Edited with the trial version of Foxit Advanced PDF Editor To remove this notice visit www foxitsoftware com shopping BIOL 1543 1st Edition Lecture 18 Outline of Last Lecture I Phylum CHORDATA II Class Lampreys III Class Cartilaginous fishes IV Class Ray finned fishes V Class Lobe finned fishes VI Class Amphibians VII Class Reptiles VIII Class Birds IX Class Mammals X ECOLOGY XI THE BIOSPHERE Outline of Current Lecture I THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF BEHAVIOR II LEARNING III Mating behaviors IV SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND SOCIOBIOLOGY V FORAGING BEHAVIORS VI POPULATION ECOLOGY VII Survivorship Curves Current Lecture These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute I THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF BEHAVIOR a Behavioral ecology studies behavior in an evolutionary context b Behavioral ecologists consider i proximate questions which focus on the immediate causes of behavior how the behavior occurs ii ultimate questions which focus on the evolutionary causes of behavior why the behavior occurs c Natural selection preserves behaviors that enhance fitness the ability to reproduce d Behavior is the result of both genes and environmental factors II LEARNING a Learning ranges from simple behavioral changes to complex problem solving b Learning is a change in behavior resulting from experience III Mating behaviors a Mating behaviors enhance reproductive success i Mating systems may be promiscuous monogamous or polygamous 1 any of the ways in which animal societies are structured in sexual means ii The needs of offspring and certainty of paternity help explain differences in mating systems and parental care by males b Mating behavior often involves elaborate courtship rituals i Courtship rituals the process in which species pick their partners advertise the species sex and physical condition of males ii In some species courtship is a group activity in which members of one or both sexes choose mates from a group of candidates IV SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND SOCIOBIOLOGY a Sociobiology studies social behavior the interactions of two or more animals in an evolutionary sense how does one effect another b Territorial behavior parcels space and resources activities that divide up space and territory i Animals exhibiting this behavior mark and defend their territories c Social behavior requires communication between animals i Signaling in the form of sounds scents displays or touches provides communication needed for social behavior four types 1 sounds 2 sents 3 displays 4 touches d Environmental and social factors influence the spacing of individuals in various dispersion patterns the way individuals are spaced within the area that they live clumped uniform or random e Rituals involving agonistic behavior often resolve confrontations between competitors a set of actions having symbolic value i Agonistic behavior including threat rituals and sometimes combat settles disputes over resources acting with the intent to restrict the freedom of another animal ii Dominance hierarchies are maintained by agonistic behavior and partition resources among members of a social group a ranking of individuals within a community f Altruism is behavior that reduces an individual s fitness while increasing the fitness of others in the population i It can usually be explained by inclusive fitness if the group prospers the genes will be passed on and prosper and kin selection an animal can propagate its own genes by helping relatives reproduce V FORAGING BEHAVIORS a Behavioral ecologists use cost benefit analysis in studying foraging i Foraging food obtaining behavior includes identifying obtaining and eating food ii Some animals are generalists eating just about anything that is readily available iii Other animals are specialists eating only specific available foods b Optimal foraging theory OFT predicts that an animal s feeding behavior will maximize energy gain and minimize energy expenditure and risk VI POPULATION ECOLOGY a Population ecology is concerned with changes dynamics in population size and the factors that regulate populations over time b A population is a group of individuals of a single species that occupy the same general area c Population density is the number of individuals of a species per unit of area or volume d Resources such as food and water and climate conditions may limit population sizes VII Survivorship Curves Percentage of survivors log scale a The three types of survivorship curves reflect species differences in reproduction and mortality I II III Percentage of maximum life span i know them by the roman numerals 1 I a large number that lives to an old age 2 II is the medium of the two 3 III large number of offspring but most die young