Animal behaviour Flashcards
(201 cards)
define signal
a behaviour or atribute that alters the behaviour of a receiver
define communication
reception of and response to signals, beneficial to both parties
define a cue
a receiver gains information but it was not the signallers intention to do so.
what are tinbergens four questions
mechanistic - to understand the mechanisms that underly the trait
ontogenetic - the genetic and environmental factors that guide the development of a trait
functional - looking at a trait in terms of its effects on survival and reproduction
phylogeneitc - unraveling the evo history of the species so that the structure the trait can be evaluated in light of ancestral featrues
describe how the call of a male tungara frog may get lower
normal chuck is 2550 hertz
female inner ear responds to 2100 hertz the best
some males happened to chuck lower
more succsessful at obtaining mates
prefernce for low frequency in neuro physiology
give an example of signal modulation
birds use a different call when mobbing a predator
a …… will only make a signal when it increases their fitness, and the reciever will only ……. when the signal will increase their fitness
sender
respond
the interest of communicatoin can be different for the individuals involved in three ways, what are they
overlapping - begging or alarm calls
seperate but not opposing - mate attraction e.g. exagerration of a signal
oppsing - disputes over territory
describe Zahavis Handicap principle
the honesty of a signal is mainatined by its cost
i. e. males with an exaggerated trait will be better males since they are adapted enough that they can overcome the costs
e. g. natural selection favours crypsis but sexual selectoin goes against this
why must communication be honest on average
communcation would fail otherwise, it is no longer adaptive to repsond to a dishonest signal
describe the stalk eyed flies example of communication with eye stalks and territory
females prefer males with root hairs controlled by males with larger eyespans
long eye stalks in absence of prior residency will always win the fight for territory
acts as an honest communicator of ability to win a fight
describe communcaition of jumping spiders using UV light
males have a uv peak that females dont have
in absence of uv light males will try to court other males and male male fighting is less likely
uv peak acts as communicator for the sex of the species
what is the dear enemy effect. why is it adaptive
dont fight those you know, boundaries settle so only respond to unfamiliar signals
it is adaptive because it saves energy in fighting and reduces the chance of death during fighting
define eavesdropping
use of a signal by an uninteneded receiver
define audience
individuals present but not participiating
describe eavesdropping in siamese fighting fish
2 males in same cage will fight
if a third male is present but cant see the fight it is equally likely to fight either fish
if the third male is an audience member then it will fight the loser
where no female audience the males will bite but in an audeince of females they wont bite
females prefer none biting fish
describe the audicence effects in cleaner fish
cleaner fish have small territories where they eat ectoparasites off of other fish
sometimes they bite the fish as well as the ectoparasites
if there is an audience of other fish the frequency of biting decreases
define referential signalling
a specific distinctive signal external to body or emotions a preset agreed upon by the population
describe the referential signalling systems used in velvet monkeys and how we know they are learnt
have three alarm calls
eagle - hide
leopard - run to trees
snake - stand up
young will often respond inccorectly to the calls or make the wrong calls. takes up to 3 years until they stop making mistakes
how can you tell the diference between a juveinle and adult kea
fledglings have a yellow nostril and mandible
juvelines lose their lower mandible
adult has no yellow
how many different calls do kea exhibit
at least 7
give 3 examples of how kea communication is complex
there is an age dimorphism
males and females answer to calls differently
individual dialects e.g. moutn cook kea sound different to mount cook variety
why is a high frequency call adaptive for the kea
in the alpine habitat they have to compete with other noises e.g. water and wind
these noise are a low frequency
desribe how a bird call might change from a city to a native forest. How can this cause a problem for birds
in the city the song is likely to be faster and higher frequency
as a habitat degrades and becomes urbaniised if the syrinx of the bird cannot change frequency they will be unable to communicate