Animal Behavior Review Scientific study of animal behavior Observation leads to a question Sex and the single guppy o Observation male guppies display more when theyre not the only male in the tank adding extra female had no effect addition on extra male led to increase in display rate Three approaches to behavioral study know advantages and drawbacks to each Field observation Field manipulation Controlled stimulation lab I clicker question You want to study and describe normal social behavior to a troop of baboons To do this which approach is best Field observation Steps of scientific process observation hypothesize experiment 2 The perceptual world of animals Classes of informative stimuli Different stimulus class dependency Ex bats rely on sound and catfish rely on chemical stimuli Different sensitivities with a class Ex the radio magnetic spectrum ex rattlesnake and see infrared radiation to find its prey Animals respond to sign stimulus Innate brain programs o Ex bass lures frogs bug detectors frogs lurch at and small round dark moving object sign stimulus Evolved Behavioral Adaptations Niko Timbergind Gull eggshell removal Cause shiny angular objects are sign stimuli to parents and predators that trigger removal of shell fragments Prediction More predation when shells are closer to the egg Implication high survival of offspring ex industrial melanism in the peppered moth light colored and dark colored depending on the cleanliness of the bark dark moths survive in polluted areas while light moths survive better in clean areas Theory beneficial appearances and behaviors evolve by natural selection adaptive behaviors They benefit the organism in some way ex by increasing chances of survival Examples of adaptation deception butterfly looking like eyes of an owl mimicry monarch butterfly and vicory fly evolved to look like a bee that stings Sociality of animal societies Features of complex societies Coordination Social order Cooperation Division of labor Altruism Kinship alliances Individual recognition Aggregation most simple Herd Social groups colony pack troop Why be altruistic Kinship theory living in proximity of kin Benefits of living in a complex society Reduced predation Efficient hunting Protect train offspring Improved labor output Finding mates Must share Many competitors Diseases spread easier Drawbacks Sociality selfish gene Individual fitness total number of offspring produced in a lifetime someone who dies earlier has more children than someone who lives to be old but has no kids Selfish genes team up to build individuals Some gene team combinations adjust better than others with different gene combinations Those surviving individuals are products on natural selection Most fit survive and reproduce passing genes to offspring Inclusive fitness the total number of an individuals genes that get passed on reason why group member would for go mating ex worker bees o Genes lead to complex society summary on page 34 Communication and infrastructure of societies o Communicate o Alarm o Hunger food begging o Social status o Gender o Sexual readiness Communication involves a sender and receiver sender influences the behavior of the receiver Observes and compare many interactions Four channels of communication o Sound Effective in darkness water air wide broadcast o Drawback no privacy could be hard to pinpoint source energetically costly o Odors or chemicals pheromones Attributes unique species specific effective in darkness air and water Limitation Transmission depends on current airflow turbulence reduces signal o Visual displays channels of light o Touch Attributes instantaneous easily localized drawbacks close proximity aggression can result Summary use of each channel is attuned to the milieu of the species and the function it serves Sexuality and societies o Polygamy stickleback fish colorful males display to females females lay eggs on nest and then chases the female away and takes care of eggs courts the female male is larger and fancier more male competition many time young are born precocious self sufficient o Monogamy long courtship period 2 days both parents incubate eggs and care for them after birth little male to male competition gender resemblance both parents nurse young are dependent long courtship o Promiscuity indiscriminate mating free spawning into sea sea urchins o Polyandry 1 female and several males to maximize survival with many eggs oysters chimps in one nest The machinery of sex estrus From Aggression Social Order Altruism and fitness Aggression between individuals of the same species is the rule and represents an essential behavior of animal societies Highly social animals especially those with powerful weapons have signals for defeat or acquiescence that prevent a fight from continuing or that avoid a fight altogether An important outcome of aggression in some species is defense of a territory with important resources such as a nest sit food shelter young in the nest etc Maynard Smith realized that resource values in nature cannot be precise determined and also that fitness is impractical to measure in most animals The theoretical answer to the altruism fitness enigma lie in the centrality of genes not the individual organisms they construct The Animal in the human suit Humans have built in features and very probably feature detectors in the brain to recognize infants of our species and others Communication person to person and fixed action patters our most fundamental interpersonal communication is by dynamic signaling by facial and bodily displays not unlike other species A smile is a universal human response and a signal that does not have to be mimicked and learned Human Aggression and its biological implications o Violence Know terms definitions Lessons of animal stars page 78 Understand text figures Focus on objectives pages vii viii as an additional study guide
View Full Document
Unlocking...