Transcript females
Chapter 45
Animal Behavior
Animal Behavior
Outline
Nature versus Nurture: Genetic Influences
Nature versus Nurture: Environmental Influences
Learning
Adaptive Mating Behavior
Female Choice
Male Competition
Dominance Hierarchy
Territoriality
Animal Communication
Sociobiology and Animal Behavior
Altruism versus Self-Interest
2
Animal Behavior
Genetic Basis
Behavior - observable and coordinated responses to
environmental stimuli
Nature (inherited) versus nurture (environmental)
questions are still debated
Genes influence development of neural and hormonal
mechanisms controlling behavior
Studies on identical twins separated at birth
- Can be used to determine extent of inherited behavior
- Sometimes remarkably similar in preferences, taste,
personality tests, etc.
3
Nest Building Behavior in Lovebirds
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Feeding Behavior in Garter Snakes
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Animal Behavior
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Behavior Undergoes Development
Some behaviors seem to be stereotyped
Fixed Action Patterns (FAP’s)
- Originally assumed to be elicited by a sign stimulus
- Increasingly thought to develop after practice
Animal Behavior
7
The Phenomenon of Learning
Operant Conditioning
Gradual strengthening of stimulus-response
corrections
Trick-training in birds
Imprinting
Imitate behavior observed during sensitive period
Goslings follow any moving object after birth
Animal Behavior
The Phenomenon of Learning
Song Learning in Birds
Avian brain is especially sensitive to acoustical
stimuli during a sensitive period
Social experience appears to have an even
stronger influence over development of singing
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Pecking Behavior in Laughing Gulls
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Classical Conditioning
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Animal Behavior
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Behavior Is Adaptive
Sexual selection - Adaptive changes in females
and males that lead to differential reproductive
success
Raggiana Bird of Paradise
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Animal Behavior
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Female Choice
Courtship displays help males and females
recognize each other for successful mating
Good Genes Hypothesis
- Females benefit from selective choice by securing
sperm with good genes
Run-Away Hypothesis
- Females choose mates on the basis of traits that
make them attractive to females
Animal Behavior
Male Competition
Is access to mating is worth the cost of
competition among males
Question is studied by cost-benefit analyses
Do positive effects (benefits) outweigh negative
effects (costs)?
- If yes
The
behavior is evolutionarily stable
The behavior will survive or increase
- If no
The
behavior is evolutionarily UNstable
The behavior will decrease or disappear
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Animal Behavior
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Dominance Hierarchy
Males and females have separate dominance
hierarchies
Higher-ranking individuals have greater access to
essential resources
Baboons form temporary consort pairs with
females
- Males may monopolize estrous females
- Or may assist females or form friendship groups to
secure future matings
A Male Olive Baboon Displaying Full Threat 16
Animal Behavior
17
Territoriality
Territoriality is protecting an area against other
individuals
Red Deer Stags (males) compete for groups of
hinds (females)
Hinds only mate with one stag
Harem Master must be large and powerful to fight
off challengers
- Means less body fat
- May be more likely to starve in bad times, and have
shorter life expectancy
Competition Between Male Red Deer
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King Hussein and Family
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Animal Behavior
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Animal Societies
Society - a cooperative organization that extends
beyond sexual and parental interests
The Queen Ant
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Animal Behavior
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Altruism versus Self-Interest
Altruism
Behavior that involves a reduction in direct fitness
Loss may be compensated by an increase in
indirect fitness
Inclusive fitness includes
Reproductive fitness of self, and
Reproductive fitness of relatives
Genetic relatedness may underlie many/most
acts of apparent altruism
Inclusive Fitness
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Animal Behavior
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Communicative Behavior
Communicative Behavior
Chemical
- Pheromones designate chemical signals that are
passed between members of the same species
Auditory
Faster than chemical communication
Can be modified by loudness, pattern, repetition,
and duration
Visual
Used by species active during the day
- Contests between males make use of threat
postures
- Saves energy by avoiding fighting
Use of a Pheromone
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A Chimpanzee With a Researcher
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Animal Behavior
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Communicative Behavior
Tactile
Occurs when one animal touches another
- Gull chicks peck at the parent’s beak in order to
induce the parent to feed them
- Foraging honeybees
Return
to the hive and perform a waggle dance
Indicates
the distance and direction of a food source
Grooming Among Baboons
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Communication Among Bees
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Animal Behavior
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Sociobiology and Animal Behavior
Sociobiology
Applies the principles of evolutionary biology to
the study of behavior in animals
Assumes individuals derive benefits from living in
a society that outweigh costs
- Advantages include
reproductive
Predator
avoidance
Assistance
Finding
success
in rearing offspring
food
Animal Behavior
Sociobiology and Animal Behavior
Societal Disadvantages
Crowding
- Resource allocation
- Spread of disease
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Animal Behavior
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Nest Helpers
Green Wood-hoopoes
One breeding pair per flock
- Other sexually mature members may help feed and
protect fledglings and protect the home territory
- Helper is contributing to survival of its own kin
- Helper is more likely than nonhelper to inherit
parental territory