Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Types
1. Species- Characteristic Behaviour= Shown by all members of a species
2. Individual- Characteristic Behaviour=Varies from one individual to another
Why?
1. Survival
2. Food
3. Territories
4. Predators
5. Mate
6. Reproduce
Keywords
1. Physiology=Mechanisms of behaviour (Functioning of Nervous system)
2. Psychology=Mechanism of the mind (Factors which effect development)
3. Behaviour= The action an animal undertakes as a consequence of internal or external factors.
4. Ethology= Study of animal behaviour
5. Instinct= An inborn pattern of behaviour that is characteristics of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli.
6. Learnt= Something that is learnt from their parents.
7. Phobia=An extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something.
8. Simple non- association learning= This is where an animals behaviour changes in the absence of an associated stimulus
  1. Habituation= Animal learns that there is no need to react to a certain stimulus= reacts less or not at all (Scare crow)
    1. Failure to respond to stimuli runs the risk of being killed.
  2. Sensitisation= Increase in the strength of response to a stimulus across repeated presentations (Lioness may eat quicker when she sees a male)
Behaviourists
1. Darwin
  1. The origin of species
    1. Natural Selection/ Survival of the fittest
  2. Evolutionary mechanisms had shaped human anatomy and 'mental faculties'
2. Pavlov
  1. Classical conditioning= Association between 2 stimuli through reinforcement
    1. Conditioned Stimulus= A stimulus that at first fails to get a particular response, but will then complete the response once presented with the unconditioned response.
    2. Unconditioned Stimulus= A stimulus that gets a vigorous response without training the animal
    3. Test= Dog shown food= Dog Salivates (Unconditioned Stimulus and Response), Bell Ring= No reaction ( No conditioned response), Bell+Food= Dog Salivates (Unconditioned Response), Bell rings= Dog salivates ( Conditioned Stimulus and Response)
3. Tinbergen
  1. 4 Questions:
    1. Function: How does the behaviour impact on the animals chances of survival and reproduction?
    2. Evolution: How does the behaviour compare with similar behaviours in related species,and how might it have arisen through the process of phylogeny?
    3. Causation: What are the stimuli that elicit the response and how has it been modified by recent learning?
    4. Development: How does the behaviour change with age, and what early experiences are necessary for the behaviour to be shown?
  2. EXperiment
    1. How do beewolves find their way home?
      1. Females when leaving the nest, cover it with sand, Tinbergen set up landmarks around the nest. He then moved the landmarks. Wasp searched where landmarks were.
4. Skinner
  1. Operant Conditioning= Association between animals own behaviour and an outcome (trial and error)
    1. Skinners Box (Rat)
    2. Positive Reinforcement= Add something which makes the behaviour more likely to happen (Treats)
    3. Positive Punishment= Add something which makes the behaviour less likely to happen (Squirt with water)
    4. Negative Reinforcement= Take something away, behaviour more likely to happen (Stop squirting dog)
    5. Negative Punishment= Take away something, behaviour less likely to happen (Takeaway treats)
5. Lorenz
  1. Imprinting
    1. 1. Occurs during a specific time (Species specific) 2. Is irreversible 3. Establishes an individuals amimals preference for a certain species. 4. Some behaviour is affected by imprinting more than others. 5. Stressful stimuli strengthen imprinting.
  2. Experiment
    1. Split a clutch of eggs, half got raised by mother, the rest were incubated and saw Konrad on hatching. The incubated group imprinted on Konrads wellies.
Mating Systems
1. Monogamy= one male, one female
  1. Mate guarding hypothesis= If female is receptive after mating, male will guard his female (Clown Shrimp)
  2. Male Assistance Hypothesis= If male remains with female to give parental care then offspring are more likely to survive (Seahorse)
  3. Female Enforced Hypothesis= Females prevent males obtaining extra mates
2. Extra- pair copulation= Sneeky sex
  1. Males Benefit= Get his genes around
  2. Female Benefits= Increased chance of fertility (Adders)
3. Polgyny= One male with 2+ Females (Crocodile, Lions)
  1. Resources Defence= Male defends resources (African Chidid)
  2. Female Defence= Males defend cluster (Lion prides)
  3. Lek= Males come to clearing show off (Grouse)
4. Polyandry= Females mate with 2+ Males
  1. Classic= Females lay clutches of for multiple males and compete for males (Jocanas)
  2. Co-operative= Two or more males cooperate to assist a female at one nest (Acorn Woodpecker)
5. Polygyandry= 2+ females form binds with 2+ males (Ostriches)
Motivation and Coping
1. Motivation= A reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way.
  1. Primary= Usually goal orientated, usually caused by a sensory stimuli (for survival)
  2. Secondary= Can be learned, so elicits more complex behaviour (not immediate for survival)
2. Coping= Implies having control of mental and bodily stability and prolonged failure to cope results in failure to grow, reproduce and may lead to death.
  1. Reactive= After the onset of stress. Behavioural actions to cope. Stereotypic and abnormal behaviour.
    1. Stereotypic= Repetative and has no purpose (way of coping)
    2. More externally motivated
    3. React more strongly to environmental stimuli
    4. Therefore are more flexible in their behaviour.
  2. Proactive= Characterised by an automonous (independant) response. Try to limit the severity and duration
    1. More vulnerable to sterotypies. More intrinsically driven ie- their behaviour is less guided by environmental stimuli but more by internal mechanisms.
    2. With repeated experience, proactive animals easily develop rountines.
  3. Tonic Immobility= Animal Freezes.
  4. Testing
    1. Avoidance= Fear aggrevated test used to evaluate learning and memory in rodents of CUS disorders. Subjects learn to avoid an environment with a adversive stimulus (foot shock)
    2. Preference= Measure the motivational priorities in animals. More than one choice is offered- clear view of what is behaviourally/biologically important to the animals.
Groups
1. Positives
  1. Increased vigilance, Better use and defence of limited resources, Increased reproductive efficiency.
2. Negatives
  1. Increased conspicousness, Cannabalism. Disease spread more
3. Dilution effect= When all look the same/sound the same can spread out and confuse predator (Zebra)
4. Selfish her effect= While one animal is getting eaten the rest can get away (Penguins)
5. Co-operative Hunting (Chimps)
  1. Positives
    1. Can get prey, you wouldn't normally get (larger)
  2. Negatives
    1. Have to share it. Energy Cost. Injury.
6. Hierarchy
  1. Despotic= 1 individual animal dominant, while other are submissive (Wolves)
  2. Linear= Each individual dominates all other below him but not those above (Chickens)
  3. Positives
    1. Enhances reproductive success, Increased access to food.
Optimality Theory= An idea of how an animal chooses a specific behavioural choice that has minimum costs.
1. Cost and Benefits
2. 3 Components
  1. Assumption of the choices of facing the animal
  2. Assumption of the benefits/what can be maximised (rate of energy gain)
  3. Assumption of the constraints/limiting factors (distance, time)
3. Optimal behaviour= Maximising lifetime fitness, Benefits outway costs. Increasing your ability to reproduce and pass on genes.
Co-operative and Alturism
1. Co-operative behaviour= When an animal work with another to achieve a mutual goal. Can be between same or different species. (Monkeys grooming)
  1. Benefits
    1. Increased Vigilance, Better use of resources, Increased reproductive efficiency (Meerkat nanny)
  2. Costs
    1. Competition of resources, Susceptibility to disease, Conspicuousness
2. Alturism= Extreme co-operation (selfless)
  1. Sacrafice
  2. Kin Selection= Alrturistic acts happen more often in animals related. (Belding ground Squirrels)
  3. Reciprocal Alturism= Recipients repay alturistic behaviour in the future. (Vampire Bats)
  4. Eusociality= Do not reproduce instead they act as helpers to parents (Bees, Ants, Naked mole Rats)
    1. Overlap in generations, Co-operative brood, Specialist casts of non-reproductive individuals.
3. Recipient + Actor Benefits= Co-operative, Actor Harmed + Recipient Benefits= Alturistic, Recipient Harmed + Actor Benefits= Selfish, Actor + Recipient Harmed= Spiteful
Territorality= Term how animals use space to communicate, ownership, occupancy of space and posessions
1. Costs= Energy expense, Risk of injury, Loss of territory, Loss of mate
  1. Weighing up costs= Distribution of resources in space, Distribution of resources in time, Intruder pressure, Environmental conditions will alter economic defendability and therefore territory size.
2. Inruders: The winner of disputes about territories related to: Size, State, The resources they are defending.
  1. Sometimes lose: Might be a younger male, one who has territory already is already often the biggest & the best
3. No Territory
  1. Satellite= Orbit around a group of animals the same species and share resources
    1. Benefits= Females may be attracted to larger groups of males so satellites make up numbers. Satellites may fend off intruders.
4. Why display with rivals?
  1. Hotspot= Lekks occur where the chances of females is high eg. daily routes
  2. Hotshot= Subordinate males cluster around attractive males to sneak
  3. Female Preference= Like to compare and make a choice.
Defence Strategies
1. 3 Types: Hide, Run Away, Fight Back increasing time cost <-> Increasing energy cost
  1. Trade off between time and energy which determines the tactic to choose at a specific time
2. Primary- Behaviours that reduce the probability of an individual being attacked by a predator (Camouflage, Run away, Counter Shading) eg. Gazelle, Jungle Nymph
3. Secondary= Behaviours which lessen the chance that an attack will be successful (Drop tail, Play dead) eg. Possum, Hawk Moth Caterpillar
4. Counter Shading= Belly is light in colouration, back is darker in colour (Penguin, Squirrel)
5. Disruptive Colouration= (Zebra, Leopard)
6. Aposematism= Bright colours (Toxic, Taste)
7. Mullerian Mimicry= Animals using the same strategy of defence
8. Batesian Mimcry= Animal looks like another which is dangerous (Milk Snake, Coral Snake)

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	Created by francescacanaled over 10 years ago