animal behavior biology 155 spring 2010 b. l. krilowicz
Post on 21-Dec-2015
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TRANSCRIPT
I. Definition:• Behavior is the
observable response that an animal makes to a stimulus.
• Responses can have –– A genetic (innate =
instinctive) component
– An environmental (learned) component
– Usually both (especially for human behaviors)
II. Instinctive Behaviors:
• Entirely genetically programmed• Behavior is performed in its entirety the first and
all subsequent times that it is performed; caveats -– Animal must be at the correct developmental age
• ex. Reproductive behaviors
– Animal must encounter the appropriate environmental stimulus
– Animal must be in the correct motivational state • ex. feeding
II. Types of Instinctive Behaviors:
• Kinesis = change in rate of random movement in response to a stimulus – ex. Pill bugs in dry versus moist conditions
II. Types of Instinctive Behaviors (continued):
• Taxis = directed movement toward or away from a stimulus
– ex. Female mosquitoes movement toward moisture, warmth, etc.
– ex. Male gypsy moth’s movement toward chemical produced by female
II. Types of Instinctive Behaviors - continued
• Reflex = stereotyped movement of a body part or the whole body
– ex. Autonomic and somatic reflexes studied in lab
– ex. Jellyfish response to touch discussed in lecture
II. Types of Instinctive Behaviors - continued
• Fixed Action Pattern = a complex behavior triggered by a simple stimulus (sign stimulus = releaser)– ex. Grey lagged goose nesting behavior– ex. Gull chicks pecking at red spot on adult bill
to initiate adult feeding behaviors
II. Types of Instinctive Behaviors - continued
• Fixed Action Pattern (continued)– ex. Aggressive and
courtship behaviors in the Bettas studied in the lab
III. Learned Behaviors:
• Behaviors change based on experience = environment
• Requires a complex nervous system
III. Types of Learned Behaviors:
• Imprinting is a genetically programmed form of learning in which an animal makes a strong association during a particular developmental stage called the sensitive period
III. Types of Learned Behaviors - continued
• Habituation is a decline in a response to a repeated harmless stimulus– ex. Aplysia (note that jellyfish and their
relatives do not habituate, as the textbook incorrectly states)
• Conditioning is a type of learning usually seen in the laboratory in which an animal –– Learns to respond to a new stimulus =
classical conditioning• ex. Pavlov’s dogs
III. Types of Learned Behaviors - continued
• Conditioning – continued– A type of learning in which an animal learns to
perform a behavior to receive a reward or avoid a punishment = operant conditioning
• ex. Skinner’s rats and bar pressing for food
III. Types of Learned Behaviors - continued
• Trial and Error is a type of learning seen in nature in which an animal is faced with naturally occurring rewards and punishments that lead to modifications in behavior; (Social Learning described in the textbook falls under this category)– ex. Hummingbirds and feeders– ex. Dog reaching a food item
• Note that your text categorizes conditioning and trial-and-error learning together as Associative Learning
III. Types of Learned Behaviors - continued
• Insight or reasoning or problem solving is a type of behavior in which concepts are manipulated in the mind to arrive at a behavior, does not require previous experience
– ex. Monkey stacking boxes to reach bananas
Insight (continued)
Evidence from birds (Clayton 2007, reviewed in News and Comment portion of Science) – 1) birds spend 1 day (24 hours) in the complete “suite” below (A+B+C), 2) birds spend 1 day in room A with door closed to C, 3) birds spend 1 day in room B with door closed, 4+5) repeat 2 + 3, 6) repeat 1
A) End room with pine nuts
B) End room without pine nuts
C) Middle room with pine nuts
door door
Insight (continued)
Spontaneously began stashing pine nuts in end room B – looks as though they remembered going hungry in that room and were storing nuts in anticipation of being locked up in there again!