Animal Behavior Flashcards
(39 cards)
Steps of chi-square
Create table of observed and expected, plug into equation, add up results
Degrees of freedom
The number of outcomes minus 1
If chi-square value is larger
The null is rejected
Behavior
Actions an animal takes
Anthropomorphization
The attribution of human characteristics on non-human subjects
Proximate causes of behavior
How questions
Ultimate causes
Why questions
Tinbergen’s four questions
What are the genetic/developmental mechanisms (proximate cause), what are the anatomical/physiological mechanisms (proximate cause, what historical pathways led to the current behavioral trait (ultimate cause), what selective processes shaped the behavioral trait (ultimate cause)
Innate
Has a genetic basis; born with it
Fixed action patterns
Sequences of unlearned, Unchangeable behaviors
Imprinting
Mimic
Learned
Acquired as a consequence of experience
Adaptive
Gives its bearer a reproductive advantage
Maladaptive
Reproductive disadvantage
Optimal it’s
Treats that maximize benefits while minimizing costs to the greatest extent possible; evolutionary trade offs
Free energy is necessary for
Baseline cellular operation and maintenance and extra every beyond that can be invested in good health and defense
Behavior that results in the most free energy…
Is favored by natural selection.
Migration
A form of dispersal; the annual movement away from and return to the same location.
Good genes hypothesis
Physical characteristic that correlates with survival success, and will be passed on to kids
Healthy mate hypothesis
Trait that correlates to foraging success, high parental investment, and low parasite load
Signaling
Animals use visual, audible, tactile, electrical, and chemical signals to indicate dominance , find food , establish territory, and achieve reproductive success
Tactile
Signaling by touch
Electrical
Eels communicate with pulsing electrical fields
Altruism
A selfless sacrifice for another’s benefit