Animal Behaviour

Question 1

What does “umwelt” mean in German?

Answer 1

Environment

Question 2

What is the meaning of “Umwelt” in animal behaviour?

Answer 2

the world through the animal’s eyes, shaped by what it needs to do, and it’s needs to survive

Question 3

Definition: How sensory input is processed onto flexible behaviour (able to do different things under different circumstances)

Answer 3

Cognition

Question 4

Definition: cognitive ability (how well do you apply

→both relative to what the animal needs to do

Answer 4

Intelligence

Question 5

Definition: The attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to nonhuman entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology

Answer 5

Anthropomorphism

Question 6

Definition: The scientific study of how and why animals behave the way they do

Answer 6

The study of animal behaviour

Question 7

artificial selection:

Answer 7

Selectively bred for specific looks or abilities, based on desirable phenotype (all traits that make up an organism)

Question 8

: what decides what survives, resulting in species with certain genotypes and phenotypes

Answer 8

selective agent

Question 9

direct fitness:

Answer 9

individual’s reproductive success

Question 10

indirect fitness

Answer 10

reproductive success of genetic relatives

Question 11

inclusive fitness

Answer 11

direct fitness + indirect fitness

Question 12

what is eusociality

Answer 12

Some reproduce, some don’t
Overlapping generations - everyone helps everyone
Communal care of young
Individuals specialised for particular tasks

Question 13

_________ traits

same function but not same physical structure; probably got through different evolutionary history

Answer 13

analogous

Question 14

_________ traits
humans and primates skeletons look similar) (same physical structure, perhaps not same behaviour; probably same evolutionary history

Answer 14

homologous

Question 15

when a gene is copied from the genome in order to make a protein

Answer 15

transcription

Question 16

The mRNA now in cytoplasm is turned into a protein that the DNA codes for

Answer 16

translation

Question 17

Double Helix. Transfers genetic material from one generation to the next. Very stable. “whole instruction manual”

Answer 17

DNA

Question 18

Single stranded, easily broken down. Not very stable. Easy to use inside a cell for translation but not good for carrying info over generations. Carries “passages of the text to be translated and put into action”

Answer 18

RNA

Question 19

Mendel’s law of independent assortment

Answer 19

the presence of an allele of one of the genes in a gamete has no influence over which allele of another gene is present

Question 20

behavioural dimorphism

Answer 20

subdivision within the sexes of an animal

Question 21

plietrophy

Answer 21

when one gene influences two or more phenotypic traits that seem independent

Question 22

epistasis

Answer 22

gene expression depends on other genes present - the effect of one gene being dependent on the presence of one or more “modifier genes”
- multiple genes act togetehr to express one phenotypic trat

Question 23

epigenetics:

Answer 23

the study of chemical reactions that turn biological mechanisms on and off and the factors that influences these chemical reactions

Question 24

species found in one small specific area and nowhere else

Answer 24

endemic species

Question 25

animal that moves to a new area where it may overtake a niche of an existing species or maybe a niche not yet filled; spread rapidly, has large effects on environment

Answer 25

invasive species

Question 26

a species moves from a population to a new one; entering a foreign country to live there from your own population. entering ones country to live

Answer 26

immigration

Question 27

a species moves out of a population to a new one; leaving ones country where you lived

Answer 27

emigration

Question 28

the study of human-animal relationships

Answer 28

Anthropology

Question 29

ethology

Answer 29

Observation and description of animals in their natural or semi-natural habitat and environment

Question 30

sociobiology

Answer 30

How natural selection selects for particular social behaviours

Question 31

behavioural ecology

Answer 31

``` - The function and evolution of behaviour - Hybrid of ecology and comparative psychology - Strongly theoretical ```

Question 32

ethogram

Answer 32

List of behaviours with definitions:

Question 33

Can translate neuronal stuff to signals to pituitary (endocrine) and this releases hormones that go through whole bloodstream and stimulate adrenal glands (endocrine glands) that stimulate production of stress hormones and these get animal to do things (mostly getting ready for a challenge for the body) - end up with production of stress hormones

Answer 33

HPA-axis

Question 34

cascade of hormones that ends with the production of sex hormones

Answer 34

H-P- Gonadal Axis

Question 35

describe the main 3 parts of the cascade of the HPA axis | - what does it end with?

Answer 35

Hypothalamus → anterior pituitary → adrenal glands End up with hormones, corticosteroids, cortisol Flight or fight

Question 36

describe the main 3 parts of the cascade of the HPG-axis | what does it end with?

Answer 36

Hypothalamus → anterior pituitary → Gonads End up with sex steroids Androgens Estrogens Progesterone (reproduction, parental behaviour)

Question 37

what does progesterone control?

Answer 37

reproduction and parental behaviour

Question 38

is development needed for innate behaviours?

Answer 38

yes

Question 39

what does development consist of? (stages)

Answer 39

maturation experience practice learning and teaching

Question 40

example of social influence and development: How does the cow bird learn songs after being put in an unrelated birds nest?

Answer 40

The males sing songs the females then reinforce some of the songs by responding with their wings. The males will drop other songs the female did not like/ respond to

Question 41

What limits social influence among animals? advantages vs disadvantages?

Answer 41

Advantages to joining crowd or standing out by being different Could be that you're learning from an outlier, so there might be guards against this Young birds learn from repetitions to a point and then don't as much

Question 42

Explain natural selection in 5 steps

Answer 42

1. Individuals vary 2. Some variation is heritable 3. Some individuals survive and reproduce better than others 4. Survival and reproduction is non-random; individuals with more suitable traits do better 5. End up with Organisms that are left have adaptations that are good for their environment

Question 43

a set of observable characteristic of an organism resulting from genotype and environment interaction

Answer 43

phenotype

Question 44

the genetic makeup of an organism

Answer 44

genotype

Question 45

``` inclusive fitness score identical twin parents sibling grandmother ```

Answer 45

``` Identical twin = 1 Parent, offspring = 0.5 Full sibling = 0.5 Half sibling = 0.25 aunt/uncle, niece/nephew = 0.25 grandparent/grandchild = 0.25 ```

Question 46

kin selection

Answer 46

What if the behaviour was a behaviour that helped someone else with the same gene- more relatedness the more you want to help them

Question 47

Evolutionary history better displayed in a evolutionary tree

Answer 47

phylogenic trees

Question 48

____ pairs of chromosomes for humans

Answer 48

23

Question 49

______ are made of gene, genes are made of our 4 nucleotide bases

Answer 49

chromosomes

Question 50

in each chromosome there are ____ copies of genes from mom and dad

Answer 50

1 copy of genes from mom and 1 copy from dad - the two copies are allele

Question 51

allele

Answer 51

a pair of genes- one from mom one from dad

Question 52

The three major fields of animal behaviour

Answer 52

1. psychology (comparitive) 2. biology (behavioural) 3. anthropology

Question 53

what is ethology

Answer 53

Observation and description of animals in their natural or semi-natural habitat and environment

Question 54

what is sociobiology

Answer 54

How natural selection selects for particular social behaviours

Question 55

what is behavioural ecology

Answer 55

The function and evolution of behaviour Hybrid of ecology and comparative psychology Strongly theoretical

Question 56

the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals, especially as these relate to the phylogenetic history, adaptive significance, and development of behavior

Answer 56

comparative psychology

Question 57

Pioneers of ________: Karl Von Frisch (bees and language), Konrad Lorenz (schemes of approaching behaviour), Niko Tinbergen (naturalist, field experiments)

Answer 57

ethology

Question 58

what did karl von frish study

Answer 58

bees and language- ethology

Question 59

what did niko tinbergen do

Answer 59

ethology- naturalist, did field experiments

Question 60

what did EO Wilson study?

Answer 60

sociobiology: E.O. Wilson (importance of biodiversity, ant nerd)

Question 61

who is richard dawkins?

Answer 61

a sociobiologist, Richard Dawkins (anti creationist guy; wrote "The Selfish Gene)

Question 62

_______ is the study of the behavior, biology, evolution, and taxonomy of nonhuman primates.

Answer 62

primatology

Question 63

The first two legs of animal behaviour: proximate "how"?

Answer 63

1. Mechanism (immediate causes of behavior) | 2. Development (history of the behaviour, and way organism is helped to behave in \ particular way)

Question 64

The second two legs of animal behaviour: ultimate "why"?

Answer 64

1. Evolutionary/ phylogenetic (understanding evolutionary history and phylogeny and evolutionary function of the behaviour) 2. Survival value

Question 65

behavioural decision equation

Answer 65

Sensory cues on what to do, + social internal states (needs; thirsty, hungry, mating) = behavioural decision

Question 66

behavioural decision equation

Answer 66

Sensory cues on what to do, + social internal states (needs; thirsty, hungry, mating) = behavioural decision

Question 67

behaviour organised through: 1. 2.

Answer 67

Neurons | Hormones

Question 68

axis definition in biology

Answer 68

chain of events within the body

Question 69

bouts

Answer 69

a chunk of repetition, mini pattern, short bursts of repetitive behaviour in an ethogram

Question 70

sequences

Answer 70

bouts put together, movements in accordance with the definitions, to create movement

Question 71

neuropeptides

Answer 71

a group of polypeptides that act like neurotransmitters

Question 72

an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli.

Answer 72

instinct

Question 73

how do juvenile behaviours develop, how does the animal not die while grow up/ how does it survive while learning how to live

Answer 73

The developing animal has to have a functioning behaviour system to do its work to survive/ keep animal alive

Question 74

influence of hormones, stress, timing, and target cells on birds songs

Answer 74

embryo : discrimination, guide for sensory learning, listening to sounds outside Fledgling: sensory learning, learning and listening, developing brain to make discriminations between songs Young adult: practicing, matching songs to other individuals, crystallizing adult song Adult: adult song and song preference, female birds can tell what kind of shape the male birds are in with the males bird song