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54 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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agnostic behavior |
In animals, an often ritualized contest that determines which competitor gains access to a resource, such as food or mates |
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altruism |
Selflessness; behavior that reduces an individual's fitness of another individual |
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archenteron |
The endoderm-lined cavity, formed during gastrulation, that develops into the digestive tract of an animal |
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associative learning |
The acquired ability to associate one environmental feature (such as a color) with another (such as danger) |
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behavior |
(in animals) Individually, an action carried out by muscles or glands under control of the nervous system in response to a stimulus; collectively, the sum of an animal's responses to external and internal stimuli |
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behavioral ecology |
The study of the evolution of and ecological basis for animal behavior |
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blastocoel |
The fluid-filled cavity that forms in the center of a blastula |
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blastomere |
An early embryonic cell arising during the cleavage stage of an early embryo |
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circadian rythm |
A physiological cycle of about 24 hours that is present in all eukaryotic organisms and that persists even in the absence of external cues |
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classical conditioning |
A type of associative learning in which an arbitrary stimulus becomes associated with a particular outcome |
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coefficient of relatedness |
The fraction of genes that, on average, are shared by two individuals |
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cognition |
The process of knowing that may include awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgement |
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cognitive map |
A neural representation of the abstract spatial relationships between objects in an animal's surroundings |
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communication |
In animal behavior, a process involving transmission of, reception of, and response to signals. The term is also used in connection with other organisms, as well as individual cells of multicellular organisms |
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cross-fostering study |
A behavioral study in which the young of one species are placed in the care of adults from another species |
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culture |
A system of info transfer through social learning or teaching that influences the behavior of individuals in a population |
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ecology |
The study of how organisms react with each other and their environment |
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ethology |
The scientific study of how animals behave, particularly in their natural environments |
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fixed action pattern (FAP) |
In animal behavior, a sequence of unlearned acts that is essentially unchangeable and, once initiated, usually carried to completion |
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foraging |
The seeking and obtaining of food |
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game theory |
An approach to evaluating alternative strategies in situations where the outcome of a particular strategy depends on strategies used by other individuals |
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habituation |
A simple type of learning that involves a loss of responsiveness o stimuli that convey little or no new info |
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Hamilton's rule |
The principle that for natural selection to favor altruistic act, the benefit to the recipient, devalued by the coefficient of relatedness, must exceed the cost to the altruist |
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imprinting |
In animal behavior, the formation at a specific stage in life of a long-lasting behavioral response to a specific individual or object (see also genomic printing) |
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inclusive fitness |
The total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes by producing its own offspring and by providing aid that enables other close relatives to increase the production of their offspring |
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innate behavior |
Animal behavior that is developmentally fixed and under strong genetic control. Innate behavior is exhibited in virtually the same form by all individuals in a population despite internal and external environmental differences during development and throughout their lifetimes |
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intersexual selection |
Selection whereby individuals of one sex (usually females) are choosy in selecting their mates from individuals of the other sex; aka mate choice |
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intrasexual selection |
A direct competition among the individuals of one sex (usually the males in vertebrates) for mates of the opposite sex |
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kin selection |
Natural selection that favors altruistic behavior by enhancing the reproductive success of relatives |
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kinesis |
A change in activity or turning rate in response to a stimulus |
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landmark |
A location indicator - a point of reference for orientation during navigation |
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learning |
The modification of behavior based on specific experiences |
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mate choice copying |
Behavior in which individuals in a population copy the mate choice of others, apparently as a result of social learning |
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migration |
A regular, long-distance change in location |
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model organism |
A particular species chosen for research into broad biological principles because it is representative of a larger group and usually easy to grow in a lab |
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monogamous |
Referring to a type of relationship in which one male mates with just one female |
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operant conditioning |
A type of associative learning in which an animal learns to associate one of its own behaviors with a reward or punishment and then tends to repeat or avoid that behavior; aka trial-and-error learning |
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pheromone |
In animals and fungi, a small molecule released into the environment that functions in communication between members of the same species. In animals, it acts much like a hormone in influencing physiology and behavior |
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polyandry |
A polygamous mating system involving one female and many males |
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polygamous |
Referring to a type of relationship in which an individual of one sex mates with several of the other |
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polygyny |
A polygamous mating system involving one male and many females |
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problem solving |
The cognitive activity of devising a method to proceed from one state to another in the face of real or apparent obstacles |
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promiscuous |
Referring to a type of relationship in which mating occurs with no strong pair-bonds or lasting relationships |
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proximate causation |
The mechanistic explanation of "how" a behavior (or other aspect of an organism's biology) occurs or is modified; that is, how a stimulus elicits a behavior, what physiological mechanisms mediate how experience influences the response |
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reciprocal altruism |
Altruistic behavior between unrelated individuals, whereby the altruistic individual benefits in the future when the beneficiary reciprocates |
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sensitive period |
A limited phase in an individual animal's development when learning of particular behaviors can take place; aka a critical period |
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sign stimulus |
An external sensory cue that triggers a fixed action pattern by an animal |
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signal |
In animal behavior, transmission of a stimulus from one animal to another. The term is also used in the context of communication in other kinds of organisms and in cell-to-cell communication in all multicellular organisms |
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social learning |
Modification of behavior through the observation of other individuals |
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sociobiology |
The study of social behavior based on evolutionary theory |
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spatial learning |
The establishment of a memory that reflects the environment's spatial structure |
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taxis |
An oriented movement toward or away from a stimulus |
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twin study |
A behavioral study in which researchers compare the behavior of identical twins raised apart with that of identical twins raised in the same household |
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ultimate causation |
The evolutionary explanation of "why" a behavior (or other aspect of an organism's biology) occurs, that is, the benefit to survival and reproduction or the evolutionary significance of the behavioral act |
