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Study Guide Animal Behavior Chapter 51

TYPING ALLOWED IN TABLES AND GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS


Introductory Videos:
Crash Course # 25 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyyDq19Mi3A

Watch this first!

Bozeman video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hREwakXmAo


Bozeman video - Response to external environment https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=BUlBwe8miTQ&list=UUEik-U3T6u6JA0XiHLbNbOw
1.

Animal behavior is the physiological response of an animal to stimuli. People who study
animal behavior are called ______________ or animal behaviorists or behavior ecologists,
depending on their focus. Check out what animal behaviorists do.
http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/Career/154/Animal_Behaviorist

2.

A stimulus is anything that elicits a response from an organism. It may be external or


internal, biotic or abiotic. List two examples of each:
a) Abiotic external stimuli

b) Abiotic internal stimuli


c) Biotic external stimuli
d) Biotic internal stimuli

3. Since animals are the only organisms with muscles, nerves and sensory organs, animal
behavior is mainly carried out by _____________ and is coordinated by the _____________ and
the ______________ systems. We will talk about the skeleton-muscular systems, nervous
systems and endocrine systems later.
4. Certain animal behaviors are adaptive, that is they help the species survive and reproduce
(increase their fitness). Such behaviors are adaptations because they have been subject
to intense ______ _____________.
5. How do appropriate animal behaviors help in
a) Survival?

b) Reproduction?

6. What do proximal causes of animal behavior mean? Explain with an example.

7. What does ultimate cause of animal behavior mean? Explain with an example

8. Since behavior has a genetic and environmental basis, it can be innate or learned.
Distinguish between these two types of behaviors.

9.

For each type of behavior, read examples from the textbook, browse the internet for more
examples (you may paste the link with a short description), think about the proximate
causes (first 2 questions on p.1118 I suggest you read about biological rhythms,
circadian clocks, animal signals and communications to get background knowledge), and
ultimate causes (Questions 3 & 4 on p.1119 I suggest you read Concepts 51.3 & 51.4 for
a better understanding). Summarize in the following graphic organizer.

Define INNATE BEHAVIORS: Innate behavior is a type of behavior that does not need to be
learned because it is already learned when the offspring is born since it is a behavior that is
inherited through genes

Fixed Action Patterns (FAP)


Description: A sequence of unlearned acts
directly linked to a simple stimulus that
are unchangeable, and once initiated,
carried to completion

Examples: Sign Stimuli: Male sticklebacks, which


have red bellies, attack other males that invade
their nesting territories; Male sticklebacks behave
aggressively when a red truck passed in front of
their tank
Proximate Causes: Immediate cause of them
attacking is because they saw other males around
which should not belong there

Taxis
Description: The movement of a freemoving organism away(negative) or
towards(positive) a stimulus
http://www.sparknotes.com/biology/animal
behavior
/orientationandnavigation/section1.rhtml

Ultimate Causes:
Long-term cause is that the reason they attacked
was because they wanted their offspring and
themselves to survive
Examples: The silkworm moth flies at an angle
perpendicular to the direction of the wind
Proximate Causes: Immediate cause of them flying
perpendicular to the wind is so that they can pick
up a scent trail
Ultimate Causes: They are trying to find the

pheromone bombykol that females release

Kinesis
Description: Movement of an organism in
response to a stimulus (non-directional)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesis_(biolo
gy)

Examples: When the temperature is humid, the


animal does not move towards or away from the
stimulus, but just moves randomly
Proximate Causes: The immediate cause of the
animal moving around is because it is too hot and is
not comfortable in what its doing
Ultimate Causes: The ultimate cause is that the
animal is moving to another area so that it can
survive longer and reproduce in the future if it need
to

Aestivation
Description: When a organisms sleeps
through the summer in warm areas of the
world (similar to hibernation)
https://www.reference.com/science/exampl
es-animals-estivate-737d4718bd07b65b#

Examples: Lungfish go sleep underground for


around 3 years without water. Lungfish bury
themselves in mud and then cover themselves in
mucus to hold in moisture. They used lungs instead
of gills to get oxygen right through their surface
Proximate Causes: Immediate cause of them
hibernating is so that they can be comfortable
and not have to worry about finding food and etc.
when there are a lack of resources
Ultimate Causes: An ultimate cause is that they do
not want to use up their energy behind food that
they are not going to be able to find and etc. So as
a long term cause, sleeping up to 3 years, helps
them survive and live through the tough waves of
heat

Hibernation:
Description: Passing the winter in a
sleeping or inactive condition
http://www.conservationinstitute.org/10animals-that-hibernate/

Examples: When we think of hibernation, bears are


a animal that usually come up. Bears usually
hibernate for 6 months without food or water and
they rarely urinate or defecate
Proximate Causes: Immediate causes of bears
hibernating is that it gives females a chance to
produce or nurture their offspring
Ultimate Causes: A ultimate cause of bears
hibernating is that it gives them the chance to save
energy and not look for food when there are a lack
of resources, meaning that they dont have to
partake in competition.

Migration
Description: A regular, long-distance
change in location

Examples: Birds flying south during the winter to


enjoy the warmer weather
Proximate Causes: Using their navigational skills,
they travel to warmer continents so they can live
comfortably
Ultimate Causes: An ultimate cause of birds
migrating to warmer countries is that during the
winter, it is hard to find resources like food due to
competition, so if they migrate to warmer locations
around the world, it will same them the trouble of
finding food and other resources

Foraging or Ability to find food

Examples: The ability to find food for big birds in the


Galapagos Islands is much easier when compared to
small birds
Proximate Causes: The big birds have adapted to
the environment which allows them to crack open
any type of seed large and thick or thin and small
Ultimate Causes: The big birds have adapted to the
environment by having longer beaks compared to
the other birds

Courtship Behavior

Examples: A cuttlefish displays his physical


characteristics to attract females
Proximate Causes: A cuttlefish attracts females by
displaying his vibrant color
Ultimate Causes: A cuttlefish displays his color to
attract females so that he can form a family and
have children

Define LEARNED BEHAVIORS: Learned behavior is a behavior that a animals


learns/practices/develops to face the challenges its habitat poses

How do cross-fosteringand twin studies help to understand whether certain behaviors are
influenced by experience?: Cross-fostering and twin studies help understand whether certain
behaviors are influenced by experience by telling us that both genetics and environment
contribute significantly to the behaviors that characterize humans.

Imprinting
Description: A rapid learning process in which a
young animal establishes a behavior pattern of
recognition and attraction towards other animals of
its kind
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qWKPB26Og
xKGioGuUL
7dDVeQq2LIeRJQF8kYwsUm2X0/edit?
hl=en#slide=id.p17

Spatial learning
Description: The establishment of a memory that
reflects the environments spatial structure

Examples: Young geese follow and


imprint their mother
Proximate Causes: During an early stage
of their life, the young geese observe
their mother moving away from them
and calling
Ultimate Causes: Geese who follow their
mother receive better care and learn
more valuable skills, helping them
survive when they become independent
in the future
Examples: If a bird hides food during the
summer, it will remember the space,
shape, and landmarks around the area so
it can find it in the winter
Proximate Causes: Study the area around
them; known to have great navigating
skills
Ultimate Causes: If they remember
where they put their food, they will not
have to compete for food in the winter
like other birds who do not have this
ability

Associative Learning Classical Conditioning


Description: A type of learning in which a person or
animal comes to associate two kinds of stimuli, one
that naturally prompts a given behavior and one that
does not.

Examples: If a bird is on an island and


hears a loud noise it will cringe. The
noise then occurs again and again and
you may think it got used to it; however,
it will still cringe
Proximate Causes: Immediate cause:
Since it has the fear instilled into it, as
safety, it will always fly away or cringe
Ultimate Causes: Has a fear built into its
head which will then make it cringe

Associative Learning Operant conditioning or trial


and error learning

Examples: When a dog sits/listens to its


owners actions and then gets a treat

Description: The desired behavior is followed by a

Proximate Causes: Since the dog wanted


to be rewarded, it behaved and followed

rewarding or reinforcing stimulus

the instructor
Ultimate Causes: The dog was being
trained to sit and once it mastered the
concept, he/she was praised by its owner

Cognitive Learning/Problem solving


Description: The cognitive ability of devising a
method to proceed from 1 state to another against
obstacles

Examples: An elephant named Kandula


knew how to use a cube to reach a
hanging treat
Proximate Causes: They do this due to
their large brain which allows them to
have skills very similar to humans like
the ability to identify languages
Ultimate Causes: Gives them an edge
over the rest of the competition when
food is scarce

Social Learning
Description: Animals that learn to solve problems by
observing the behavior of other individuals

Examples: A zebra is drinking water;


however, another zebra in its population
warns by making an alarm call that a
predator is nearby, making the zebra
drinking water flee
Proximate Causes: The immediate cause
of why the zebra ran is because of the
alarm call
Ultimate Causes: The ultimate cause of
why the zebra ran is because it realized
there was a predator around the area
and the only way to survive would be to
run

10.What role does communication play in behavior? Describe the different types of animal
communication and provide an example of each. Try to give an example NOT mentioned in
the textbook.
11.For Concepts 51.3 and 51.4 you can take your own notes. Keep in mind the big question
How do optimal foraging, mating behavior mate choice, sexual selection, parental and
societal care, and altruism influence the evolutionary fitness of a species?
12.Test Your Understanding (Levels 1, 2, and 3)

Migration videos
Terrestrial http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.reg.redknots/marathon-migrators/
Monarch butterflies http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.reg.monarch/migration-of-the-monarch/
Egg turning in Goose https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWcadcVBXKU
Waggle Dance by bees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFDGPgXtK-U
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/bc/bc_campbell_biology_7/media/interactivemedia/activities/load.html?51&A

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