43 Behavior

Chapter 43
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR
 Behavior studies in biology typically focus on

asking, answering, and experimenting with two
questions:
 In
what ways are organisms able to behave?
 Why does the organism behave the way they do?
 Why do we care about studying behavior?

 Ifhumans can do it, can other animals? Vice versa?
 Can we attach motives (or values) to actions?
 Can we therefore predict actions based on

behaviors?
LEARNING
 Learning is defined as a change in behavior
brought about by experience.
 Behavior is both inherited and something
developed during life.
 Examples?
 How well a learned behavior is retained in the

brain depends on a few factors
 What age is the learner (is their brain/CNS still
growing nerves?
 Is it a requirement for life?
 Does the learning itself come with rewards?

SKINNER’S OPERANT CONDITIONING
 B.F. Skinner believed that organisms were basically

machines, and “learning” was the input of rote
information
 He coined “operant conditioning”, which means to
gradually strengthen any stimulus-response connection
 Actions with rewards or punishments are more likely to be
repeated or avoided than actions with no responses
 Actions with rewards strengthen desired responses faster than
actions with punishments
 HOW IT APPLIES TO YOU: Students perform better with
long-term rewards rather than short-term negative
consequences. Example: An end-of-semester reward for a grade
goal reached vs removing a reward this week for not reached.
PAVLOV’S CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
 Classical conditioning is when a connection is made
between two otherwise unrelated items
 Associating a smell/sound with a memory
 The most famous example is Ivan Pavlov’s experiments
with his dog
 Pavlov measured his dog’s saliva output during meals
 At the same time he rang a bell while feeding the dog
 Weeks later Pavlov would ring the same bell without feeding the dog. The
dog would then salivate.
 A bell has nothing to do with dinner, but the dog associated the two.
 HOW IT APPLIES TO YOU: Studying with non-lyrics
music; assigning lessons to handshapes or body parts
IMPRINTING
 Another important “learned” behavior is

imprinting, or when an infant forms their
identity based on the first organism or object it
encounters.
 Imprinting occurs during the “sensitive period”
which is in the immediate days following birth
 Imprinting teaches an infant who its parent is
(and also which organism to copy its behavior
from), and temporarily brainwashes the child to
follow the parent without question.
IMPRINTING
 Benefits of Imprinting
 Infants naturally desire to be near their parent
 Infants will willingly act like any other organism that
looks like their parent (useful if mom or dad dies)
 Infants will mate with the correct species (the one
that looks like mom)
 Disadvantages of Imprinting
 Ifthe incorrect imprint occurs, its very hard to break
 Infants who require an imprint and don’t receive it
are typically doomed
ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR
 Adaptive behaviors are not learned. They are behaviors
that are inherited, or seem to be.
 The most logical reason for the development of
adaptive behavior is to increase the chance of
reproduction
 Learning takes time. If you’re born with the necessary skills
to survive, you can get started with wooing a mate earlier
 Adaptive behavior comes in three forms:
 Conceptual (body clocks, counting, communication)
 Social (politeness, morality, giving and receiving help)
 Practical (how to eat, sleep, move body parts, etc)
ADAPTIVE MATING BEHAVIOR—FEMALES
 Since most adaptive behavior logistics lead to
mating, let’s discuss mating adaptive behaviors
 There are two established systems for how
female animals decide on a mate
 Females choose males with the “best” genes
because it will increase the chance of their
offspring surviving
 Females choose mates based on physical
attractiveness
 In nearly all cases, the female has the right to
choose the mate.
ADAPTIVE MATING BEHAVIOR—FEMALES VS MALES
 Why does the female get to decide? Why must

the male prove himself?
 Females have a finite number of eggs and must
devote enormous time and effort to reproduction
 Males may inseminate multiple females in short
periods of time with minimal effort
 Females put the work in, therefore they get to be
the picky ones. Why waste time on lame mates?
 If a male thinks they are above demonstrating
their worthiness and refuses, no problem. She’ll
choose someone else.
ADAPTIVE MATING BEHAVIOR—MALES
 Nearly every male member of these species goes for
dominance. The bachelor life is not chosen. Why?
 Keep in mind that females are not frail. They will easily kick out
lone males that are threats to them or their children.
 Dominant males get two major benefits
 The right to first access of females when their hormones indicate
they are ovulating, thus their genes pass on.
 Females, by grouping together, tend to have the top choice of
nesting sites, and they choose one filled with resources and
protected from predators. Any males in their group are allowed in
the clubhouse—but only the ones who’ve proven themselves.
 In all of these cases, no one actually teaches the animals
these behaviors or the philosophies behind them. They just
seem to know what to do
COMMUNICATION
 Communication is an adaptive action by a

sender that influences a receiver
 Four types of communication
 Chemical—using specie-specific pheromones
 Auditory—sound communication
 Visual—physical movements or colors
 Tactile—Touch
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATION
 Pheromones are chemical signals only
detectable by the species they originated from
 Messages can be sent in the presence of predators
without their knowledge
 Other chemicals, like urine, feces, tears, or
sweat, are meant to be detected by other
organisms (warnings, territoriality, etc)
 Moths, felines, canines, antelope, vultures, are
among the animals that communicate this way
AUDITORY COMMUNICATION
 Auditory is faster than chemical, but noticeable

by nearly all other species
 Auditory communication, unlike chemical, is
also controllable by the sender
 Different calls are possible and can mean
different things (warnings, mating calls,
territoriality, etc)
VISUAL COMMUNICATION
 Visual communications tend to only be

effective during daylight, but are easier to
conceal than chemical or auditory
 Visual communication provides directions,
threats, or dominance habits
TACTILE COMMUNICATION
 Tactile communication cannot be done over

long distances, but is the most advanced type
of communication
 Tactile, combined with auditory and/or visual
communication, can give organisms a
numerous vocabulary.
 Studies show that tactile communication has
been as specific as counting, directions, orders,
or degrees of interest.
WAGGLE DANCE AND MATING RITUAL
 https://goo.gl/yHwRu9
 https://goo.gl/Xt5pei

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43 Behavior

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Chapter 43

 Behavior studies in biology typically focus on

 Why do we care about studying behavior?

 Can we therefore predict actions based on

 How well a learned behavior is retained in the

 Does the learning itself come with rewards?

 B.F. Skinner believed that organisms were basically

 Another important “learned” behavior is

 Why does the female get to decide? Why must

 Communication is an adaptive action by a

 Visual—physical movements or colors

 Auditory is faster than chemical, but noticeable

 Visual communications tend to only be

 Tactile communication cannot be done over

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