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