Animal Behavior Behavior is the way an animal

Animal Behavior

Behavior is the way an animal responds to a stimulus. Stimulus-a cue that causes a behavior to occur. Response- a behavior caused by a stimulus

Innate Behavior§Behaviors are referred to as innate when the same behavior commonly is observed among a large number of individuals within a population, even if the environments are different.

Fixed Action Patterns §A stimulus triggers an innate response that the animal does not control and is not directly influenced by environmental conditions or past experiences.

Learned Behavior § Learned behaviors result from an interaction between innate behaviors and past experiences within a particular environment.

Habituation §Sometimes, animals learn over time that a potentially important stimulus deserves little or no attention. § Habituation is the decrease in an animal’s response after repeatedly being exposed to a stimulus that has no positive or negative effects.

§Classical conditioning occurs when an association is made between two different kinds of stimuli. Classical Conditioning in the high school

§In operant conditioning, an animal learns to associate its response to a stimulus with a reward or a punishment. Operant Conditioning- Big Bang Theory

Imprinting § Some animals form a social attachment to the first object they see after birth. §Other animals imprint on the chemical composition of the water in which they are hatched.

Cognitive Behavior § Thinking, reasoning, and processing information to understand complex concepts and solve problems are cognitive behaviors. § Humans exhibit cognitive behaviors when they solve problems, make decisions, and plan for the future.

Nature vs. Nurture Is behavior genetically based or environmentally based?

The Evolution of Behavior Three Questions: v. What triggers certain behaviors to specific stimuli? v. What advantages do certain behaviors provide? v. Are behaviors naturally selected?

Social/Ecological Behaviors §Agonistic behavior-threatening or combative interaction

§Dominance hierarchies-groups of animals where the top ranked individual gets access to resources without conflict.

§Territorial behavior - attempt to adopt and control a physical area

§Foraging behavior- finding and eating food

Migratory behavior – moving long distances seasonally to new locations

§Circadian rhythm –biological cycles that occur daily, seasonally or yearly.

§Pheromones – species specific chemicals that are used for communication

§Auditory communication- use of language or vocal sounds to share information

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§Courtship behavior- use of signals to attract the attention of the opposite sex.

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§Nurturing behavior- providing care of offspring during the early stages of development

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§Altruistic behavior- behavior where an action is performed for the benefit of others, sometimes at a cost to oneself.

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§Kin selection- altruistic behavior that involves the increase of certain genes in the population