Lecture 2, 3, 4 Of Animal Behavior

Front 1

What does the INNATE behavior mean?

Back 1

to varying degrees built into the structure and function of the nervous system via "programming" by genetic information

Front 2

What are the important characteritics of FIXED ACTION PATTERNS?

Back 2

1. Species specific
2. Stereotyped
3. Largely Unlearned (inherited)- does not mean that a FAP is non-modifiable

Front 3

"Plan of Attack"

Back 3

1.Make ethogram-catalog or description of behavior
2.sort out inherited from learned from taxis
3.characterize stimuli involved in eliciting FAP
4.determine the role of "internal state" -developmental or 'motivational'

Front 4

What is DEPRIVATION EXPERIMENT and what are the examples?

Back 4

-strong evidence for genetic control
-to determine if a behavior is learned or inherited (usually require releasers, given at an appropriate time in animal's dev)

ex1. Gwinner-shrikes and wasps. Correct, complete FAP for wasp capture and sting removal
ex2. Eibl-Eibesfeldt-squirrels and nuts. Naive squirrels "buried" nuts on the wire floor of their cages without prior experience
ex3. Lorenz-egg retrieval by greylag geese. Movement completed oeven w/o egg

Front 5

What is Taxis?

Back 5

the orientation of the FAP movment (towards eggs, wasps,or nuts)

Front 6

What is Releasers?
(sign stimuli)

Back 6

environmental stimuli which "trigger" the FAP, ordinarily does not appear otherwise
-only a small, specific part of avilable sensory input

Front 7

what is heterogeneous summation?

Back 7

more than 1 releaser will affect a FAP (inputs are additive)

Front 8

True/False
Young animals often will not perform adult FAPs even with appropriate releasers

Back 8

TRUE

Front 9

What is Phenotype?

Back 9

a product of both genotype and environment

Front 10

What is polygenic?

Back 10

behaviors are controlled by Many genes

Front 11

4 Modes of Genetic Analysis of Behavior

Back 11

1.Artificial selection experiments; inbreeding domestication. (mating behaviro in Drosophila; social behavior of domestic animals are some of many exs)2.Study of hybrids
3.Study closely related individuals within a species(quantitative genetics)
4.Modern molecular techiniques (knockouts, inserts, etc)

Front 12

Selection flavors INHERITED behaviors when:

Back 12

1.There is no chance for learning
2.Mistakes are dangerous and must be avoided.
3.Little variation is present in the "target" of the behavior - highly predictable

Front 13

What are the problems with inherited behavior?

Back 13

1. Difficult to adapt to new situations (only possible through evolution of particular trait, if behavior invariant)
2.Vulnerable to exploitation if predators or parasites evolve correct responses

Front 14

Selection favors learned behaviors when:

Back 14

1.the behavior concerns an unpredictale "target"-one with high variance
2.the risks of learning are not great
3.Possibility of a mistake is low
4.envionmental variablility or change opens new resource "windfalls".

Front 15

Problems with learnd behavior?

Back 15

1.Mistakes are possible and can damage fitness. Selection produce specific limits to the ability to learn

Front 16

What are the problems with imprinting?

Back 16

-depending on species, only possible within restricted time period, often just a few hrs or days.
-prevents young animal from forming bonds to anything but mother.
-may learn sight, sound or smell depending on speices

Front 17

What is cultural evolution; acquisition of behavir by "tradition"?

Back 17

"institutinalized" learning in social groups.
-common in human society

Front 18

What are the examples of cultural evolution?

Back 18

-important locations
-migration routes learned from parents
-some bird songs, whale songs appear to be acquired in part by cultral transmission
-tool use in primates