Animal Behaviour

Question 1

BEHAVIOUR DEFINITION

Answer 1

• all observable responses an individual gives to internal/external stimuli
• we can manipulate stimuli & see how response changes
• this allows us to infer reasons why beh occurs/what it tells us about individual’s physiology/psychology/wellbeing

Question 2

TYPES OF BEHAVIOURS

Answer 2

STATES
- long duration
EVENTS
- short duration
BOUTS
- the grouping of events into set pattern (ie. courtship ritual)

Question 3

WHAT DO BEHAVIOURS TELL US?

Answer 3

• ethogram = beh list (define & describe)
• time-activity budget -> energy -> motivation
• animal welfare = state of individual infer via behavioural observation

Question 4

RECORDING

Answer 4

RECORDING
- how/when to observe/record info
FOCAL INDIVIDUAL
- the animal you’re following
SCAN SAMPLE
- individuals in group (hard to identify)
ETHICAL REVIEW
- stringent process
- write methods & submit for peer review

Question 5

SAMPLING

Answer 5

SAMPLING
- who to follow/watch
INSTANTANEOUS
- ie. instant scan sampling of group
CONTINUOUS
- ie. recording total time spent by individual on each beh
AD LIB SAMPLING
- ie. write down & see what occurs
- use for ethogram
ONE-ZERO SAMPLING
- yes I saw it/no I didn’t
- good for rare activity
EVENT SAMPLING
- tally chart for frequency/rate

Question 6

INSTANTANEOUS FOCAL/SCAN SAMPLING

Answer 6

• records periodically
• divided into sample intervals (ie. record on minute)
• records whether beh is occurring at particular point
• overall score expressed as proportion of observation time

Question 7

CONTINUOUS FOCAL SAMPLING

Answer 7

• exact record of behaviours
• necessary for true frequencies/duration
• keep timing duration of beh until animal starts to do something else
• record exact length of time each beh is performed for

Question 8

DEVELOPING YOUR WORK

Answer 8

• seek out precedent & use literature
• base methods on those published (remember to cite)
• record states/events at same time
• think about question you want to answer & most appropriate species to use to answer it

Question 9

ETHICS & PEER REVIEW

Answer 9

• comments/feedback are required to ensure valid methods are provided
• check quality of evidence used in support of your aims/research question
• always comply w/legislation & policy surrounding animal welfare & ethical practices

Question 10

RESEARCH QUESTION EXAMPLES

Answer 10

• social networks & where does sociality actually come from?
• understanding evolution of human behs
• cognition/navigation/problem solving
• human animal interactions
• animal welfare

Question 11

BEHAVIOURIAL RECORDING CHECKLIST

Answer 11

1. Identified research question?
2. Aim/hypothesis?
3. What species would be best?
4. What is the species likely to do? When?
5. Ethogram w/clear beh definitions?
6. Following recognisable individuals OR scanning across group?
7. Who/what will you sample? How/when will you record data?
8. How much time will you need to spend observing the population?
9. What specific behavioural methodology will be applied?

Question 12

SUMMARY

Answer 12

SAMPLING
- who to watch/what to measure
- focal/scan/behavioural/event
RECORDING
- how to watch/when to measure
- continuous/instantaneous/1-0