Chapter 51 Notes

Behavioral Biology

Introduction to Behavior

Behavior: what an animal does and how it does it

Behavior can result from both genes and environmental factors- not nature vs. nurture-still some behaviors are innate

ex. young birds begging for food

Introduction to Behavior

Behavioral biology is connected to ethology: the study of animal behavior in natural conditions- Fixed action pattern: behavioral acts that is unchangeable and carried to completion- sometimes triggered by a sign stimulus

Introduction to Behavior

Introduction to Behavior

Introduction to Behavior

Behavioral ecology views behavior as an evolutionary adaptation- natural selection will favor behavior patterns that enhance survivalex. foraging: mechanisms to recognize, search for, and capture food

Learning

Learning is the modification of behavior resulting from specific experiences.- most innate behaviors improve with performance

Modification is when behaviors change because of ongoing developmental changes

Learning

Habituation: type of learning that involves a loss of responsiveness to stimuli that convey little or no information- ex. the “cry-wolf” effect

Learning

Imprinting is a type of learning that is limited to a specific time period in an animal’s life and that is irreversible. Time of learning is called the sensitive period.- ex. mother-offspring bonding

Learning

Learning

Learning

Many animals can learn to associate one stimulus to another

Associative learning: the connecting of one stimulus to another- ex. Pavlov’s dog

Classical conditioning: involves learning to associate an arbitrary stimulus with a reward or punishment

Learning

Operant conditioning: trial-and-error learning. Animals learn to associate one of its behaviors with a reward or punishment

Learning

Animal Cognition

Cognition: the ability of an animal’s nervous system to perceive, store, process, and use information gathered by sensory receptors.

Animal Cognition

Animals use various cognitive mechanisms during movement

Kinesis: a simple change in activity or turning rate in response to a stimulus

Taxis: an automatic movement toward or away from a stimulus

Animal Cognition

Honey bees use a cognitive map made up of several landmarks to help them locate their hive and flowers.

Migration, or the regular movement over long distances, is an advanced form of cognition

Animal Cognition

Animal Cognition