping cranes as a means to teach the birds a migration route. A pilot wearing a crane suit in an Ultralight plane acts as a surrogate parent.

Conservation

Wattled crane conservation

teaching cranes to migrate

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Critical period

As a brood parasite, the Cuckoo never learn the song of their species as a nestling. Song development is totally innate.

As a brood parasite, the Cuckoo never learn the song of their species as a nestling. Song development is totally innate.

Sensitive phase for optimal imprinting

imprinting in humans?imprinting in humans?

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Learned behaviorAssociative learning

learning to associate one feature of the environment (stimulus) with another

operant conditioningtrial & error learningassociate behavior with reward or punishment

classical conditioningPavlovian conditioningassociate a “neutral stimulus” with a “significant stimulus”

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Operant conditioningSkinner box

mouse learns to associate behavior (pressing lever) with reward (food pellet)

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Classical conditioningIvan Pavlov’s dogs

connect reflex behavior (salivating at sight of food) to associated stimulus (ringing bell)

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HabituationLoss of response to stimulus

“cry-wolf” effectlearn not to respond to repeated occurrences of stimulus

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Thinking & problem-solvingDo other animals think?

tool use

problem-solving

crow

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Social behaviorsInteractions between individuals

develop as evolutionary adaptationslanguageagonistic behaviorsdominance hierarchyaltruistic behavior

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LanguageHoney bee communication

dance to communicate location of food sourcewaggle dance

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Communication by songBird song

species identification & mating ritualmixed learned & innatecritical learning period

Insect songmating ritual & songinnate, genetically controlled

Red-winged blackbird

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Social behaviorsAgonistic behaviors

threatening & submissive ritualssymbolic, usually no harm done

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Social behaviors Dominance hierarchy

social ranking within a group

pecking order

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Social behaviorsAltruistic behavior

reduces individual fitness but increases fitness of recipientkin selection

How can this be of adaptive value?

Belding ground squirrel

He would lay down his life for

his mate!

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Social interaction requires communicationPheromones

chemical signal that stimulates a response from other individuals

alarm pheromonessex pheromones

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Pheromones

Spider using moth sex pheromones, as allomones, to lure its prey

The female lion lures male by spreading sex pheromones, but also by posture & movements

Female mosquito use CO2 concentrations to locate victims

marking territory

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Pheromones

Human pheromones?

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Social behaviorsCooperation

Pack of African dogs hunting

wildebeest cooperatively

White pelicans “herding” school

of fish

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“Picture a hot dog that's been left in a microwave a little too long…add some buck teeth at one end, and you've got a fairly good idea of what a Naked Mole Rat looks like.”

Colonial mammalsNaked mole rats

underground colony, tunnelsqueen, breeding males, non-breeding workershairless, blind

convergent evolution:bees, ants, termites…mole rats

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Territoriality

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Mating & parental behaviorGenetic influences

changes in behavior at different stages of mating

pair bondingcompetitor aggression

Environmental influencesmodifies behavior

quality of dietsocial interactionslearning opportunities

2006-2007AP Biology

Any Questions??