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Animal Behavior #1
Review for Test #1
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| How Questions | Proximate causes of behavior. Neural and hormonal mechanisms underlying behavior. Nature vs. nurture. Genetic-developmental mechanism |
| Why Questions | Ultimate causes of behavior. Function and evolution of behaviors. Selective processes (differential survival and differential reproduction) Historical/evolutionary pathways (origins of behavior and phylogenic reconstruction) |
| Ethology | Study of animal behavior |
| Scientific Method | Observation, hypothesis (and alternatives), prediction, tests, conclusion |
| Group Selection Arguments | No! Avoid these statements! Instead, consdier the individual |
| Artificial Selection | Purposeful breeding by humans wanting to select for desired traits. Ex: dog and pigeon breeding |
| Prerequisites for Natural Selection | 1: Variation in a trait. 2. Fitness consequences of a trait (increase survival or reproductive success). 3. Heritable (can be passed to offspring). 4. Limited resources (if resources aren't limited, selection will be more lax - like in humans) |
| Change in traits can be due to... | Mutation (change in genetic structure that alters a trait) Genetic recombination (due to crossover in meiosis) Migration (birds from other populations can introduce new traits) |
| Truncation selection experiment | Tests for heritability. Only breed animals past truncation line (represents those with fastest speed, etc.) and see if the mean shifts. A shift in the mean represents a heritable trait. **Not always possible for animal behaviorists** |
| Truncation selection experiment equations | Response to selection: R = x2 – x0 Selection differential: S = x1 – x0 Heritability: h2 = R / S |
| Parent-offspring regression | Tests for heritability. Ex: Cliff swallows, trait = location of nests (alone or in a group) Graph midparent breeding colony size Plot a regression line Determine significance (steeper slope = more heritable trait) |
| Mendel's Laws Example | Traits located on one gene Ruffs - Satellite (white, wingman, helps out) and Independent Ruff (brown, general badass) Behavior and color on the same gene S = dominant, satellite / s = recessive, independent SS, Ss = satellite, ss = Independent male |
| Polygenic | Controlled by multiple genes, represents most behaviors |
| Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) | Studied fear in mice (1 strain fearful, 1 strain fearless) Compared genomes and looked for differences Spikes in graph = QTLs (locations on chromosome with increased variability) |
| DNA fingerprinting | Sample and compare DNA, tests for relatedness Use mini satellite markers (variable number tandem repeats - VNTR) |
| Independent contrast method | Tests hypothesis using phylogeny (allows for historical inferences) Better than field observations because you can see the point of evolution for each trait (minimizes counting errors) |
| How did scientists used to display bird song? | Musical scale - acted as a scientific graph showing timing and frequency/pitch |
| Adaptation | Trait's bearers have highest fitness among specified set of behaviors in a specific environment Ex: Guppies - adapt to swim in schools in high predation areas |
| Sonogram | Graph displaying time (x) vs. frequency (y) Frequency modulation = varying the frequency/pitch of sound |
| Power Spectrum | Graph displaying frequency frequency (x) vs. sound power (y) Purest form would be a vertical line |
| Syllable, Trill, and Note complex | Elements of bird songs Notes together = syllable Syllables repeated = trill Lots of notes together (non-repeating) = note complex |
| Two Voice Theory | Bird song previously compared to double reed of an oboe and French horn (2 horns together) |
| Medial Tympaniform Membranes (MTM) | Contribute to the "2 voices" in the bird song |
| What are the 3 reasons birds sing? | Mating, species differentiation, competition for mate/territory |
| Intensity (Delta I) | Which ear is louder? Best with high frequency sounds due to sound shadow |
| Time of arrival (Delta T) | Which ear heard it first? Best with impulsive sounds like clapping, lots of opportunities for measurement |
| Phase difference (delta phi) | Time of arrival of each sound wave. Best with low frequency sounds because the waves are further apart |
| Alarm calls | When a bird sees a predator and wants to warn others. Designed to make it difficult to find the singer. Ideal warning call: medium frequency (hard to find delta phi and delta I) and not impulsive (hard to find delta T) Simple, start and finish gradually |
| Mobbing calls | Designed to label the predator and its location, and make it easy for other birds to find it. Ideal mobbing call: very high or very low, impulsive |
| Who are the 4 Nobel Prize Winners? | Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen, Karl von Frisch, and Erik Kandel. The first 3 won because they asked both "how" and "why" questions |
| Niko Tinbergen | 1 of the Nobel Prize winners, shared with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz. Studied innate behaviors Bird silhouette experiment (baby recognized predators) and red dot on beak (baby pecks at beak) Supernormal stimulus (ex: stick with many red dots) |
| Konrad Lorenz | 1 of the Nobel Prize winners, shared with Karl von Frisch and Niko Tinbergen. Studied innate/instinctive behaviors in geese/jackdaws Fixed action pattern ex: if you move goose egg, mama rolls it back, even if you take away the egg partway through |
| Karl von Frisch | 1 of the Nobel Prize winners. Shared with Niko Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz. Studied waggle dance in bees |
| Eric Kandel | 1 of the Nobel Prize winners. Studied the sea slug nervous system. Sea slug has Gill Withdrawal Reflex - an example of habituation learning |
| Fixed action pattern | Sign stimulus (releaser) --> innate releasing mechanism --> fixed action pattern (continues until the cycle is complete). Ex: remove egg from nest, mama goose will roll it back, even if you remove the egg partway thru the cycle |
| Supernormal stimulus | Sign stimulus that creates a stronger response than usual. Ex: continuous glow for Photuris fireflies or stick with many red dots for baby birds |
| Habituation | One of the simplest forms of learning. Gradual waning of an unlearned response to a stimulus that proves to be safe or irrelevant |
| Sensitization | One of the simplest forms of learning. Basically the opposite of habituation Repeated stimulation leads to an increase in the magnitude or frequency of the response (STRONG stimuli - highly relevant or potentially dangerous) |
| Associative learning | Learning to connect two things. Two types: classical conditioning (pavlovian) and operant conditioning (trial/error learning or instrument learning |
| Classical conditioning | aka Pavlovian learning ex: pavlov's dog Unconditional stimulus = food Conditional stimulus = Bell Response = drooling real life: bees can learn to associate shapes, colors, and odors with food |
| Instrument learning / operant conditioning / trial/error learning | Action (operant) produces a consequence (reinforce) Reinforcer can be positive or negative Ex: Skinner's rats. Push a button and receive shock or food In real life: toad reaction to poisonous millipede. Tastes it, hates it, never eats that color again |
| Garcia defect | Rats/mice can only associate things that relate to the real world (nausea with food, sound with pain) but they can't cross-associate (ex: nausea with sound) because these aren't natural associations You have to ask the right questions! |
| Adaptive differences in learning ability | Learning ability is shaped by natural selection and ecology. Different animals are good at different things Ex: Nutcrackers awesome at storing lots of seeds and remembering where. (Great for spatial memory tests) Make sure you use the right animal! |
| Stages of bird song production | 1. Chicks - begging/distress calls 2. 1st spring/fall - subsung, plastic, practicing 3. Primary or crystallized song |
| When do birds learn their song? | 1-10 days: Pre-critical period (can't learn anything) 10-50 days: Critical period (can learn their song) 50+ days: Post-critical period (have learned all they can) |
| Taped vs. Social tutors | With a tape recorder, birds can only learn their song. BUT, with a social tutor (like an adoptive father) they can learn songs from another species Real life interaction affects learning |
| Cultural transmission | Ex: Imo the macaque washing potatoes and everyone else learning too. Super fast! Can be learned in less than 1 generation. Can affect natural selection (ex: birds in England breaking foil lids & sipping cream off milk bottles - may lead to sharper beaks) |
| Behavioral epigenetics | Early experience can influence adult behavior by affecting what genes are activated and transcribed |
| Template hypothesis (crickets) | Females have a sound "template" they're trying to match. Looks at tempo/order of notes |
| Dosage hypothesis (crickets) | Females don't care about tempo/order -- only care about general percentages and number of short vs. long intervals. (Ex: 40% long, 40% short, 20% medium length pulses) Turned out to be correct. Tested by shuffling the cricket's song |
| Eavesdropping | When a predator or parasite intercepts the communication method of an animal (ex: flies attracted to cricket calls, Photuris fireflies breaking the code for Photinus fireflies, etc.) |
| Parsimony | Simplest solution is usually best. Used in phylogeny (least amount of evolutionary events is more likely scenario) |
| Why Synchronous fireflies? | Easier for females to differentiate flash pattern when its synchronous (lose the pattern when there are lots of males at different points in the pattern) |
| Anisogamy | Gametes are not the same size (sperm is smaller than the egg) |
| Why anisogamy? Why are gamete sizes different? | Two theories: #1 - Males - make small, motile sperm to increase fitness thru fertilization #2 - Females - make large eggs to increase fitness thru zygote survival |
| Male-to-Male competition leads to... | Sexual dimorphism (males larger than females), male ornaments for combat/assessment, dominance hierarchies (alpha males), sperm competition (inside female), mate guarding and frequent copulation, infanticide, and forced copulation |
| Basis of Female Choice/Coyness | Ornaments (and calls, pheromones, etc.) Body size and symmetry Nuptial gifts |
| Benefits of Female Choice/Coyness | #1 - Material Benefits (look here first) #2 - Good genes for offspring (look here 2nd) #3 - Runaway sexual selection (look here last) |
| Zahavi's handicap principle | Animal with a handicap is strong, better than others Ex: bird with ginormous tail says, "Hey ladies, look how strong I am! I can fly even with this huge ass tail!" |
| Healthy Mate Hypothesis | Coloring may represent a strong immune system and healthier mate |
| 4 Things that must be true for "Good Genes" model | - Males should differ genetically in way related to survival - Male behavior/ornamentation should provide accurate info on gene survival value - Females use this info in selection - Offspring benefit from mom's choice |
| Runaway sexual selection | aka Fisherian selection Male offspring will be more likely to be chosen in the next generation. To prove this, you basically have to prove that nothing else works |
| Internal selection | Type of post-copulatory choice Controversial idea Some moths may be able to actively sort the sperm |
| Post-copulatory choice | - internal selection (female actively selects sperm) - offspring preference (preference given to offspring of high quality mates - others get less care or are left to die) |
| Sex-Role Reversal | Consider species where the male cares for offspring or makes a significant contribution -- males become the choosier sex and female competition increases It's about more than just gamete size, guys! |
| Monogamy | Neither sex controls/accesses multiple partners, often share parental care duties 90% of birds b/c Male can make a difference (sit on eggs, find food, etc.) Rare in mammals b/c Male can't do anything. offspring grow inside mom, she feeds them breast milk |
| Why monogamy? (3 hypotheses) | Mate guarding hypothesis Mate assistance hypothesis Female enforced monogamy |
| Mate guarding hypothesis for monogamy | Males increase fitness by guarding the female (females are hard to find) |
| Mate assistance hypothesis for monogamy | Males increase fitness by protecting young |
| Female-enforced monogamy | Female prevents male from leaving, or other females from coming around |
| Extra-pair copulations (EPC) | Some eggs in bird nests are fertilized by outside parties. Birds may not be as monogamous as we think |
| Benefits of Extra-pair copulations for females | Material benefits: increased resources and parental care, less sexual harassment, future mate (upon 1st mate's death) Genetic benefits: egg fertilization insurance, better sperm = "good genes", genetic variation = "genetic compatibility |
| Serial Monogamy | Several long-term relationships (like humans) Ex: blue footed boobies females find a new mate each year |
| Polygamy | Multiple partners. Two types: Polygyny (male with multiple females) and Polyandry (female with multiple males - rare) |
| Clumped resources | Increase likelihood of polygyny - if resources are clumped, females tend to clump around them. Makes it easy for a male to guard his harem (unless they are totally synchronous for mating) |
| Polygyny | Male controls/accesses multiple females (harems) Common in mammals 3 types: female defense polygyny, resource defense polygyny, male dominance polygyny |
| Female defense polygyny | Males defend clusters of females, females may gain lifetime fitness by being in the group |
| Resource defense polygyny | Resources are clumped, it's easier to defend them if everyone is in one place |
| Male dominance polygyny (2 types) | Scramble competition polygyny (females/resources aren't clumped, it's a free-for-all) Lek polygyny - males hang out together and wait for females |
| Polygyny threshold model (in birds) | When the benefits of polygyny outweigh the benefits of a monogamous pair, a bird has reached the polygyny threshold |
| Scramble competition polygyny | When females and resources are not clumped, males are not territorial and just search and search for mates. ex: Photinus fireflies, horseshoe crabs |
| Lek polygyny | Males congregate in display areas and strut their stuff. Females come to assess males and mate. Due to hot spot, hot shot, or female preference. **HOT SHOT CONFIRMED** Lek location moves over time, based around an attractive male that mates a lot |
| Polyandry | Females control/access multiple males (very rare) Ex: galapagos hawk (8 males per female) - discussed scenarios in class |
| Who provides childcare? BIRDS | Monogamous, both sexes care for young, reproductive success limited by food delivery, MALE STAYS |
| Who provides childcare? MAMMALS | Usually polygynous, female provides parental care (prolonged gestation period, female lactates). MALE DESERTS |
| Who provides childcare? FISH | Most - both parents desert, no parental care In others, one parent cares for the young - internal fertilization (female stays) - external fertilization (male stays) |
| Evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) | Best strategy for one sex depends on the strategy adopted by the other. When this set of rules of behavior is adopted by a population, it can't be replaced by any alternative strategy. Can be used to study childcare |
| Value of evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) analysis for parental investment | Identifies factors that are critical to the evolution of different patterns of parental investment |
Created by:
dellabiology
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