Understanding Animal Behavior: Instincts, Learning, and Ecology Insights

1. AP Ch 51-56

2. Animal Behavior - Ch.51 • what and how an animal does something • - controlled by genes and environment - Nature v Nurture - Ridley

3. Types • 1. Instinct = behavior that is innate, inherited, ex. bees, human • 2. Learning: • a. Imprinting = occurs over a critical, brief period of time, ex. Gosling accept any moving object as mother from day 1-3 • b. Association or classical conditioning = animal learns that two or more events are connected, ex. Pavlov's dogs • c. Trial-and-error (Operant conditioning) = animal connects behavior with positive or negative response. Ex. Mice- B.F. Skinner • 3. Habituation = learned behavior that allows the animal to disregard meaningless stimuli. • 4. Insight = ability to approach new situations and figure how to deal with them, involves reasoning

4. Misc • Taxis = automaticmovement in response to a stimuli, moths & light • Kinesis = change in activity rate because of a stimulus (non-directional) • Migration = long-distance, seasonal movement of animals

5. Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) – (p.1121)a type of behavior directly linked to a simple stimulus, usually carried to completion (stickle back will attack anything red)

6. Communication • Chemical = pheromones, these trigger behavior, ex. mating • Visual = displays of aggression, displays of courtship • Auditory = Sounds, ex. whales, frogs, birds • Tactile = Touching, dances – honeybee waggle, p1124 Foraging Behaviors • Herds, flocks, and schools provide several advantages: • Concealment, vigilance, defense, attacking

8. Ch 52 - Ecology • study of interactions between living things and their environment • What does this tell us? Why important?

9. “Ways to study ecology” • Organism = look at the way the organism survives, interacts • Population = individuals of the same species in the same area • Community = all populations interacting in the same area • Ecosystem = interaction of biotic (living) & abiotic (non-living) factors • - abiotic = temp, water, sun, wind, rocks • Biosphere = all regions of the earth that contain living things • Habitat = specific place where an organism usually lives • Niche = resources in the environment used by an organism

10. Biomes = divisions of biosphere, divided mostly by climate, climograph, p1166-1171 • Tropical rain forest - high temp & rainfall, tall trees form a canopy?: stratified, diverse • Savannas/grasslands - grass, big climate changes, prairies, zebra • Temperate deciduous forests- warm summers, cold winters, and moderate precipitation. Deciduous trees, small mammals • Deserts - hot and dry, few plants, cacti, lizards • Chaparral – shrubs, usually dry • Taiga - coniferous forest (pines), winter is cold with snow, bear • Tundra- ground freezes, permafrost, grasses, foxes, cold

13. Water • Fresh water biomes - ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers • photic (light) vs aphotic zones , thermoclines • eutrophic (shallow, high nutrient) vs. oligotrophic (deep , O2 rich)

14. Marine biomes - estuaries (oceans meet rivers), intertidal zones (oceans meet land), coral reefs, deep oceans (benthic), p1160

15. Ch 53- Population Ecology • study of the growth, abundance, and distribution of populations, deals with: • population size - limited • density (spacing)/distribution - p1175-6 – high usually bad • age structure- p1192, baby booms • survivorship curves (mortality)- p1178, effects repro. rates

17. Population growth: • Biotic potential = max. growth rate of a population under ideal conditions (unlimited resources, no growth restrictions) • Factors that contribute to the biotic potential of a species: • Age at reproductive maturity • Clutch size (# of offspring at each reproductive event) • Frequency of reproduction • Reproductive lifetime & survivorship

18. Carrying capacity = max. number of individuals of a population that can be sustained by a particular habitat  • Limiting factors = factors that prevent a population from attaining its biotic po­tential. 2 types 1. Density-dependent = influence population more because of size, ex. food, space, disease 2. Density-independent= independent of the density, ex. Natural disasters and extremes of climate

20. Growth of a population: • r = births - deaths / N • r = growth rate, N = original pop. size • - when r is at its max. = intrinsic rate of growth • - if r = 0 = zero pop. Growth • Exponential growth = rate is greater than 0, plot of exponential growth rises quickly, J-shaped curve, p 1182 • Logistic growth = limiting factors restrict the pop. size to the carrying capacity, forms S-shaped, or sigmoid curve, p 1183 • - these can change with time, p1189 ex. crab, hare and lynx

23. 2 life-history strategies • 1. r-selected species = rapid growth, quickly reproduce, then die, (many offspring, small, mature quick, no parent care) • 2. K-selected species = pop. size remains constant (at carrying capacity, K). (small # of larger offspring, extensive parental care) • - humans, but we are growing exponentially right now, why? • → Incr. food supply, less disease, better medicine, more habitat

24. Ch 54-55- Ecosystems • examine the production/utilization of energy • - organisms are organized into groups called trophic levelsthat reflect their main energy source • 1. Primary producers= autotrophs, convert sun into chemical energy • 2. Primary consumers, or herbivores, eat the primary producers. • 3. Secondary consumers, or 1° carnivores, eat primary consumers • 4.Tertiary consumers, or 2° carnivores, eat secondary consumers. • 5. Detritivores= decomposers -energy by consuming dead organisms • →Ecological pyramids show the relationship between trophic levels, biomass, energy, numbers, etc. p1229

27. Ecological efficiency = amount of energy at one trophic level that is transferred to the next level → Efficiency ≈ 10%, so 10% of energy of one level is transferred to the next level. So 90% is consumed by the activities of each organism, or transferred to detritivores, • Food chain= chart of who eats whom, p1205 • Food web = expanded, more complete version of a food chain, shows interactions of all the major plants/animals in the ecosystem, p1206

29. Keystone Species – (p.1208) exert control on community structure not by numbers, but by their pivotal ecological role.

30. Symbiosis • species that live together during a portion of their lives, p.1202-1203 • 1)Mutualism = both species benefit, ex. lichen, acadia tree and ants, +/+ • 2) Commensalism- one species, benefits, other is unaffected, barnacle, +/o • 3) Parasitism- parasite, host is harmed, tapeworm, +/- or -/-

31. Coevolution • evolution of one species in response to new adaptations that appear in another species • toxic chemicals produced in plants that discourage herbivores • camouflage- color, pattern, shape, or behavior that enables an animal to blend in with its surroundings • warning coloration- warns predators that they sting, bite, taste bad • mimicry - when species resemble one another

33. Ecological Succession p.1212 • community is gradually replaced by another community with different species called the climax community • How? - natural disaster, soil changes, light amount, crowding • primary = nothing there to start • secondary – something there • - The plants/animals that are first to colonize = pioneer species

34. Biogeochemical Cycles • flow of elements from the environment to living things and back • Hydrologic or water cycle- water from evaporation & transpiration, flows into the land, why import/ how impact? p1232 • Carbon cycle- carbon from CO2 and fossil fuels, gets used by plants and animals, released as CO2 or burned, why import?, p1232

36. Nitrogen cycle- comes from air, into soil, N fixed into NH3, back into air, why import? p1233 • Nitrogen fixation: N2 to NH4+ by bacteria (in soil and roots) • Nitrification: NH4+ to NO2 and NO3 by bacteria. • Denitrification: bacteria change back to N2 • Phosphorus cycle -erosion of rocks puts P in water and soil, plants • absorb, P is released when die and decomposed, import?, p1233

38. Human Impact on the Biosphere • 1. Greenhouse effect- burn fossil fuels & forests, increases CO2, thus more heat is trapped in the atmosphere. Result = global temps are rising, could raise sea levels (melt ice caps) • 2. Ozone depletion- ozone absorbs UV radiation and prevents it from reaching surface of the earth where it would damage the DNA of organisms. CFCs in aerosols break down ozone • 3. Acid rain- burning of fossil fuels releases pollutants that contain SO2 and NO2. These react with water, and produce sulfuric and nitric acid. This kill plants and animals

39. 4. Deforestation= cutting of forests causes erosion, flooding, and changes in weather, increases CO2, adds to the greenhouse effect • 5. Pollution= Some toxins, such as DDT, concentrate in plants and animals. As one organism eats another, the toxin becomes more concentrated = biological magnification, p1238

41. Introduced species p.1249 • new species added to a new area http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/invbio_plan_report_home.html • often done to control other pests, ex. gypsy moth • – What problems do these cause?