Animal Behavior

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fpat/3375999258/

Behavior - any action that can be observed and described.      Some are innate, while others are learned.

Ethology - the scientific study of animal behavior

Kinesis and Taxis are 2 major animal responses to stimuliKinesis: non-directional movement in response to a stimulus

Taxis: directional movement in response to a stimulus (toward or away)

Types of Taxis• Gravitaxis

Ex: Fruit flies will always move against gravity

• ThermotaxisEx: Slime molds move along temperature

gradient to stay in soil of appropriate temperatures

• PhototaxisEx: cockroaches move away from light

• ChemotaxisEx: Ants follow trail left by other ants

Thigmonasty is a type of Thigmotaxis http://ticklemeplant.com/ ( Mimosa pudica )

Why do behaviors exist?Studies of animal behavior often focuses on what behaviors are genetically based and what is learned (Nature vs. Nurture)

Nature vs. Nurture

Twin studies

-Look at characteristics of twins raised apart-Many share common preferences in food, activity patterns and mate selection

Hog Nose Snake

-Natural defense to spit at predators and then turn over and ooze secretion that smells like rotting flesh

Serial Killer, Ted Bundy

Is a serial killer born that way?

Some human instincts….

Learned Behaviors: change in behavior as a result of experience

1. Imprinting2.Classical Conditioning3.Operant Conditioning4.Habituation5.Observations6. Insight

Learning during Critical Period

Imprinting - bond that forms between adults and offspring

Classical Conditioning (Pavlov's Dogs) 

OPERANT CONDITIONINGInvolves "training" a behavior using a reward or punishment system.  

Skinner Box

Crow Vending Machine??

Habituation: same stimuli over and over, so you learn to ignore it

• Hamster stops responding to cage every time you tap on bars

• Turtle stops drawing its head in every time you tap its shell

• Boy who cried wolf

Observational learning: watching another organism and mimicking its behaviorhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-LTWFnGmeg

Insight Learning: trial-and-error learning

If you are given materials, can you build what you need to achieve the desired result?

Sociobiology and Animal Behavior 

Altruism vs. Self Interest 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icaGIeOY9gc

What is the advantage of being helpful?

Chimp vs Human vs Dog

Mating Behavior

Sexual Selection – increases an animal’s ability to mate and produce offspring

Expressed in 3 ways:

1. Male competition - males will compete for access to females, leads to dominance hierarchies and territoriality 

2. Female Choice: females invest more in offspring by being choosier about their mate’s genes

3. Sexual dimorphism: as a result of female choice, traits in males become exaggerated

Animal Communication

• Chemical (pheromones)

• Auditory• Visual• Tactile (touch)

Humans aren’t the only animals with a “language”!

Waggle Dance

Environmental cues and cycles that regulate behavior• Hibernation: period of inactivity

and metabolic depression, usually in cooler weather

• Estivation: period of inactivity in hot temperatures, to avoid dessication

• Migration: Long distance, seasonal movement, usually for reproductive purposes Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLoXDFDeD9E

Physiological responses often synchronize with environmental cycles

• Hibernation/Estivation tend to synchronize with seasons and weather

• Visual displays for reproduction tend to occur in the later summer and early fall, so that gestation occurs through harshest part of year

• Circadian Rhythms, a 24-hour cycle, is present in all eukaryotes