Chapter 5 Learning Individual learning How do animals

Chapter 5: Learning Individual learning How do animals learn Why? What?

Sheehan and Tibbetts, 2011

Individual Learning Shettleworth (1998): Learning is a “relatively permanent change in behavior as a result from experience. ” Phenotypic Plasticity: production of different phenotypes as a result of different environmental conditions (phenotype: the set of observable characteristics of an organism)

Changes in colonial bryozoans as a result of predation: spine production in response to predators in Membranipora membranacea Dugatkin suggests: Learning is a subset of phenotypic plasticity

Membranipora membranacea colonies exposed to predator tainted water. (Harvell, 1991)

Learning is a subset of phenotypic plasticity; but all phenotypic plasticity is not necessarily learning. Jablonski, et al, 2006, looked at wing flapping and tail flipping in birds as a learned response. Birds may do this to “flush” insects from trees and the eat them. This may be learned, or it may be fixed (see Lorenz , “fixed action pattern) or perhaps both.

Jablonski found that Painted Redstarts birds increase flapping when under branches in the field; but they also do this in the lab; even when they are not rewarded for the behavior. “Naïve” birds have the same response as experienced birds. Thus, increased flapping under branches is an example of phenotypic plasticity (producing different phenotypes under different environmental conditions), but it not learning.

Single stimulus learning: the blue stick experiment Habituation versus Sensitization

Pavlov’s work 1898 through 1930 Pavlovian Conditioning Conditioned Stimulus: the blue stick, the bell, the stimulus that initially fails to produce a response Unconditioned Stimulus: the cat odor, the meat powder, the stimulus that elicits a strong response

The Conditioned Response

Operant Conditioning Operant (goal-directed) Response Instrumental Learning

Why do animal’s learn? Adaptation Natural Selection Do animals forget?

Extinction is the weakening and ultimately the ending of the paired association of stimuli and response in learning experiments… forgetting

Learning in populations

Group learning and antipredator response in three-spines sticklebacks

Evolution of Learning Does Natural Selection favor the ability to learn? Is there accost to learning and can we select for the ability (genetic basis)?

Evolutionary tradeoffs and Environmental Stability

What can animal’s learn? About predators About mates About animal relationships About aggression

Learning about mates Mating systems, parental investment and selection for learning

Learning about kin: Helpers at the nest and indirect fitness

Learning may shape aggressive behavior