Behavioral EcologyBehavioral Ecology is defined as the study of

animal behavior, how it is controlled and how it develops, evolves, and contributes to

survival and reproductive success.

Behavior is usually referred to as the visible result of an animal’s muscular activity.

Behavior is defined as everything an animal does and how it does it.

Snuggly behaviors

Proximate and ultimateProximate: what is going on right now that

stims a certain behavioral response.

Ultimate: tie this behavior to evolution (or how it effects, survival and reproduction)

Innate or learnedNot “Nature vs. Nurture”. Usually some of

both

Behaviors that are NOT learned = INNATE Strong genetic component Fixed Action Pattern:

not learnedonce started, goes to completion (stickleback fish

attack red…like belly of other males)

Learned - Innate

Imprinting Imprinting is referred to as a type of behavior

that includes both learning and innate components and is generally irreversible.

Imprinting has sensitive period. Sensitive period is a limited time when certain behaviors can be learned. May be 1 or 2 days.

May imprint on anything that meets certain criteria. In geese it was “moving away from” the geese

Directed Movementsstrong hereditary control

Kinesis: a simple change in activity level in response to a stimulus (or environmental conditions).

Taxis: oriented movement toward or away from some stimulus.

Migration has been studied, and determined that migratory behavior is largely genetically programmed.

Animal Signals and Communication

A signal is a behavior that causes a change in another animal’s behavior.

Communication is the transmission of, reception of, and response to signals.

Animals communicate using Visual Auditory: bird song Chemical: pheromones Tactile Electrical signals.

HabituationHabituation a loss of responsiveness to

stimuli that convey little or no information.

Habituation may increase fitness by allowing an animal’s nervous system to focus on stimuli that signal the presence of food, mates, or real danger instead of wasting time or energy on a vast number of other stimuli that are irrelevant to the animal’s survival and reproduction.

Spatial LearningSpatial Learning: The modification of

behavior based on experience with the spatial structure of the environment. This including: locations of nest sites, hazards, food, and prospective mates.

Landmark: Location indicator. The use of landmark is a more complex cognitive mechanism than a taxis or kinesis, because it involves learning.

Associative LearningAssociative Learning: The ability to associate

one thing with another. Avoid eating something that tastes bitter. Classical conditioning: an arbitrary stimulus, is

associated with a reward or punishment. Operant conditioning: Trial-and-error-learning.

An animal learns to associate one of its own behaviors with a reward or punishment and then tends to repeat or avoid that behavior.

Mating Systems and Parental Care

In many species, mating is promiscuous: with no strong pair-bonds or lasting relationships.

Monogamous: One male mating with one female.

Polygamous: An individual of one sex mating with several of the other. This usually occurs with one male and multiple females.

Mate ChoiceMate preference by females may play a key

role in the evolution of male behavior and anatomy. Intersexual

Males usually compete for their mates. Male competition for mates is a source of intrasexual selection.

Agonistic behavior: A contest that determines which competitor gains access to a resource. The outcome of these contests are determined by: strength, size, or the form of teeth, horns, and other physical parts of the animal.

AltruisimAltruisim is referred the behavior that reduces

an individual’s fitness while increasing the fitness of another individual. Inclusive fitness (some of your peeps will survive.)

An example of this is in bee societies, where the workers are sterile. The workers do not ever reproduce, however they labor on behalf of a single fertile queen. The workers sting intruders, a behavior that further helps defend the hive, but however results in the death of those workers.

Social LearningSocial Learning: learning through observing

others. Social learning forms the roots of culture, which can be defined as a system of information transfer through social learning or teaching that influences the behavior of individuals in a population.

Behaviors can evolveNatural selection favors behaviors that increase

survival and reproductive success.

Can only influence the genetic component …

Genetic component of behavior can be STRONG.