Animal Behaviour Flashcards

Question

give examples of 3 types of signals

Answer 1

chemical: pheromones (ant trails) auditory: primate territorial or alarm calls, bird song visual: bioluminescence, sexual displays

Answer 2

``` Easy for receivers to pick up Detectable Recognizable Easy for signallers to produce Efficient Low-cost Hard for eavesdroppers to detect ``` balance of all above ``` Conspicuous (distinguishable) From background From other species From other calls that you make Stereotyped Less is more Alerting components ``` Ritualization The process of evolving towards these characteristics

Answer 3

Darwin proposed that some actions or habits are carried out merely because they are opposite in nature to a serviceable habit, but are not serviceable themselves. Shrugging of the shoulders is an example Darwin used of antithesis, because it has no service. Shoulder shrugging is a passive expression, and very opposite of a confident or aggressive expression

Answer 4

Ritualized behaviors allow for the evolution of a signal by increasing conspicuousness, stereotypy, and separation from its original function. An example of such increasing exaggeration can be found in bower birds. Males decorate their nest with blue objects. They will steal any blue object, including pieces of paper, plastic, and glass. This behavior began as nest building and has evolved to attract females. The process of ritualization first involves the receiver noticing the correlation between the signal and the actions of the sender. The sender then ritualizes his signal to receive the optimal ideal response from the receiver and the receiver modifies his response to optimally benefit himself. As an example, a dog who is preparing to bite retracts his lips into the familiar growl snarl. This particular behavior began so that the dog does not bite his own lips as he bites. However at some point in evolutionary history, the receiver noticed that the snarling dog presented a danger to him. The signaling dog now notices the receiver often backs down before the fight even begins, and continues retracting his lips as a way to ward off the receiver.

Answer 5

maintain territories and attract females

Answer 6

tropical environment: pure tone, short whistles uk: long complex trills this is due to attenuation (lost in background noise) and Degradation: confused with other sounds / species as there is more varied habitat in the uk birds must adapt their calls to their surroundings, in Forest: Echoes off objects - this is worse for higher frequencies and echoes are confused with notes. in grassland calls are lost by gusts of wind and wind masks long notes forest habitats are larger than grassland

Answer 7

he showed that bird call correlated with habitat structure, where grassland birds called at higher frequencies and had a larger frequency range but exhibited less pure tones than forest birds

Answer 8

spectral properties of bird song differ between urban and rural environments. they showed that the physical structure of urban areas may have a contributory effect. Here we investigate the sound degradation properties of woodland and city environments using both urban and rural great tit song. We show that although urban surroundings caused significantly less degradation to both songs, the transmission efficiency of rural song compared to urban song was significantly lower in the city. We suggest that the structure of the acoustic environment, in addition to the background noise, plays an important role in signal adaptation.

Answer 9

Zahavi's handicap principle states that in order to be honest, a signal must be costly to the signaler. Thus, only the most fit individuals can afford to brandish an honest signal. For females looking for a mate, such a declaration of fitness will identify a particular male as a quality choice. For this reason, some signals, such as peacock's tails, become extremely exaggerated: males are trying to declare their fitness. Only the toughest males can survive with such a costly, conspicuous tail. Another example is the black bib of dominant male Harris sparrows. Only dominant males have this black bib. An experiment in which males were given a black bib by means of a magic marker showed that male was attacked by other sparrows. The male with an artificial black bib could not survive the attack; only the fittest males could have the black bib of dominance and not lose fights by challengers. There is currently much debate over whether the handicap principle is valid, and there is some evidence that it does not always hold true. However, in general, a costly signal such as a peacock tail that can serve no other purpose are honest indicators of fitness.

Answer 10

batesian and Mullerian mimicry batesian a dangerous signaler is imitated by a harmless mimic, a mullerian dangerous species evolve mutual imitation to the benefit of both. Mullerian mimicry often occurs when two similar species, both of which are dangerous, have some overlapping habitat. By resembling each other, a predator that learns to avoid one will be more likely to avoid the other. In this case, the predator saves itself a hard lesson learned twice, and the mimics avoid a sacrificial encounter.

Answer 11

Recruiment: bring nestmates to point in space where work is required ants sweep antennae side to side and follow the strongest side of the pheromone trail (left hand side or right hand side) he suggested there were two trails of pheromones left by ants, in an xoxoxo pattern but that doesnt provide infomation about direction to and from the ant nest. so he suggested they left patterns like x0 x0 x0 to go one way and ox ox ox to go the other way but lots of trails left by lines of ants again contradicted this as it was hard to read them all overlapping. Jackson found that pheromone trails split off at 60 degree angles away from the existing trail so it find its way back it just needs to find a junction to rejoin the main pheromone path

Answer 12

Alarm: causes attacking behaviour, Social insects warn nestmates of enemies, Release chemical when sting to recruit nestmates to sting Brood recognition: identifies brood caste Drone: causes drone aggregation Dufour’s gland: labels queen’s eggs Footprint: enables following Queen mandibular: inhibits ovary development in workers Queen retinue: attracts workers to queen

Answer 13

In mammals, scent is often used to mark territorial boundaries, in aggressive interactions between males (reviewed in Gosling & Roberts 2001) or to advertise oestrus in females. Relatively long-lasting- so communication can continue in the absence of the signaller Territorial males and dominant males usually mark more than non-resource holders (eg. in house mice, Mus musculus Hurst 1990). Thornhauster et al. (2013) found that female house mice preferred to mate with males that had scent marked more frequently.

Answer 14

Gosling (1982) “scent matching hypothesis”: Receiver could compare smell of scent marks in an area with that of rival males it encounters If scents match, allows the receiver to assess dominance and ownership status of the rival and back down if appropriate. Resource holder would benefit by fewer fights with rivals. e.g. Territorial male hartebeest, Alcelaphus buselaphus, allow intruders to sniff them (and therefore to match their scent with that in the territory) (Gosling 1982).

Answer 15

dispersal is one way movement migration is two way movement (herds will often travel back to the original site) Migration is an innate response of an animal population to periodic changes in environmental conditions

Answer 16

Behaviour of remaining in, or returning to, an individual's birthplace.

Answer 17

Natal philopatry commonly refers to the return to the area the animal was born in, or to animals remaining in their natal territory. It is a form of breeding-site philopatry

Answer 18

In species that exhibit lifelong monogamous pair bonds, even outside of the breeding season, there is no bias in the sex that is philopatric.[8] However, among polygynous species that disperse (including those that find only a single mate per breeding season), there is a much higher rate of breeding-site philopatry in males than females among birds, and the opposite bias among mammals Among birds, males invest highly in protecting resources – a territory – against other males. Over consecutive seasons, a male that returns to the same territory has higher fitness than one that is not philopatric.[9] Females are free to disperse, and assess males

Answer 19

locating new resources, escaping unfavorable conditions, avoiding competing with siblings, and avoiding breeding with closely related individuals which could lead to inbreeding depression.

Answer 20

energy, risk, time and opportunity.[2] Energetic costs include the extra energy required to move as well as energetic investment in movement machinery (e.g. wings). Risks include increased injury and mortality during dispersal and the possibility of settling in an unfavorable environment. Time spent dispersing is time that often cannot be spent on other activities such as growth and reproduction. Finally dispersal can also lead to outbreeding depression if an individual is better adapted to its natal environment than the one it ends up in. In social animals (such as many birds and mammals) a dispersing individual must find and join a new group, which can lead to loss of social rank

Answer 21

it is one of two hypothesis on evolution of natal philopatry Shields (1982) suggested that philopatry was a way of ensuring inbreeding, in a hypothesis known as the optimal-inbreeding hypothesis.[12] He argued that, since philopatry leads to the concentration of related individuals in their birth areas, and thus reduced genetic diversity, there must be some advantage to inbreeding – otherwise the process would have been evolutionary detrimental and would not be so prevalent. The major beneficial outcome under this hypothesis is the protection of a local gene complex that is finely adapted to the local environment.

Answer 22

Some organisms are motile throughout their lives, but others are adapted to move or be moved at precise, limited phases of their life cycles. This is commonly called the dispersive phase of the life cycle most animals either disperse when born (natal dispersion) or when breeding as adults (breeding dispersion) In general there are two basic types of dispersal: Density-independent dispersal Organisms have evolved adaptations for dispersal that take advantage of various forms of kinetic energy occurring naturally in the environment. This is referred to as density independent or passive dispersal and operates on many groups of organisms (some invertebrates, fish, insects and sessile organisms such as plants) that depend on animal vectors, wind, gravity or current for dispersal.[9][10] Density-dependent dispersal Density dependent or active dispersal for many animals largely depends on factors such as local population size, resource competition, habitat quality, and habitat size.[11][12][13] Due to population density, dispersal may relieve pressure for resources in an ecosystem, and competition for these resources may be a selection factor for dispersal mechanisms.[14] Dispersal of organisms is a critical process for understanding both geographic isolation in evolution through gene flow and the broad patterns of current geographic distributions (biogeography).

Answer 23

match ANALYSIS ``` steps: Select 1-2 strongest bands Ignore lighter bands beneath alleles (“shadow bands”) The lower allele is usually stronger If highest is strongest = homozygous ```

Answer 24

Can provide information on the species' mating system! e.g. Tamarins: females mate with several males, but one male tends to monopolise paternity. without a parentage analysis scientists would have no idea which males are successfully mating with females if any. relatedness is based on how many alleles are shared, & how frequent these alleles are in population a RELATEDNESS-COEFFICIENT can be calculated for dyads and leads to kin selection. Kin selection is the evolutionary strategy that favours the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even at a cost to the organism's own survival and reproduction

Answer 25

Eruptive dispersal: ‘Episodic dispersal in large numbers’. could be due to: bad weather conditions boom and bust in food supplies eruptive species: waxwing birds crossbill birds

Answer 26

Daily migration: For example, to and from a roosting area. e.g. waders at high tide Seasonal migration: Passage at one season from a place of hatching and a return at another season to the same general area. e.g. summer migrants (warblers) or winter migrants (Whooper swans) Some species do both

Answer 27

slip streaming in birds, the term "slipstreaming" describes an object traveling inside the slipstream of another object (most often objects moving through the air though not necessarily flying). If an object is inside the slipstream behind another object, moving at the same speed, the rear object will require less power to maintain its speed than if it were moving independently. In addition, the leading object will be able to move faster than it could independently, because the rear object reduces the effect of the low-pressure region on the leading object. hitch hiking:tired migrating birds often alight on ships

Answer 28

Pure research: For example, avian energetics. Implications for wildlife conservation. Applied research: Track spread of disease: For example, Avian flu. Aeroplane safety: For example, bird strikes where bird hit the plane accidentally due to the plane flying across bird migration routes

Answer 29

Kin altruism is altruistic behaviour whose evolution is driven by kin selection

Answer 30

sterile social insects, such as honey bees, which leave reproduction to their sisters, arguing that a selection benefit to related organisms (the same "stock") would allow the evolution of a trait that confers the benefit but destroys an individual at the same time

Answer 31

According to Hamilton's rule, kin selection causes genes to increase in frequency when the genetic relatedness of a recipient to an actor multiplied by the benefit to the recipient is greater than the reproductive cost to the actor. The rule is difficult to test but a study of red squirrels in 2010[3] found that adoption of orphans by surrogate mothers in the wild occurred only when the conditions of Hamilton's rule were met. Hamilton proposed two mechanisms for kin selection: kin recognition, where individuals are able to identify their relatives, and viscous populations, where dispersal is rare enough for populations to be closely related. The viscous population mechanism makes kin selection and social cooperation possible in the absence of kin recognition. Nurture kinship, the treatment of individuals as kin when they live together, is sufficient for kin selection, given reasonable assumptions about dispersal rates. Kin selection is not the same thing as group selection, where natural selection acts on the group as a whole.

Answer 32

variable/unpredictable environment→ more flexible than genetic determination faster ...but depends on usefulness of past experience e.g., Spatial memory, e.g., food caching Social learning for dietary selection and preferences Better predator responses (e.g., knowing where to hide) Hunting strategies depending on prey availability

Answer 33

usually especially in early periods (sometimes) sensitive period(s) Remember: Neuroplasticity! → Cell death is irreversible→ Strong stimuli are more effective when many connections are "still under development" But many species have life-long capabilities to some extent

Answer 34

Neuroplasticity is the brain's capacity to change and adapt. physiological changes in the brain that happen as the result of our interactions with our environment. From the time the brain begins to develop in utero until the day we die, the connections among the cells in our brains reorganize in response to our changing needs. This dynamic process allows us to learn from and adapt to different experiences.

Answer 35

Learning pre-dispositions Learning capabilities of species depend onphylogeny (increasing centralisation of neural systems;e.g., insects, cephalopods, vertebrates) many species have special capacity for certain tasks, that are relevant for their niche:e.g.

Answer 36

Animals gain knowledge in two ways . First is learning—in which an animal gathers information about its environment and uses this information. For example, if an animal eats something that hurts its stomach, it learns not to eat that again. The second is innate knowledge that is genetically inherited. An example of this is when a horse is born and can immediately walk. The horse has not learned this behavior; it simply knows how to do it.[44] In some scenarios, innate knowledge is more beneficial than learned knowledge. However, in other scenarios the opposite is true - animals must learn certain behaviors when it is disadvantageous to have a specific innate behavior. In these situations, learning evolves in the species.

Answer 37

In a changing environment, an animal must constantly gain new information to survive. However, in a stable environment, this same individual needs to gather the information it needs once, and then rely on it for the rest of its life. Therefore, different scenarios better suit either learning or innate knowledge. Essentially, the cost of obtaining certain knowledge versus the benefit of already having it determines whether an animal evolved to learn in a given situation, or whether it innately knew the information. If the cost of gaining the knowledge outweighes the benefit of having it, then the animal does not evolve to learn in this scenario—but instead, non-learning evolves. However, if the benefit of having certain information outweighs the cost of obtaining it, then the animal is far more likely to evolve to have to learn this information

Answer 38

Non-learning is more likely to evolve in two scenarios. If an environment is static and change does not or rarely occurs, then learning is simply unnecessary. Because there is no need for learning in this scenario—and because learning could prove disadvantageous due to the time it took to learn the information – non-learning evolves. However, if an environment is in a constant state of change, then learning is disadvantageous. Anything learned is immediately irrelevant because of the changing environment.[44] The learned information no longer applies. Essentially, the animal would be just as successful if it took a guess as if it learned. In this situation, non-learning evolves. In fact, a study of Drosophila melanogaster showed that learning can actually lead to a decrease in productivity, possibly because egg-laying behaviors and decisions were impaired by interference from the memories gained from the new learned materials or because of the cost of energy in learning.[45]

Answer 39

in environments where change occurs within an animal's lifetime but is not constant, learning is more likely to evolve. Learning is beneficial in these scenarios because an animal can adapt to the new situation, but can still apply the knowledge that it learns for a somewhat extended period of time. Therefore, learning increases the chances of success as opposed to guessing.[44] An example of this is seen in aquatic environments with landscapes subject to change. In these environments, learning is favored because the fish are predisposed to learn the specific spatial cues where they live

Answer 40

Imprinting is a kind of learning occurring at a particular life stage that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behavior. In filial imprinting, young animals, particularly birds, form an association with another individual or in some cases, an object, that they respond to as they would to a parent. In 1935, the Austrian Zoologist Konrad Lorenz discovered that certain birds follow and form a bond if the object makes sounds.

Answer 41

classical conditioning involves repeatedly pairing an unconditioned stimulus (which unfailingly evokes a reflexive response) with another previously neutral stimulus (which does not normally evoke the response). Following conditioning, the response occurs both to the unconditioned stimulus and to the other, unrelated stimulus (now referred to as the "conditioned stimulus"). The response to the conditioned stimulus is termed a conditioned response. The classic example is Ivan Pavlov and his dogs. Pavlov fed his dogs meat powder, which naturally made the dogs salivate—salivating is a reflexive response to the meat powder. Meat powder is the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the salivation is the unconditioned response (UR). Pavlov rang a bell before presenting the meat powder. The first time Pavlov rang the bell, the neutral stimulus, the dogs did not salivate, but once he put the meat powder in their mouths they began to salivate. After numerous pairings of bell and food, the dogs learned that the bell signaled that food was about to come, and began to salivate when they heard the bell. Once this occurred, the bell became the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the salivation to the bell became the conditioned response (CR).

Answer 42

Ivan Pavlov and his dogs. Pavlov fed his dogs meat powder, which naturally made the dogs salivate—salivating is a reflexive response to the meat powder. Meat powder is the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the salivation is the unconditioned response (UR). Pavlov rang a bell before presenting the meat powder. The first time Pavlov rang the bell, the neutral stimulus, the dogs did not salivate, but once he put the meat powder in their mouths they began to salivate. After numerous pairings of bell and food, the dogs learned that the bell signaled that food was about to come, and began to salivate when they heard the bell. Once this occurred, the bell became the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the salivation to the bell became the conditioned response (CR).

Answer 43

Associative learning is the process by which someone learns an association between two stimuli, or a behavior and a stimulus. The two forms of associative learning are classical and operant conditioning. In the former, a previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly presented, together with a reflex eliciting stimuli, until eventually the neutral stimulus elicits a response on its own. In operant conditioning, a certain behavior is either reinforced or punished, which alters the probability that the behavior will reoccur.

Answer 44

herring gulls can identify their young amongst other in terrestrial habitats as the young may move around. kittiwakes recognise the nest areas instead as offspring are difficult to distinguish from afar when in flight and cannot easily move between locations on a cliff face

Answer 45

Tryon created an experiment that tested the proficiency of successive generations of rats in completing a maze. He initiated the experiment by exposing a genetically diverse group of rats to the maze, labeling those who made the fewest errors “bright”, and those with the most errors “dull”. Tryon then mated the “bright” males with “bright” females, and “dull” males with “dull” females. After their children matured, Tryon repeated the maze test with them, and again separated the “bright” and the “dull”, again breeding “bright” with “bright” and “dull” with “dull”. Tryon continued this process for seven generations, creating two distinct breeds of “bright” and “dull” rats. In order to demonstrate that behavior had little effect on the genetically selectively bred rats, and lessen the chance of error when making his conclusions, Tryon cross-fostered the rats—that is, he had a “dull” mother raise “bright” children, and vice versa

Answer 46

Prior to Robert Tryon’s study of selective breeding, concluded in 1942, many psychologists believed that environmental, rather than genetic, differences produced individual behavioral variations. Tryon sought to demonstrate that genetic traits often did, in fact, contribute to behaviour While Tryon's results showed that the “bright" rats made significantly fewer errors in the maze than the “dull" rats did, the question exists of what other sensory, motor, motivational, and learning processes also influenced the results of the experiment. A common misconception of this experiment and other similar experiments is that the observed change in the performance in the maze directly correlates with general learning ability. This is not the case. Rather, it has become a widely accepted belief among behavior geneticists that the superiority of the bright rats was confined to Tryon’s specific test; thus, it is not possible to claim that there is a difference in learning capacity between the two groups of rats.

Answer 47

they used selectively bred rats who had been bred from the maze bright group and some from maze dull group. Since the maze bright and maze dull rats were reared in identical environments, the difference between the two groups could only be attributed to heredity. Cooper and Zubek placed the rats from both groups in either a restricted environment (in an empty cage with gray walls) or an enriched environment (in a cage with designs on its walls that contained objects such as ramps, mirrors, swings, balls, slides, and tunnels). When raised in restricted environments, the dull rats made many errors as usual, but the bright rats also made many errors. And when raised in the enriched environment, both groups made few errors. Since the genotypes did not change, it seems clear that the changes in behavior were caused by the changes in environment. Cooper and Zubek argued that heredity and environment always interact to produce final behavior.

Answer 48

typical categories: Habituation and Sensitization - non associative learning Classical conditioning - associative learning Operant conditioning - associative learning Imprinting Imitation Insight Learning

Answer 49

Habituation (short term and long term aspect), = "negative learning", opposite of conditioning Habituation is an example of non-associative learning in which the strength or probability of a response diminishes when the response is repeated. The response is typically a reflex or unconditioned response. Thus, habituation must be distinguished from extinction, which is an associative process. In operant extinction, for example, a response declines because it is no longer followed by reward. An example of habituation can be seen in small song birds—if a stuffed owl (or similar predator) is put into the cage, the birds initially react to it as though it were a real predator. Soon the birds react less, showing habituation. If another stuffed owl is introduced (or the same one removed and re-introduced), the birds react to it again as though it were a predator, demonstrating that it is only a very specific stimulus that is habituated to (namely, one particular unmoving owl in one place). Habituation has been shown in essentially every species of animal,

Answer 50

Sensitisation (short term and long term aspect), = period of high responsiveness following arousal by rewarding or punishing experiences Sensitization is an example of non-associative learning in which the progressive amplification of a response follows repeated administrations of a stimulus (Bell et al., 1995). An everyday example of this mechanism is the repeated tonic stimulation of peripheral nerves that occurs if a person rubs their arm continuously. After a while, this stimulation creates a warm sensation that eventually turns painful. The pain results from the progressively amplified synaptic response of the peripheral nerves warning that the stimulation is harmful.[clarification needed] Sensitisation is thought to underlie both adaptive as well as maladaptive learning processes in the organism

Answer 51

Operant conditioning = "Learning by trial & error" → spontaneously generated behaviour becomes associated with reward / reduction of averse stimulus e.g. rat presses a button and learns that food is dispensed , there is a second buzzer where food doesn't appear so by trial and error it learns which button dispenses food Operant conditioning is the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of behavior. Operant conditioning is distinguished from Pavlovian conditioning in that operant conditioning uses reinforcement/punishment to alter an action-outcome association. In contrast, Pavlovian conditioning involves strengthening of the stimulus-outcome association.

Answer 52

Sexual imprinting is the process by which a young animal learns the characteristics of a desirable mate. For example, male zebra finches appear to prefer mates with the appearance of the female bird that rears them, rather than that of the birth parent when they are different.[6] Sexual attraction to humans can develop in non-human mammals or birds as a result of sexual imprinting when reared from young by humans. One example is London Zoo female giant panda Chi Chi. When taken to Moscow Zoo for mating with the male giant panda An An, she refused his attempts to mate with her, but made a full sexual self-presentation to a Russian zookeeper

Answer 53

scientists wore specific clothing, they only wore white lab coats to habituise threatened (poaching) animals to white lab coats and not to humans in general so that when reintroduced into the wild they wouldn't go up to humans and interact with them which could be dangerous for the animal if they approach poachers

Answer 54

short term forgetting Extinction can be quickly reversed, if enforcing stimulus is presented again. Forgetting is time dependent (usually extinction is quicker than real forgetting). Forgetting not related to non-presence of reward.

Answer 55

operant conditioning zoo keepers have used it to teach animals to give their arms for vaccinations through the bars to minimise the stress of darting them also helps to train red footed tortoises: Essentially what the 4 tortoises had to learn was: When a triangle appears on the screen-> touch it. Once the triangle was touched it disappeared and two blue circles appeared, the circle position (either left or right) was designated as positive. (So depending on condition, two of the animals would now have to touch the left, and two would have to touch the right circle. → some intriguing results But: often rather artificial settings and tasks → interpretations sometimes debatable But: OC does not only happen in the lab! → trial and error learning

Answer 56

Imprinting no homogeneous phenomenon, not by all viewed as learning typical for imprinting on objects: sensitive phase (often very short) often irriversible lasting result imprinting leads to preference, not exclusivity! If learned choice object is not available, new preferences can be acquired, but this is not stable. The original is still preferred only species specific characters are learned, not individual one] [sexual imprinting occurs when (final) behaviour is not yet developped (i.e., without reinforcement!)]

Answer 57

Sexual imprinting is not irreversible: phase (early imprinting) consolidation (at older age): early imprinting enforced if partner reacts appropriately. Final preference is thus "success-dependent" Imprinting works better with some cues than others.

Answer 58

``` → Imprinting for: Location (salmon) Food preferences Hosts of widowbirds Song of some songbirds ```

Answer 59

Ellis flew whooping cranes in a motorised hang glider in a migration to teach them the way so that they could make the journey themselves in subsequent years and then teach their offspring.

Answer 60

e.g. mocking birds Imitation is an advanced behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behavior. Imitation is also a form of social learning that leads to the "development of traditions. It allows for the transfer of information (behaviours, customs, etc.) between individuals and down generations without the need for genetic inheritance Some scientists believe true imitation is only produced by humans, arguing that simple learning though sight is not enough to sustain as a being who can truly imitate.[ True imitation is produced when behavioral, visual and vocal imitation is achieved, not just the simple reproduction of exclusive behaviors.[34] Imitation is not a simple reproduction of what one sees; rather it incorporates intention and purpose.[34] Animal imitation can range from survival purpose; imitating as a function of surviving or adapting, to unknown possible curiosity, which vary between different animals and produce different results depending on the measured intelligence of the animal.[34] There is considerable evidence to support true imitation in animals.[35] Experiments performed on apes, birds and more specifically the Japanese quail have provided positive results to imitating behavior, demonstrating imitation of opaque behavior.[35] However the problem that lies is in the discrepancies between what is considered true imitation in behavior.[35] Birds have demonstrated visual imitation, where the animal simply does as it sees.[35] Studies on apes however have proven more advanced results in imitation, being able to remember and learn from what they imitate.[35] Studies have demonstrated far more positive results with behavioral imitation in primates and birds than any other type of animal.[35] Imitation in non primate mammals and other animals have been proven difficult to conclude solid positive results for and poses a difficult question to scientists on why that is so.[35 "Traditions" e.g. food washing in Japanes macaques (Macaca fuscata), invented by "Imo There has been critique at the interpretation (e.g. Galef 1996) In observ.learning the "teacher" is in the process of learning while being observed (e.g. one group of ducks trained to feed only from one place, observer ducks watch and then feed immediately from correct plate (Klopfer 1957) Critique: very slow in "catching on", pattern of provisioning the monkeys

Answer 61

difficult to prove The key aspect of insight learning is that it is achieved through cognitive processes, rather than interactions with the outside world. There is no gradual shaping or trial and error involved; instead, internal organizational processes cause new behavior. Kohler's most famous study on insight learning involved Sultan the chimpanzee. Sultan was in a cage and was presented with a stick, which he could use to pull a piece of fruit close enough to the cage so that he could pick it up. After Sultan had learned to use the stick to reach the fruit, Kohler moved the fruit out of range of the short stick. He then placed a longer stick within reach of the short stick. Initially, Sultan tried to reach the fruit with the short stick and failed. Eventually, however, Sultan learned to use the short stick to reach the long stick, and then use the long stick to reach the fruit. Sultan was never conditioned to use one stick to reach another; instead, it seemed as if Sultan had an epiphany. The internal process that lead Sultan to use the sticks in this way is a basic example of insight. "...the sudden production of a new adaptive response not arrived at by trial behaviour, or the solution of a problem by the sudden adaptive reorganisation of experience" •Insight learning does not involve gradual shaping or trial and error. Instead, internal organizational processes occur that cause new behavior. •Wolfgang Kohler's most famous study on insight learning (1925) involved Sultan the chimpanzee, who, Kohler argued, used insight to learn a creative way of attaining fruit that was out of reach. •Contrary to strict theories of behaviorism, insight learning suggests that we learn not only by conditioning, but also by cognitive processes that cannot be directly observed. •In humans, insight learning occurs whenever the solution to a problem suddenly appears, even if previously no progress was being made. •Insight should not be confused with heuristics. An insight is realizing a new behavior to solve a problem, while a heuristic is a mental shortcut to help process a large amount of information

Answer 62

The resource dispersion hypothesis (RDH) asserts that, if resources are heterogeneous in space or time, group living might be less costly than was previously thought, regardless of whether individuals gain direct benefits from group membership

Answer 63

Tool use by animals may indicate different levels of learning and cognition. For some animals, tool use is largely instinctive and inflexible. For example, the woodpecker finch of the Galápagos Islands use twigs or spines as an essential and regular part of its foraging behaviour, however, these behaviours are often quite inflexible and are not applied effectively in different situations. Other tool use, e.g. chimpanzees using twigs to "fish" for termites, may be developed by watching others use tools and may even be a true example of animal teaching. Tools may even be used in solving puzzles in which the animal appears to experience a "Eureka moment". Claim octopus: they collect and carry coconut halves to use LATER for shelter Claim crocos: they balance twigs on snouts to lure birds to their snout. Tools are used by some animals to perform behaviours including the acquisition of food and water, grooming, defence, recreation or construction.[1] Originally thought to be a skill only possessed by humans, some tool use requires a sophisticated level of cognition. There is considerable discussion about the definition of what constitutes a tool and therefore which behaviours can be considered as true examples of tool use. A wide range of animals are considered to use tools including mammals, birds, fish, cephalopods and insects. Rarely, animals have been observed making their own tools, e.g. primates sharpening a stick to use as a weapon,[2] or removing leaves and twigs from a branch and fishing for termites with a stem frayed by chewing.[3]

Answer 64

Rico: this video clip shows the very first session of the identification task, in which a novel item is requested by using a novel name. Rico is first instructed to bring two familiar items: first the "tyrex" (the blue dinosaur) and next the "weihnachtsmann" (the little red doll). Subsequently, a novel word ("sigikid") is used to ask for the novel item, the white bunny. "Fast mapping": Being able to refer to one object because one "knows that it is not the other". E.g. Rico learned lots of object names. He was then presented with several known and one novel object. When asked "fetch [novel object]" he was able to fetch it on the first try.

Answer 65

will be mammal, in particular human, biased....) Forming of memories = example of neural plasticity Short-term and long-term memory: stm: temporary links in the hippocampus ltm: links in hippocampus are replaced by more permanent connections in the cortex Consolidation during sleep!

Answer 66

Habituation → Depression of synaptic transmission, e.g. less transmitter released mechanism of how this is achieved is not completely understood. It is not depletion of neurotransmitter (since new stimulus leads again to full response).

Answer 67

Sensitisation → Enhancement of synaptic transmission; including heterosynaptic facilitation for short term: briefly: Serotonin → K+ flux is reduced → prolonging AP → further enhancing transmitter release → Simple forms of implicit learning lead short-term to changes in the effectiveness of synaptic transmission.

Answer 68

→ Long term habituation and sensitisation lead to changes in the number of synaptic connections. habituation - less connections and sensitisation - more connections

Answer 69

Explicit memory: "facts" and autobiographical knowledge ("What the world is about") -> Strength of connection Explicit memory is the conscious, intentional recollection of previous experiences and information. People use explicit memory throughout the day, such as remembering the time of an appointment or recollecting an event from years ago. Explicit memory involves conscious recollection, compared with implicit memory which is an unconscious, unintentional form of memory. Remembering a specific driving lesson is an example of explicit memory, while improved driving skill as a result of the lesson is an example of implicit memory.

Answer 70

Implicit memory: motor skills, "unconscious" knowledge ("How to do things") -> New connections built; repetition Implicit memory is a type of memory in which previous experiences aid the performance of a task without conscious awareness of these previous experiences.[1] Evidence for implicit memory arises in priming, a process whereby subjects are measured by how they have improved their performance on tasks for which they have been subconsciously prepared

Answer 71

Explicit memory: storage of new facts in medial temporal lobe system (hippocampus) e.g. caching in birds

Answer 72

Implicit memory: (partly) Amygdala and Cerebellum

Answer 73

long term explicit memory

Answer 74

``` Lesion experiments Stimulation of specific brain areas Electrophysiological methods, e.g. EEG Pharmacological methods "Natural experiments": medical case studies magnetic resonance imaging (MRI ```

Answer 75

Lesion experiments - disadvantages lesions: (quite apart from accuracy): if after lesion a behaviour stops, it does not mean that this area is mainly responsible for it. could be just an intermediary step (relay station) or could inhibit a second area. ``` Stimulation of specific brain areas Electrophysiological methods, e.g. EEG Pharmacological methods "Natural experiments": medical case studies magnetic resonance imaging (MRI ``` ethics?

Answer 76

Etho-endocrinology investigates the relationships between hormones and behaviour! e.g. sex-hormones on sexual behaviour and aggression prolactin on parenting behaviour corticosteroids and the stress reaction...

Answer 77

Hormone = substance released from an organ or structure that has a specific effect on specific target structures Sometimes as trophic hormones / neurosecretions Secreted into extracellular fluid, circulated in haemolymph or blood Hormone – behaviour relationships are complex. It is not appropriate to say that hormones "cause" behaviour. Hormones INFLUENCE behaviour: Hormones change the probability that a particular behaviour will be displayed in the appropriate social context.

Answer 78

Organisational → Ontogeny → (relatively) permanent changes → e.g., in neuronal connections, tissue development, etc. Activational → triggering expression and performance of behaviour

Answer 79

e.g., effect of castration on neonates/immatures vs. adults, and hormone treatments on young-castrated / adult-castrated individuals on behaviour -> TIMING important Beach & Holz-Tucker 1949: Effects of different concentrations of androgen upon sexual behavor in castrated male rats. J Comp Physiol Psychol 42:433-453. (Another interesting result of this study was that apparently a first high level of T and then later a low level (but >0) of T resulted in behaviour as if no T had been administered, i.e., the rats were accustomed to higher levels of T and did not react later to lower levels. Previous work has shown that social interactions (SI) in adult male rats in an unfamiliar environment is decreased relative to SI in an environment that is familiar. This decrease in SI induced by an unfamiliar environment is accompanied by increases in both physiological and behavioural indicators of stress.

Answer 80

Methods: I. Score intact males and females (60d old) on social interaction test in familiar and unfamiliar environment II. Castrate juvenile male rats (19d)b) implant testosterone propionate (30d) c) sham-implant (30d) d) score at social interaction test (60d) III. Castrate adult male rats (55-60d) or sham-castrate b) score at social interaction test (74/88d) For all: Analyse serum testosterone values at end of study

Answer 81

The term "adrenal" comes from ad- (Latin, "near") and renes (Latin, "kidney"). Made up of 2 glands with different cell types and functions - Adrenal cortex – outer -Adrenal medulla – central The main hormone is called in the American literature epinephrine, in Britain and the rest of Europe it’s more commonly called adrenalin. "Nephros" is greek for kidney and "epi" means "on/upon", so epinephrine has actually the same meaning as adrenalin. Generally, epinephrine has a stronger effect on heart and metabolic rate, and norepinephrine is more important in the regulation of blood pressure. in liver glycogen breakdown to glucose, in skeletal muscles: dilation of blood vessels, in intestines: contraction of blood vessels. All three physiological responses increase the amount of chemical energy available, to enable an animal to exert a short bout of highly energy demanding behaviours (like sprinting away), for which sugar and oxygen are needed. By reducing the blood circulation in intestines, more blood (oxygen) is available for the muscles, where oxygen is at that moment more urgently needed. SHORT TERM: Stressor signal is transmitted from Hypothalamus to Adrenal medulla where neurosecretory cells secret the hormones.

Answer 82

Long term: mineral and glucocorticoids: Stressor signals cause the hypothalamus to secret a releasing hormone, which in the pituitary leads to the secretion of ACTH (adreno-corticotropic hormone)). When ACTH reaches the adrenal cortex (via blood), corticosteroids are secreted. Glucocorticoids (e.g. cortisol) have a primary effect on glucose metabolism. E.g. breakdown of muscle proteins, providing glucose when the liver cannot mobilise enough from glycogen stores. High levels of glucocorticoids can suppress immune system. Mineralcorticoids affect on mineral metabolism (salt and water balance) Note: "Cortex" means "bark/outer layer".

Answer 83

zebra walks around savannah at internal equilibrium - homostasis zebra sees lion whih is a stressor lion also has a stressor - hunger Stressor stimulates hypothalamus to send a nerve signal to the adrenal medulla to secrete epinephrine (a.k.a adrenaline) and norepinephrine – Catecholamines Increase energy available for immediate use Increase rate of glycogen breakdown in liver and skeletal muscles Promote glucose release by liver cells and release of fatty acids from fat cells All enter blood to be used Also effect the cardio vascular and respiratory systems Generally, epinephrine has a stronger effect on heart and metabolic rate, and norepinephrine is more important in the regulation of blood pressure. in liver glycogen breakdown to glucose, in skeletal muscles: dilation of blood vessels, in intestines: contraction of blood vessels. All three physiological responses increase the amount of chemical energy available, to enable an animal to exert a short bout of highly energy demanding behaviours (like sprinting away), for which sugar and oxygen are needed. By reducing the blood circulation in intestines, more blood (oxygen) is available for the muscles, where oxygen is at that moment more urgently needed. when the zebra escapes the lion it returns to homostasis

Answer 84

Stress is an ideal system for allowing an organism to deal with short-term physical stress. Stress-related disease appears most likely to emerge when the stress-response is activated for too long, or too frequently (chronic stressors) and when it is not activated for physiological reasons (psychological and social stress). The problem with the sustained stress is that the stress-response can eventually become as damaging as the stressor. It is not stress that makes you sick…stress makes you more likely to become sick. Stress impairs the body’s defences against disease

Answer 85

The zoo environment is hugely diverse compared to that which most animals have evolved to survive in. Animals in captivity do not face the same stresses as wild animals, they do not need to escape predation and the regular supply of food reduces the pressure to hunt and forage (Newberry, 1995). But zoo housing often prevents animals from engaging in behaviours that are typical of their species. These behaviours are often internally motivated but the zoo environment does not contain the appropriate stimuli (Morgan and Tromborg, 2007) concrete walls restrict animals from escaping a stressor and other stressful stimuli remain constant components of the environment. Therefore, the animal is exposed to sustained stressors and the stress response is not terminated, or is repeatedly initiated ``` Causes of stress – handling by keepers and vets Veterinary proceedures Visitors Noise Restriction Social grouping ``` Effect of long term stress – disease, halted reproduction, lack of natural behaviour, abnormal/coping behaviours

Answer 86

Pröve 1974. Journal of Ornithology 115:338-347 [in German, sorry]: Adult males were tested in a standard test with receptive females, and courtship activity measured (number of song parts). Half of the males were then castrated, the other half received a sham-operation (i.e., similar procedure but without removing the testes). Both groups were then observed in a similar way several times in the weeks following the operation. Following this, some of the castrated males received later a hormone treatment with an androgen derivative to see whether this re-initiates the courtship behaviour

Answer 87

Ectomy and Substitution (removal of gland; e.g., castration) Antagonist or competitive chemical or immuno-neutralisation (less permanent than ectomy) Blood transfusion Bioassays to assess circulating hormone levels indirectly Autoradiography and cytoimmunochemistry (to localise sites of hormone uptake) Radio/enzyme-immunoassay autoradiography: inject radioactively labelled hormone, and later animal can be murdered to determine where the hormone was taken up, e.g., in the brain. Immunoneutralisation: giving antibodies against specific hormones

Answer 88

General Methods: find/collect samples (blood, faeces, urine, saliva) store samples, e.g. in alcohol extract steroids validate assay! (metabolites / other sources: e.g., testosterone from adrena) enzyme-immunoassay

Answer 89

General principle of immuno assays: specific antibodies can be developed for a hormone. An unknown amount of hormone is mixed with a constant, known amount of the antibody, and a constant known amount of the radioactively or enzyme linked marked hormone. After some incubation time, the antibody binds with the hormone – both the labelled and the un-labelled, which compete for binding places. Competition is "scramble" competition, i.e. the more of unlabelled hormone is present, the more antibodies it binds. The rest (free / unbound) hormones can be absorbed. The radio-activity or the enzyme activity of the enzyme-linked hormone can then be measured. If this is compared to a previously established calibration curve, the amount of unlabelled hormone can be calculated.

Answer 90

I.e. the more hormones (unknown quantity, unlabelled) you have in your sample relative to the known amount of enzyme labelled hormone, the LOWER will be the reaction of the enzyme labelled hormone, since more spaces will be taken up by unlabelled hormones.

Answer 91

Not all castrates cease behaviour completely→ Past experience / learning(e.g. difference between sexually experienced and unexperienced individuals) Where produced?(e.g. testosterone also produced in adrenal gland -> different function) Which metabolite is actually responsible?(e.g. effect of "testosterone" not by T itself but estradiol etc.; T is only the "transport" form in the blood ->Validation of essays

Answer 92

The challenge hypothesis outlines the dynamic relationship between testosterone and aggression in mating contexts. It proposes that testosterone promotes aggression when it would be beneficial for reproduction, such as mate guarding, or strategies designed to prevent the encroachment of intrasexual rivals.[1] The challenge hypothesis predicts that seasonal patterns in testosterone levels are a function of mating system (monogamy versus polygyny), paternal care, and male-male aggression in seasonal breeders. CAPTIVE males of temperate-zone birds: long days: → gonadal development & increase in T → normal spermatogenesis, secondary sex characters, & repertoire of reproductive behaviour (sexual & aggressive) NATURE: Absolute level of T can be an order of magnitude higher which means: in the wild T increases only some forms of aggression, i.e. reproduction related (not, e.g., anti-predator) In the wild, T is higher because males face CHALLENGES from competitors, and other challenging situations so Temporal pattern of T secretion above the breeding baseline may be a trade-off between male-male aggression and parental behaviour

Answer 93

The Bruce effect, or pregnancy block,[1][2] is the tendency for female rodents to terminate their pregnancies following exposure to the scent of an unfamiliar male.[3] The effect was first noted in 1959 by Hilda M. Bruce,[4] and has primarily been studied in laboratory mice (Mus musculus).[1] In mice, pregnancy can only be terminated prior to embryo implantation, but other species will interrupt even a late-term pregnancy.[5]In order to have evolved and persisted in the population, the Bruce Effect must afford individuals a fitness advantage.[3] The possible advantages of pregnancy block are that females will be able to mate again with a more successful male or that it causes less stress on the body when a new male takes over, instead of going through birth and rearing offspring for the male to kill them, a terminated pregnancy allows the female to become receptive to mating sooner and will result in offspring that will reach adulthood.

Answer 94

GnRH: gonadotropin releasing hormone. FSH: follicle stimulating hormone. LH: luteinising hormone The increase of oestrogens disturbs the luteal phase of pregnancy, therefore the uterus does not properly implant eggs, leading to abortion. This reduces the time until the female is receptive again considerably.

Answer 95

Several studies of nonhuman primates show that a male's testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) levels change when his status changes, rising when he achieves or defends a dominant position, and falling when he is dominated

Answer 96

Males[edit] When given the opportunity, male mice tend to direct their urine in the female’s direction.[22] This allows males to improve their fitness success by “sabotaging” the pregnancy of a male competitor,[3] and more quickly returning the female to estrus.[23] The Bruce Effect can also aid in maintaining social status, with dominant males leaving more urinal scent markings,[24] and so blocking the pregnancies initiated by subordinate males. Females[edit] Females can control their likelihood of terminating pregnancy by pursuing or avoiding novel male contact during their most susceptible periods.[25] In this way, females can exert a post-copulatory mate choice, reserving their reproductive resources for the highest-quality male. Certainly, females are more likely to seek proximity to dominant males.[25] In many rodent species, males kill unrelated young; pregnancy block may avoid the wasted investment of gestating offspring likely to be killed at birth.[5][26] The Bruce Effect is most common in polygynous rodent species, for which the risk of infanticide is highest.[27]

Answer 97

assumption: Only strategies that did not maximally contribute to the phenotypic fitness of the organism were selected against, and are therefore currently absent learning: as an animals environment changes it must learn to adapt based on previous experiences (i.e. seasons, means it must migrate to new food sources) One measure of learning is 'foraging innovation'—an animal consuming new food, or using a new foraging technique in response to their dynamic living environment.[5] Foraging innovation is considered learning because it involves behavioral plasticity on the animal's part. The animal recognizes the need to come up with a new foraging strategy and introduce something it has never used before to maximize his or her fitness (survival). when young animals copy adults in what foods to eat genetics: Foraging behavior can also be influenced by genetics. The genes associated with foraging behavior have been widely studied in honeybees with reference to the following; onset of foraging behavior, task division between foragers and workers, and bias in foraging for either pollen or nectar Predation[edit] Predation refers to the presence of predators while an animal is foraging. In general, foragers balance the risk of predation with their needs, thus deviating from the foraging behaviour that would be expected in the absence of predators Parasitism[edit] Similarly, parasitism can affect the way in which animals forage. Parasitism can affect foraging at several levels. Animals might simply avoid food items that increase their risk of being parasitized, as when the prey items are intermediate hosts of parasites. Animals might also avoid areas that would expose them to a high risk of parasitism. Finally, animals might effectively self-medicate

Answer 98

This theory argues that because of the key importance of successful foraging to an individual's survival, it should be possible to predict foraging behavior by using decision theory to determine the behavior that an "optimal forager" would exhibit. Such a forager has perfect knowledge of what to do to maximize usable food intake. While the behavior of real animals inevitably departs from that of the optimal forager, optimal foraging theory has proved very useful in developing hypotheses for describing real foraging behavior. Departures from optimality often help to identify constraints either in the animal's behavioral or cognitive repertoire, or in the environment, that had not previously been suspected. With those constraints identified, foraging behavior often does approach the optimal pattern even if it is not identical to it. In other words, we know from optimal foraging theory that animals are not foraging randomly even if their behavior doesn't perfectly match what is predicted by OFT.

Answer 99

The marginal value theorem (MVT) is an optimality model that usually describes the behavior of an optimally foraging individual in a patchy system, but it can also be applied to other situations in which organisms face diminishing returns. The resources (often food) in patchy systems are located in discrete patches separated by areas with no resources. Due to the resource-free space, animals must spend time traveling between patches. The Marginal Value Theorem is an optimality model that describes the strategy that maximizes gain per unit time in systems where resources, and thus rate of returns, decrease with time.[1] The model weighs benefits and costs and is used to predict giving up time and giving up density. Giving up time (GUT) is the interval of time between when the animal last feeds and when it leaves the patch. Giving up density (GUD) is the food density within a patch when the animal will choose to move on to other food patches. When an animal is foraging in a system where food sources are patchily distributed, the MVT can be used to predict how much time an individual will spend searching for a particular patch before moving on to a new one. In general, individuals will stay longer if (1) patches are farther apart and thus there is a higher cost of travel or (2) current patches are rich in resources.

Answer 100

use the marginal value theorem As the time needed to travel between patches increases The time for which an individual should remain foraging in a patch should increase

Answer 101

Assumptions of the MVT[edit] 1. The individual is assumed to control when it leaves the patch in order to maximize the ratio between resource intake and time. 2. The consumer depletes the amount of resources in the patch where he/she is foraging; therefore, the rate of intake of food in that patch decreases as a function of time. 3. If there is variation in the quality of patches, the MVT assumes that different patches are distributed randomly throughout the landscape.

Answer 102

Optimal Foraging in Great Tits[edit] Great tits are a species of bird found throughout Europe, northern Africa, and Asia. They are known to forage in “patchy” environments, and research has shown that their behavior can be modeled by optimal foraging models, including the MVT. In a 1977 study by R.A. Cowie,[4] birds were deprived of food and then allowed to forage through patches in two different environments (the environments differed only in distance between patches). As predicted, in both cases birds spent more time in one area when the patches were farther away or yielded more benefits, regardless of the environment. In a similar experiment by Naef-Danenzer (1999),[5] great tits were shown to have a foraging efficiency 30% better than random foraging would yield. This is because great tits were specifically spending more time in resource-rich areas, as predicted by the MVT. This data supports the use of the MVT in predicting the foraging behavior of great tits.

Answer 103

there are several theories: systematic: random: previously thought to be the best levy flights: The movement of animals closely resembles in many ways the random walks of dust particles in a fluid.[2] This similarity led to interest in trying to understand how animals move via the analogy to Brownian motion. an inverse square distribution of flight times or distances could optimize the search efficiency under certain circumstances.[3] Specifically, a search based on a Lévy walk, consisting of a constant velocity search following a Lévy flight path, is optimal for searching sparsely and randomly distributed revisitable targets in the absence of memory There has been some controversy about the reality of Lévy flight foraging. Early studies were limited to a small range of movement, and thus the type of motion could not be unequivocally determined; and in 2007 flaws were found in a study of wandering albatrosses which was the first empirical example of such a strategy.[4] There are however many new studies backing the Lévy flight foraging hypothesis.[5][6][7][8] Recent studies use newer statistical methods [9] and larger data sets showing longer movement paths.[10] Studies published in 2012 and 2013 re-analysed wandering albatross foraging paths and concluded strong support for truncated Lévy flights and Brownian walks consistent with predictions of the Lévy flight foraging hypothesis

Answer 104

some researchers propose that there is something fundamental missing from the model. Namely, animals are probably doing more than just foraging, whether it be dealing with predation risks or searching for mating opportunities.[10] Natural selection is not the only force influencing the evolution of species. Sexual selection, for example, may alter foraging behaviors, making them less consistent with the MVT. These researchers point out that the marginal value theorem is a starting point, but complexity and nuances must be incorporated into models and tests for foraging and patch-use.

Answer 105

Group foraging is when animals find, capture and consume prey in the presence of other individuals. In other words, it is foraging when success depends not only on your own foraging behaviors but the behaviors of others as well.[18] An important note here is that group foraging can emerge in two types of situations. The first situation is frequently thought of and occurs when foraging in a group is beneficial and brings greater rewards known as an aggregation economy.[1] The second situation occurs when a group of animals forage together but it may not be in an animal's best interest to do so known as a dispersion economy. Think of a cardinal at a bird feeder for the dispersion economy. We might see a group of birds foraging at that bird feeder but it is not in the best interest of the cardinal for any of the other birds to be there too. The amount of food the cardinal can get from that bird feeder depends on how much it can take from the bird feeder but also depends on how much the other birds take as well.

Answer 106

Some of the benefits of group foraging include being able to capture larger prey,[20] being able to create aggregations of prey,[21] being able to capture prey that are difficult or dangerous and most importantly reduction of predation threat.[18] With regard to costs, however, group foraging results in competition for available resources by other group members. Competition for resources can be characterized by either scramble competition whereby each individual strives to get a portion of the shared resource, or by interference competition whereby the presence of competitors prevents a forager's accessibility to resources.[1] Group foraging can thus reduce an animal's foraging payoff.[18] Group foraging may be influenced by the size of a group. In some species like lions and wild dogs, foraging success increases with an increase in group size then declines once the optimal size is exceeded.

Answer 107

ethogram: certain behaviours - An ethogram is a catalogue or inventory of behaviours or actions exhibited by an animal used in ethology abiotic environment - how is the environment affecting the animal biotic environment - how are other animals affecting the animal i.e. predators or prey

Answer 108

affiliative behaviour helping " agonistic " sexual " interactions between individuals - aggression, sexual selection, raising young, teaching and learning through mimicry interactions between several group members - hierarchy, fights, group bonding through grooming and other social behaviours, play interactions between groups - territory defence, territorial calls, fights, competition for food

Answer 109

lab: advantages: controllable (statistics), animals visible disadvantages: can be unrealistic (wrong environment, neurotic animals...), expensive, wellfare? field: advantages: natural and realistic representation of behaviours once habitualised to the researchers presence disadvantages: uncontrollable, time-consuming, "cryptic" species/behaviours, ecol. impact? constraints for both: time vs money

Answer 110

Hans was a horse owned by Wilhelm von Osten. Hans was said to have been taught to add, subtract, multiply, divide, work with fractions, tell time, keep track of the calendar, differentiate musical tones, and read, spell, and understand German and would tap out the answer with his hoof. However, the horse got the right answer only when the questioner knew what the answer was, and the horse could see the questioner. He observed that when von Osten knew the answers to the questions, Hans got 89 percent of the answers correct, but when von Osten did not know the answers to the questions, Hans answered only six percent of the questions correctly. Pfungst then proceeded to examine the behaviour of the questioner in detail, and showed that as the horse's taps approached the right answer, the questioner's posture and facial expression changed in ways that were consistent with an increase in tension, which was released when the horse made the final, correct tap. This provided a cue that the horse could use to tell it to stop tapping.

Answer 111

basically: social cues are picked up by the animal from the human whether that's approval in humans from drug sniffing dogs or tension when the horse find the correct answer which results in false positive drug finds and signals the animal to stop because its earned its reward. After Pfungst had become adept at giving Hans performances himself, and was fully aware of the subtle cues which made them possible, he discovered that he would produce these cues involuntarily regardless of whether he wished to exhibit or suppress them. Recognition of this phenomenon has had a large effect on experimental design and methodology for all experiments whatsoever involving sentient subjects, including humans. The risk of Clever Hans effects is one reason why comparative psychologists normally test animals in isolated apparatus, without interaction with them. However this creates problems of its own, because many of the most interesting phenomena in animal cognition are only likely to be demonstrated in a social context, and in order to train and demonstrate them, it is necessary to build up a social relationship between trainer and animal. This point of view has been strongly argued by Irene Pepperberg in relation to her studies of parrots (Alex), and by Allen and Beatrix Gardner in their study of the chimpanzee Washoe. If the results of such studies are to gain universal acceptance, it is necessary to find some way of testing the animals' achievements which eliminates the risk of Clever Hans effects. However, simply removing the trainer from the scene may not be an appropriate strategy, because where the social relationship between trainer and subject is strong, the removal of the trainer may produce emotional responses preventing the subject from performing. It is therefore necessary to devise procedures where none of those present knows what the animal's likely response may be.

Answer 112

latency frequency (per unit time!) duration (total durationper unit time! orproportion/%) intensity ): e.g., slow, medium, fast cricket song state vs event a state is resting, an event is jumping to another tree bouts where behaviour occurs multiple times in a short space of time, Need to define minimum time of "behaviour not shown" to determine start and end of bouts

Answer 113

``` Sampling rules → Whom (or what) to watch & when Ad libitum Focal Scan Behaviour ``` ``` Recording rules → How to record behaviour Continuous Instantaneous One-Zero sampling ```

Answer 114

Ad libitum: - everything of everybody - no systematic constraints - whatever strikes as important advantages and disadvantages: Good for preliminary observations Bad for systematic analyses / often not feasible

Answer 115

``` watch 1 animal (pair etc.) for a certain time span(e.g. 10 min / 1 hour) Time out! → adjust "per unit time" → can introduce bias ```

Answer 116

At regular time intervals Scan ALL animals i.e., RAPID snapshots necessarily "instantaneous"

Answer 117

advantages Background behavioural states Behaviour of several individuals at ± same time disadvantages Difficult/ impossible to see all at exactly the same time→ often a short scanning period is used (e.g., 1min) Some individuals / behaviours more conspicuous → can introduce bias

Answer 118

``` Rare/short but importantbehaviours e.g. affiliative behaviour helping " agonistic " sexual " ``` often used together with other methods

Answer 119

``` Note start (& end) of (each) behaviour record continuously for a period of time e.g. ten minutes, ``` 0. 30 secs, feeding 0. 30-1.20, playing 1. 20-2.34, feeding, 2. 34-3.30 resting 3. 30-5.40, moving 5. 40-8.55 playing 8. 55.-10.00 feeding OR Count each occurrence of discrete events e.g. 2 occurances of playing, 3 occurances of feeding, 1 occurance of resting

Answer 120

``` advtantages: Potentially true representation of behaviour (duration or frequency) Preserves more information negatives: Not always feasible Demanding → Reliability can suffer Fewer categories can be handled ``` The longer a true behaviour bout lasts (relative to sample length) the more likely it will be UNDER-estimated

Answer 121

recording behaviours instantaneously as they occur during each bleep

Answer 122

advantages: Easier, especially for rapidly changing behaviours Condensing information Can be more accurate (no "loosing track") Keep to the beep! (else → bias!) negatives: Not suitable for short events and rare behaviours If sampling intervals, duration of samples and length of overall study are not appropriate→ bias

Answer 123

advantages: May be the only feasible method forINTERMITTEND behaviour (starts & stops repeatedly & rapidly, and last only briefly)e.g., play disadvantages: Does not give true representation of duration or frequencies! Overestimates durations & tends to underestimate frequencies

Answer 124

Focal sampling with Instantaneous recording for common states, (e.g. Resting, Foraging, Moving) and continuous recording of behaviours of special interest that last long('ish) (e.g. Grooming, Infant carrying - duration) or are rare, short events - frequency (e.g. Approach to / retreat from others) PLUS Behaviour sampling of rare behaviour of special interest (e.g. Sexual or agonistic behaviour)

Answer 125

``` No general rule what is "best"! Depends on Species Question Location (e.g., visibility) Time & equipment constraints ...... ```

Animal Behaviour Flashcards

(150 cards)