ANIMAL BEHAVIORS

Biology Objective 4.05

WORDS TO DEFINE

Chapter 34, page 871• Behavior• Stimulus• Response• Habituation• Classical conditioning• Imprinting

Animals Behave…

It is only natural for one to behave like others in their surroundings.• BEHAVIOR- (def.) an organism’s

reaction to STIMULI (def.)•Ex: If you hear a loud noise, you

might jump!

Animals Behave…

• An animal’s reaction to a STIMULUS may not be a BEHAVIOR, but it may be a RESPONSE (def.)

Examples of Stimuli

• Light• Sound• Odor• Heat

•Some birds use the Earth’s magnetic field as a stimulus when they migrate!

•ALL animals evolve to stimuli:– P 872, fig 34-3

Three Types of Behavior1) Innate Behavior

• INSTINCT or TAXIS• Behavior performed with no prior

experience or knowledge• Ex: suckling= instinct

• movement toward/ away from light• Migration• Estivation• hibernation

Three types of Behavior

2) Learned Behavior• Behavior that comes from

adaptation to stimuli when innate responses are not enough

• Develop over time (Ex: learning to read!)

Three types of Behavior

Learned behavior (cont’d)• Animals learn from our parent’s

behaviors• THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF

LEARNED BEHAVIOR:−Habituation −Classical Conditioning

Habituation (def.)

• Repetition!• The animal ignores a non-threat

stimuli• Shore Ragworm p 874

Classical Conditioning (def.)

• Conditioning a response to stimuli• Ex: when a dog sees a leash, it wants

to go for a walk!

• Pavlov’s Dog, p 874 fig 34-5• Also called “trial and error”

Animal Behavior Video Links• Aggression video: http://

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3353690792780281905 hippo

• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6431936272692514162 fish

• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8700762306028910441 (Classical cond)

• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4622898984936634867

Imprinting (def.)

• INVOLVES BOTH LEARNED & INNATE BEHAVIORS• Usually seen in fowl (geese, ducks)

•Young hatchlings follow and mimic the first moving thing that they see!

•Can also use scent instead of sight (Salmon)

ASSIGNMENT

• P 876•#’s 1, 2, 4, 5

Three Types of Behavior3) Social Behavior• Communication between animals

(Visual, Sound, Touch, or Chemical)• Ex: Language in Humans

• Can be based on seasonal change (birds migrating, mating seasons)

Social Behavior (cont’d)

• Types of social behavior:• Courtship• Territorial Defense• Pheromones

Courtship

• Communication between males and females in species• An individual sends out stimuli

−Visual (courtship dance, vivid colors)−Sound (mating call)−Chemicals that attract the

opposite sex• Stimuli become “ritual”

Courtship (cont’d)

• The function of courtship is to find the most healthy mate!

•Survival of the species depends upon passing on the traits that are going to help the species survive.

•Ex: Humans want to choose the most “becoming” significant other!

Mating Ritual

Moose Mating Calltrmichels.com

Competition• Organisms show

competition when they are fighting over a resource (land, food, mate)• Aggression

(GRrRrRrrrrrrrrr!)

•Ex: Territorial competition in fighting fish (beta fish)

http://www.repticzone.net/images/3854/ooooooo.JPG

Pheromones

• Pheromones are chemical signals that affect animal behavior• Only used in animals with highly

developed smell organs (fish, bees, ants)

Plants Behave Too!

• Plants respond to stimuli just like animals do, but they have special ways of showing it!

• TROPISMS- growth of a plant in response to a stimulus.

• Three basic types:−Phototropism, Geotropism, and

Thigmotropism

Phototropism

• Response to light• Plants will grow in

any direction to get to a light source

Geotropism

• Response to gravity• Roots grow toward

earth in response to gravity

Thigmotropism

• Response to touch• Some plants ‘vine’ around objects for

support (beans, grapes, morning glories)

Assignment

• P 882 •#’s 2-4

EOC REVIEW!

• Go over sections 2 & 3• TIME TO WORK ON NEXT

ASSIGNMENT IN CLASS!