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Terms animal behaviour final

Terms in this set (72)

Sensory Reflex
Sensory neurons initiate activity in motor neurons through direct synaptic connections, or through connections with a small number of interneurons, simplest but most important, value in it's short curcuit
Central Pattern Generator
A neuron or neural network that can generate patterned activity in motor neurons, even when all sensory input has been removed from the system
Motor Command
When one or more interneurons descending from the brain initiate activity in motor neurons
Adaptation
A trait that allows its bearer to survive and reproduce better than competing individuals that lack the trait
Fitness
A measure of an individual's relative success in propagating its genes into the next generation via the production of descendant kin that survive to reproduce
Inclusive Fitness
A measure of an individual's success in propagating its genes into the next generation via the production of descendant and non-descendant kin that survive to reproduce
Optimality theory
Theory that accounts for costs and benefits of trait, traits evolved to represent an optimal balance between benefits and costs
Game Theory
Theory that models in which the optimum strategy is contingent on the frequency of behaviour in others, individuals "play" certain strategies against each other, "winning" is equated with enhanced fitness
Organizational Effects
Act on the formation of neural pathways responsible for certain behaviours, occur early in life, tend to be permanent
Activational Effects
Stimulate existing neural systems responsible for mediating specific patterns of behaviour, occur in adulthood, are transient in nature
Central Principle of Behavioural Biology
Animals are expected to behave in manner that ensures the propagation of like copies of their genes, a simple consequence of natural selection resulting from differential reproductive success
Ontogeny
How behaviour changes over the life of an organism, most behaviours change over time however some stay the same
Comparative approach
Members of the same species or closely related species are studied in different environmental conditions
Critical period
periods of susceptibility to environmental stimuli that are brief, well-defined, species-characteristic, and have irreversible effects on behaviour
Sensitive Period
periods of susceptibility to environmental stimuli that are fairly extended, not as well-defined with gradual on/offset, differ in duration between individuals, effects resistant to change but not irreversible, and length of period may be dependent on stimulus characteristic.
Sensory Phase
In song learning, phase with acquisition and storage, silent in this stage
Sensorimotor Phase
In song learning, phase with retrieval and production, and motor stabilization, noises are made in this phase
Imprinting
A form of early learning that occurs during a brief, well-defined period that produces irreversible effects on behaviour
Filial Imprinting
Process by which young animals form a social attachment to their primary care giver, common in pro social species
Sexual Imprinting
Early learning whereby an individual forms an image of what constitutes a suitable mate
Learning
A process in which experience causes a relatively permanent change in behaviour
Sensitization
When an animal becomes more likely to respond to a stimulus after repeated exposure
Habituation
When an animal becomes less likely to respond to a stimulus after repeated exposure, all animals capable of showing this
Classical Conditioning
An animals forms an association between 2 things
Operant Conditioning
An animal forms an association between its expression of a particular behaviour & subsequent reinforcement or punishment
Cultural transmission
When an individual's behaviour is influenced by the behaviour of another through social learning or teaching
Social leanring
Occurs when one individual, known as observer, learns a behaviour form another individual, known as demonstraor
Imitation
Acquisition of a topographically novel response through observation of a demonstrator making that response
Copying
When an observer repeats what is has seen a demonstrator do
Social Facilitation
When an animal is attracted to a particular location because of conspecifics there, don't learn anything form conspecifics but once in location may be more likely to experience individual learning
Tradition
Socially learned/taught behaviours that spread through a group and are stable over time, any type of behaviour that can be passed form one individual to another.
Teaching
Individual is doing this if it modifies it behaviour in the presences of a naive student, without obtaining an immediate benefit for itself. Their behaviour encourages/punishes student's behaviour or provides student with experience/set of examples. As a result, student acquires knowledge or learns a skill earlier in life/more efficiently than it might otherwise
Vertical Cultural Transmission
Info transmitted from parent to offspring, has to cross generations
Oblique Cultural Transmission
Info transmitted from one generation to the next but dos not involve parent & offspring
Horizontal Cultural Transmission
Info transmitted among peers from the same generation
Animal Personality
Phenomenon where individual behavioural different are consistent over time and/or across situations, what separates an animal from other members of their species
Orientation
How an animal positions itself relative to external factors in its environment
Kineses
Movements where the body axis is not oriented relative to an external stimulus
Taxes
Movements where the body axis is oriented relative to the external stimulus
Homing
Ability of an animal to return to a home site though unfamiliar areas
Migration
The periodic movement from one region & climate to another
Zugunruhe
Restlessness during time of normal migration
Paired Receptors
Simultaneous comparison of stimulus intensity allows oriented turn toward/away form maximally simulated receptor
Single Receptors
Sequentially sampling stimulus intensity at multiple points in space
Piloting
The ability of an animal to find a goal by referring to familiar landmarks
Compass Orientation
The ability of an animal to move in a particular geographical direction without using landmarks
True Navigation
The ability of an animal to maintain reference to a goal without the use of landmarks
Filter Feeding
Filter food particle from water by moving water through gills
Herbivory
Consumption of material produced by plants
Animal Agriculture
Fostering growth of another species for consumptive purposes
Domestication
Where members of one species assume control of the feeding, breeding, and general care of another species
Carnivory
Consumption of animals
Pursuit
Active chasing of prey
Ambush
Waiting motionless until prey draw close enough to strike
Cypsis
Blending in with background via evolutionary modification of colouration, markings, or morphology
Aggressive Mimicry
Where species mimics appearance and/or behaviour of a harmless/beneficial species for purpose of aggression
Trapping
When an organism manipulates objects in its environment or alters its environment in such a way as to capture/restrain prey
Tools
Inanimate objects that are not internal manufacture, and that are used to alter the position/form of some other object in environment
1) Changes in neural structure
2)Changes in hormonal state
3)Changes in non-neural morphology
4)Effect of the environment
5)Experience
What are the 5 general causes of behavioural change
1) Sensory Receptors
2) Effectors (morphology & musculature)
3) Central Neural Networkds
What are the 3 mechanisms underlying own-species bias in song learning
1) Transmission of complex patterns between generations
2) Avoid risk of mutation in genetically controlled behaviour
3) Adapt rapidly to physical and social environment
4) Population regulation
What are the 4 hypotheses for why birds learn their own songs rather than having then innate?
1) Physiological constraints
2) More to gain and less to lose
3) Reliably associated with successful embers of own species early in life
What are 3 explanations for why animals tend to learn more earlier in life?
1) Beneficial
2) Genetic bias
3) Under natural selection
4) Environmental predictability
5) Brain size
What are 5 factors that affect learning
1) Shyness - Boldness
2) Exploration - Avoidance
3) Activity
4) Aggressiveness
5) Sociability
What are the 5 categories of personality traits?
1) Genetic inheritance
2) Learning/experience
3) Hormones
4) Physical environment
5) social environment
What are 5 proximate mechanisms that create personality differences?
1) Noise around an adaptive mean
2) Could be an ESS
What are 2 evolutionary explanations for the existence and persistence of personalities
1) memory snapshot hypothesis
2) recognizing landmarks from a new perspective
What are 2 ways animals use landmarks for navigation?
1) Ferromagnetic particles
2) Light-dependent magnetoreception
What are the 2 hypothesis for how birds sense magnetic cues?
1) Stable isotopic analysis
2) Marked individuals
3) Radiotelemetry
4) Satellite telemetry
What are 4 methods used to study migration?
1) Remain within the limits of survival
2) Energetic payoffs
3) Reproductive beenfits
What are the 3 biotic factors that affect whether or not a species migrates?
1) Reduced competition
2) Reduced predation
3) Reduced parasitism
What are the 3 abiotic factors that affect whether or not a species migrates?
1) Glacial Retreat Hypothesis
2) Radiation Hypothesis
3) Resource Distribution Hypothesis
4) Continental Drift Hypothesis
What are the 4 hypotheses for the evolution of migration?
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