Animal Behavior

What is Behavior?
Behavior is
what an animal
does and how
it does it.
Nature vs.
Nurture?
Genes vs.
Environment?
Instinct
Male stickleback
Releaser (Red
underbelly) FAP
(Aggression in
males)
Frog Tongue Flick
Releaser
(Movement) FAP
(tongue-shooting)

Instinct
Graylag goose
retrieving an egg
Releaser (spherical
object near nest)
FAP (retrieval of egg
using side to side
head motions)
Learning
Maturation is not learning
Example: Flight in birds
Birds grown isolated are still able to fly as
long as neuromuscular system matures.
Types of Learning
Habituation
Example: Cry
wolf effect
Squirrels stop
responding to
alarm calls if these
calls are not
followed by an
actual attack.

Types of Learning
Imprinting
Example: Konrad
Lorenz as mother
goose

Imprinting in songbirds
Individuals reared in silence performed abnormal songs, but if recordings of the
proper songs were played early in the life of the bird, normal songs developed.
Canaries exhibit open-ended learning where they add new syllables to
their song as the get older.
Olfactory Imprinting in Salmon
Salmon imprint on odors unique to their
specific stream which they recognize
and swim toward to spawn
Associative Learning
Classical conditioning
Example: Pavlovs dogs

Operant conditioning
(trial and error)
Example: Lab rats
youtube
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Behavioral Rhythms
Circannual behavior
Breeding
Hibernation
Happens about
once a year
Circadian rhythms
Suprachiasmatic nuclei
pacemaker in brain
Sleep temp is lowest
Wake temp starts to
rise
Same for Melatonin produced by ____?
http://gslc.genetics.utah.edu/features/clockgenes/images/SCN.gif
Types of Movement (Tropisms)
Kinesis RANDOM movement in relation to
stimulus
Ex: Sowbugs need humidity show humid-seeking
bahavior by being more active in dry areas
Taxis DIRECTIONAL movement toward or
away from stimulus
Phototaxis (Phototropism)
Chemotaxis
Migration
Orientation vs. Navigation
Which
group
exhibited
navigation?
Adult bird
b/c
determined
where their
original goal
was relative
to the site to
which they
were
transported
Social Behavior
Agonistic behavior
Ritual. Usually ends with show of submission, no harm
Social Behavior
Territoriality
Use of agonistic behavior
Spraying
Social Behavior
Altruism
Example: Nearly all alarm calls are given by females
Graph shows that females stay closer to relatives!
Warning increases inclusive fitness.

Mating Behavior
Courtship Behavior
Parental Investment