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70 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is behaviour? |
The observable response of organisms to external or internal stimuli - simple / complex |
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What is Animal Behaviour? |
Everything an animal does and why and how it does it Based on physiological systems and processes Patterns are diverse Often essential for survival and reproduction |
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What s behavioural ecology? |
The study of how adaptive behaviours (inherited or learned) can contribute to the differential survival and reproductive success of organisms Behaviours are subject to natural selection just like any physical character or trait |
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Konrad Lorenz |
Studied instinctive behaviour in animals - especially in greylag geese and jackdaws Imprinting in nidifugous birds |
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Karl von Frisch |
Bee dance and bee behaviour |
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Ethology |
behavioural traits are subject to natural selection |
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Behavioural psychology and physiology |
Mechanisms controlling behaviour, sensations, perception, learning processes and behavioural genetics |
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Behavioural ecology and sociobiology explained |
- Biological relationships between organisms and their environment - Selection pressures that influence social systems |
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Proximate Questions |
asks how the behaviour happens - mechanisms - sensory - physiological - structural |
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Ultimate questions |
asks why the behaviour occurs - helpful - adaptive value - evolutionary significance |
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The digger wasp |
Niko Tinbergen Location of nests - sensing and responding to local landmarks Proximate question! |
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Black-headed gulls and egg shells |
Niko Tinbergen Why eggshells are removed from nests? Decreases the likelihood of predation on the offspring Ultimate question! |
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Fixed Action Patterns (FAPs) |
Behavioural responses to well-defined stimuli Stereotypic behaviours Triggered by a sign stimulus or releaser Species specific Genetically based Once started continues to completion Adaptive - increases likelihood of individual's survival Innate behaviour can be modified by experience |
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Imprinting |
Includes both innate and learning components Critical or sensitive period Irreversible Adaptive |
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Spatial learning |
Should utilise stable landmarks Some animals are capable of learning the location of thousands of seeds using cognitive maps Associated with enlarged hippocampus |
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Associative learning |
ability of animals to associate one feature of the environment with another - classical conditioning - Pavlov's dogs - forms an association between two stimuli - operant conditioning - learning to associate a voluntary action with the consequence - trial-and-error learning |
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Kinesis |
A change in activity in response to a stimulus No specific direction Not an orientated movement |
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Taxis |
Movement towards or away from a stimulus This is an orientated movement May be positive towards or negative away from stimulus |
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Migration |
Regular, long-distance movement or change of location Usually by many animals together - to avoid unfavourable seasonal condense - to find seasonal foods - to find water - to find mates - to find safer places for raising young May use sun, stars, scents, sounds, visual stimuli, magnetic fields etc. to navigate |
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Circadian rhythms |
Behavioural rhythms linked to daily cycles - 24 hours - sleep |
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Circannual rhythms |
Behavioural rhythms linked to annual cycles |
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Circa-tidal rhythms |
Behavioural rhythms linked to tide cycles |
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Sociality |
Social behaviour The interaction of two or more animals of the same species Social groups that are organised in a cooperative manner - not just sexual and parental behaviour |
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Evolution of behaviours |
Evolution of a particular behaviour can only occur when the benefits are greater than the costs - group more conspicuous but proved greater protection against predation - groups may have greater chance of finding mates, food or other resources, but individuals within a group may have to compete for resources |
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Costs of Sociality |
Increased competition for food Increased exposure / transmission to parasites / disease Increase conspicuousness to predators Increased risk of misdirected parental care and reproductive interference Time and energy spent dealing with social order |
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Benefits of Sociality |
Improved protection against predators - predator detection - dilution - vigilance - predators are more likely to take individuals form the edge of the group - group defence Increased foraging success - sharing information - catching difficult prey Increased mating opportunities Increased defence of resources and young Increased thermoregulation for some species |
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Altruism |
Behaviour of an animal that benefits another at its own expense It increases another individuals lifetime number of offspring at a cost to its own survival and reproductive potential Poses problem for theory of evolution based on natural selection - resulted in idea of kin selection |
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Theory of Kin Selection |
John Maynard Smith Evolutionary effect of both parental aid given to offspring and altruism to relatives other than offspring Favours altruistic behaviours by enhancing reproductive success of relatives |
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Reciprocity |
The evolution of cooperation between non-relatives For reciprocity to evolve: 1) benefit to receiver must exceed cost to donor 2) donors must recognise cheaters and not help them 3) stable social groups must exist with many chances to exchange aid |
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William D. Hamilton |
The greatest Evolutionary Theorist of the 20th Century States that altruism is more likely to evolve when: - benefits to recipient are great - cost to the actor is low - participants are closely related Theory of Kin Selection |
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The coefficient of relatedness |
The probability that two relatives might share the same genes |
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Inclusive Fitness |
Consists of direct fitness (the individual's own reproductive success) and indirect fitness (individuals influence on the reproductive success of its kin as a function of their degree of relatedness - non descendant relative) |
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Primary helpers |
Help other produce more and healthier siblings Defend nest Only 54% make it through and survive to next season |
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Secondary helpers |
Strangers Contribute less to feeding young and defence 74% make it through and survive to next season |
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Hymenopera |
Ants, bees and wasps Highly social insects Two membranous wings Mobile head 125,000 species |
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Haplodiploid in Hymenoptera |
Males develop from unfertilised eggs and are haploid, while females develop from fertilised legs and are diploid |
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Eusociality |
Used to describe social systems with three characteristics - Cooperative care of young - Non-reproductive individuals care for reproducing ones - Overlap in generations - offspring assist parents in raising siblings Only non-arthropod animal that is eusocial is the naked mole rats |
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Relative costs for reproduction |
Bateman Because the initial cost for males is cheap they will compete for females Females make larger gamete (anisogamy) Females put more reserves into zygotes than males Difference in reproductive behaviour |
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Parental investment theory |
Members of the sex that invest the least in each offspring will compete for members of the high investing sex Costs of inappropriate mating are higher for females due to their greater initial investment. Females are predicted to be the most discriminating sex in their choice of partners. Mating systems in which the male mates with more than one female should be the most common |
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Sexual behaviour |
Many animals are not social and males and females only come together briefly to reproduce Social animals, where mates remain together for a longer period have developed various mating systems |
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Mating systems |
Most classifications of mating systems are based on the number of partners each sex may have during their lifetime or during the mating season Monogamy Polygamy Promiscuity |
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Monogamy |
One male mates exclusively with one female 90% of birds |
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Polygamy |
Individuals mate with more than one female Polygyny - most common - males mate with more than one female Polyandry - females mate with more than one male |
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Advantages of monogamy |
Less time need to be spent finding a mate during each reproductive cycle Both parents raise the young |
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Disadvantages of monogamy |
If one of the pair is deserted, its reproductive output will be reduced and it has to spend time finding a new partner |
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Advantages of polygyny |
Allows fit males to maximise their reproductive success Females only mate with the fittest males |
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Disadvantages of polygyny |
Huge variation in male reproductive success Lots of energy used defending resources |
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Female defence polygyny |
A male will live with a group of females and he fights to defend this group or harem Females live in relatively permanent groups, which males defend |
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Resource Defence Polygyny |
Males defend resources used by females (nest sites, feeding site) rather than the females themselves |
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Advantages of Polyandry |
Receiving gifts from many males Enlisting males help in raising young Fertility insurance Every male thinks he might be the father e.g. chimps, lions |
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Disadvantages of Polyandry |
Males may provide less nest defence to unfaithful females leaving them vulnerable to predators Heightened risk of disease and parasitism |
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Intra-sexual selection |
Male-male competition |
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Inter-sexual selection |
Female mate choice |
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Sexy Son Hypothesis |
Females mate with attractive males will tend to have attractive sons Provided the characteristics are heritable |
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The Handicap Principle |
A traits, such as bright plumage, is a good indicator of male quality (good genes) when the expression of the trait is dependent upon the physical condition of the male |
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Parasite Load Hypothesis |
Proposed that sexual displays are reliable indicators for genetic resistance to disease or parasites |
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What is communication |
Involves a sender and receiver |
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Channels of communication |
Animal signals are amazingly diverse A sender does NOT have an unlimited choice of signal structure They are constrained by the environment and the physiological equipment of the sender and receiver The mode of communication used is closely related to animal's basic lifestyle |
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Modes of communication |
Acoustic Vibratory Electrical Visual Chemical |
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Visual communication |
Relied on LIGHT and the amount of information potentially available in visual displays is probably greater than any other modality All visual signals are characterised by their spectral composition, intensity and spatial arrangement |
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Visual communication limitations |
Only usable" in a straight line During the day |
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Visual communication benefits |
Semaphoring in frogs - good for communicating during the day in very noisy environments Bioluminescence - some organisms produce their own light - fireflies |
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Chemical communication |
Most primitive communication Used by plants and animals (one semiochemical = one signal) Detection of food is primary function of most chemical reception organs More advanced organisms evolved two types of chemical detection systems - smell and taste Occurs at many biological levels - hormones, pheromones, alumnus |
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Chemical sex attraction in moths |
The antennae are primarily olfactory sensors for airborne odourants May possess additional sensors for taste, touch, air currents and sound Incredibly sensitive |
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Chemical sex attraction in frogs |
Are acoustic animals that other modes of communication have been largely ignored so they have use many other modes of communication |
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Acoustic communication |
Sound perception is very complex Only used by vertebrates and some insects |
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Frog acoustic kHz |
<4 kHz |
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Birds and reptiles acoustic kHz |
<10-12 kHz |
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Mammals acoustic kHz |
approx. 150 kHz |
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Function of male frog's call |
The call may be important in male-male communication or male-female communication (mate choice) or both |
