ANS 104 Principles and Applications of Domestic Animal Behavior midterm #1 Flashcards
(30 cards)
Why is monogamy beneficial?
Monogamy is beneficial to ensure genetic makeup (DNA) is passed down
What is ethology?
Formalized into a distinct field of science in the
1930s
The scientific study of animal behavior
– Biological roots
– Observations in nature
– Relationship to environment/ecology
Behaviorism
is the learning theory
– Psychological roots
– Observations in lab
– Learning/conditioning principles
Four Questions (approaches) of Ethology
- Proximate (short term)
– HOW? - Ultimate (long term)
– WHY?
Proximate
How does the behavior happen?
– What stimuli (internal/external) elicit behavior?
* Proximate mechanisms
* How did behavior develop?
– How did it change throughout animal’s life?
* Ontogenetic processes (the study of the entirety of an organism’s lifespan)
Ultimate Questions
Why perform the behavior?
– How does behavior help animal survive?
* Functional consequences
* Why keep this behavior over evolution?
– What were the selective pressures that shaped
the behavior?
* Phylogenetic origins of behavior
Ultimate vs. Proximate
Approaches to Ethology
Behavior: pet cat rubs against your leg.
– Proximate questions
* CAUSE: When do they perform this behavior?
* DEVELOP: Do kittens perform behavior in same way as adults?
Ultimate vs. Proximate
Approaches to Ethology
- Behavior: pet cat rubs against your leg.
– Ultimate questions - FUNCTION: What benefit does the cat get
from rubbing your leg? - EVOLVE: Does this behavior exist in non-
domestic felines (e.g., bobcats, lions)?
Proximate questions
how questions
Ontogeny
* description of the development of that behvior and its genetic basis
Mechanism
* descriptiion structures and functions related to behavior
intro
ultimate why questions
phylogeny
* reconstructed history of the beahvior bith within and across species
adaptaton
* selective advantages of a behavior
Domestication Lec 2
What is behavior
animals senses
Relaxed selection
Occurs when natural selection pressures are relieved
* change to landscape, predator abundance, food source
traits (behavior and/or appearance)
* stay the same
* be reduced
* become more variable
Relaxed Selection
EXAMPLE
Moths listen to bat echolocation to avoid them but up the mountain region Tahiti=no bats
Moths of Tahiti show a more relxed response behavior by showing reduced startle response to sounds of bats
Artificial Response
Humans selectively breed plants and animals, causing certain traits to ^ frequency
Domestication 2
common omistication characteristics of domesticated animals
“cute and or baby-like features”
* shorter snouts
* smaller teeth
* rolled tails
* floppy ears
Does domestication change an animals physiology and or natural behaviors?
Domestication does not change motor patterns of behaviors but it can change when or how the behavior is performed
Artificial Selection
example
- broiler chickens for chicken breasts, wings, food industry
- laying hens to producce one egg a day
lec 4
Behavioral genetics
nature or nurture
does nature genetics or nurture environment infuence/determine animal behavior?
innate vs learned
Pleiotropy
the phenomenon that one gene being responsible for and/ or affecting one or more characteristics
why is monogamy beneficial?
predator avoidance
protection
food resource
polyandry
females are dminant ex honeybees
females could be larger than males and/or guard resoources
polygyny
1 male many females example lions horses narwals
what are the hypotheses for female mate choice
- direct benefits
-essential resoucres/primary need - good genes
-males transmits fitness advantage to offspring - sensory bias exploitation
-male characteristic matches preexisting prefernece of females -dots on a fish - runaway selection
Female choice: Runaway selection
- Sexy son hypothesis
- However- the trait does NOT improve fitness
- Males balance exaggerated traits with survivability
