animal behavior Flashcards

1
Q

ecology

A

study of home and interactions

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2
Q

behavioral ecology was developed by

A

Niko Tinbergen

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3
Q

goal of behavioral ecology

A

understand animal behaviors and their cause

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4
Q

proximal cause asks..?

A

HOW is a behavior occurring

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5
Q

what asks these questions:

How does a stimulus triggers that behavior?

How are mechanisms involved in detecting that trigger?

How does development/growth teach that response?

A

proximal cause

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6
Q

ultimate cause asks …?

A

WHY is a behavior occurring?

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7
Q

what asks these questions:

Why does this behavior help the animal survive or reproduce?

Why did this behavior evolve?

A

ultimate cause

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8
Q

fixed action patterns

A

built in responses linked directly to a stimulus (stimulus always results in specific response)

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9
Q

are fixed action patterns learned or instinctual?

A

instinctual

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10
Q

fixed action patterns: male stickleback example

A

male sticklebacks are territorial and attack other males with red undersides

BUT they attack pretty much anything with a red underside

(red acts as a sign stimulus)

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11
Q

environmental cues

A

environment provides info needed for some behaviors

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12
Q

environmental cues: migratory animals use clues such as …. to find destination

A

o Sun or stars
o Earth’s magnetic field
o Undiscovered mechanisms

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13
Q

signal:

A

behavior in one animal may act as a stimulus for another

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14
Q

communication results when…

A

signals are sent and received

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15
Q

examples of different forms of stimuli used for communication:

A

Visual, chemical, tactile, auditory

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16
Q

why is Bee communication complex?

A

uses many forms of communication (visual, chemical, tactile, and auditory)

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17
Q

complex behavior leads to …

A

complex response

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18
Q

pheromones:

A

chemicals used for communication

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19
Q

how are pheromones detected?

A

smell or taste

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20
Q

innate behavior

A

all animals of a species respond the same to a given stimulus

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21
Q

behavior must be ___ to adapt to environment

A

flexible

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22
Q

acquiring behavior that is NOT hard coded requires…

A

LEARNING

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23
Q

learning:

A

modification of behavior based on experiences

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24
Q

simplest form of learning is…

A

imprinting

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25
Q

imprinting is a combination of

A

learned and hard coded behavior

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26
Q

sensitive/critical period:

A

stage of development where learning is possible
*Time period is hard coded
*Experiences during this sensitive period are locked for life

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27
Q

imprinting works well unless…

A

stimuli during learning period are incorrect

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28
Q

spatial learning:

A

learning location of landmarks

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29
Q

difficulty of spatial learning :

A

may need to approach remembered location from a specific direction

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30
Q

cognitive map: may remember ___ ____ of landmarks

A

spatial orientation

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31
Q

cognitive mapping: more flexible and efficient without need for ….

A

landmark hopping

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32
Q

associative learning

A

making connections between experiences

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33
Q

example of associative learning

A

Blue jays’ vomit if they eat monarch butterflies

*Jays associate monarchs with vomiting and avoid them.

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34
Q

classical conditioning

A

an arbitrary (unnatural) stimulus is associated with an outcome

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35
Q

occurs in lab, not in nature

A

classical conditioning

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36
Q

example of classical conditioning

A

Pavlov’s dog: bell was rung before dogs were fed

*Dogs began drooling when the bell was rung

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37
Q

operant conditioning

A

trial and error learning

38
Q

operant conditioning: animal associates…

A

its behavior with outcome

39
Q

operant conditioning:
repeats behavior with ___ outcome
avoids behaviors with ___ outcome

A

positive; negative

40
Q

most complex forms of learning involve

A

cognition

41
Q

cognition includes:

A

awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgement

42
Q

cognition pulls multiple sources of information together to…

A

make decisions

43
Q

problem solving:

A

determine how to move form one state to another using a series of behaviors

44
Q

problem solving is __ focused

A

objective

45
Q

social learning

A

learning through observing others

46
Q

most common in social species

A

social learning

47
Q

social learning is similar to associative learning but…

A

thought the experiences of others

48
Q

example of social learning

A

chimpanzees learned to crack nuts by watching parents

49
Q

social learning is the basis of

A

culture (info is passed down through generations)

50
Q

continuing behaviors must be selected by

A

natural selection: increased survival and reproduction

51
Q

cost benefit analysis

A

balance between cost and benefits

*Cost of finding food VS Benefit of nutrition

52
Q

natural selection favors optimal foraging:

A

maximize benefits and minimize costs

53
Q

example of optimal foraging

A

crow foraging: fly to optimal height to break shell open
-makes sure they get the food without expending too much energy

54
Q

foraging increases risk of…

A

predation

55
Q

why do mule deer forage in meadows instead of forests, where there is more food?

A

mule deer are eaten by cougars which prey along forest edges, they feed in open meadows to compromise between selective pressures

56
Q

promiscuous partners

A
  • No long-term pair bonds
  • Mate with different partners each year
  • Mate with many partners in one season
57
Q

monogamous species

A

one male and one female mate

58
Q

polygamous species

A

one gender mates with many of the other gender

59
Q

polygyny

A

one male, many females

60
Q

polyandry

A

one female, many males

61
Q

sexual dimorphism: genders are nearly identical in ___ species

A

monogamous species

62
Q

sexual dimorphism: males are more ornamented in __ species

A

polygynous species

63
Q

sexual dimorphism: females are more ornamented in __ species

A

polyandrous species

64
Q

needs of young influence

A

mating system

65
Q

for young that require lots of parental care…

A

both parents remain to make care of young

66
Q

for young that can fend for themselves immediately…

A

fathers maximize reproductive success by mating with additional females

67
Q

males with internal fertilization…

A

cannot be certain of maternity

68
Q

males with external fertilization..

A

CAN be certain of maternity and are more likely to protect young

69
Q

females often choose mates with

A

dramatic characteristics (sign of a healthy male)

70
Q

females often choose mates that look like..

A

their father

71
Q

mate choice copying

A

females choose similar mates as other females when alone

72
Q

intrasexual selection

A

members of SAME sex compete to mate with members of opposite sex

73
Q

intersexual selection: often always ___ species

A

polygamist

74
Q

intersexual selection often involves __ behaviors

A

agonistic (contest for a resource)

75
Q

do agonistic behaviors result in extreme or mild injuries?

A

mild

76
Q

intersexual selection results in males with..

A

similar characteristics

77
Q

some species have males of various phenotypes, each phenotype..

A

has a different strategy for reproduction

78
Q

behavior is partially controlled by

A

genes

79
Q

genetics of behavior: garter snake example

A

coastal snakes eat slugs and inland snakes do not, despite being born in a lab

80
Q

altruism

A

a behavior that harms you while helping others

81
Q

altruism decreases one individual’s ___ while increasing another individual’s __

A

fitness

82
Q

the highest evolutionary advantage is to

A

have your genes the next generation

83
Q

there are 2 ways for your genes to be in the next generation:

A
  • You reproduce directly: 50% of your genes in children
  • Your close family reproduces
84
Q

inclusive fitness

A

combination of personally passing on genes AND close family passing on genes

85
Q

kin selection

A

natural selection favors enhanced reproduction of close relatives

86
Q

ground squirrels: why are females more likely to give alarm calls?

A

o Females save family
o Males save strangers

*risk her own survival to increase survival of relatives

87
Q

eusocial insects appear to have extreme altruism:

A

o Often only 1 individual reproduces
o Most individuals serve colony without reproducing

88
Q

eusocial insect’s extreme altruism involves

A

haplodiploidy
o Females are diploid
o Males are haploid

89
Q

results of haplodiploidy

A

 Parents and offspring share 50% of genes
 Siblings share 75% genes (on average)

90
Q

haplodiploidy: helping mother create more siblings passes your genes (more or less?) than reproducing yourself would

A

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