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Animal Behavior. Chapter 43. Animal Behavior. Ethology : scientific study of how animals behave Two types of behavior Innate behavior is developmentally fixed meaning that nearly all individuals in the population exhibit the same behavior.
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Animal Behavior Chapter 43
Animal Behavior • Ethology: scientific study of how animals behave • Two types of behavior • Innate behavior is developmentally fixed meaning that nearly all individuals in the population exhibit the same behavior. • Learned behavior is behavior that has been modified based on specific experiences.
Innate behaviors • Fixed action patterns – a series of unlearned acts that is essentially unchangeable and, once initiated, usually carried to completion
Learned behavior • Habituation – a loss of responsiveness to stimuli that convey no new information • EX: birds will eventually ignore a scarecrow after repeated exposure.
Learned behavior • Imprinting – actually contains both learned and innate components. • The formation, at a specific stage in life, of a long-lasting behavioral response to a particular individual or object. • Includes a sensitive period when certain behaviors can be learned.
Imprinting • Example: Lorenz used the graylag goose to demonstrate imprinting. He took over the maternal role for a group of goslings
Not all examples of imprinting involve parent-offspring bonding • Although newly hatched salmon do not receive any parental care, they imprint on the complex mixture of odors unique to the freshwater stream where they hatch • This allows salmon to find their way back to the stream to spawn after spending a year or more at sea
Insight • Capable of using reasoned thought and past experience to solve problems • – Utilize previous experience with reasoning to conclude and learn new things • Ex: Chimp moving crates in order to reach a banana.
Spatial learning • Establishment of a memory that reflects the environment’s spatial structure • Ex: A wasp locating its burrow
Associative learning • Ability to associate one environmental feature with another. • Types: • Classical conditioning • Operant conditioning
Classical Conditioning • An arbitrary stimulus becomes associated with a particular outcome. • Ex: These ducks have learned to associate humans with food handouts • Ex: Dog seeing a leash and running to the door
Operant Conditioning • Trial-and-error learning is a common form of associative learning • An animal learns to associate one of its own behavioral acts with a positive or negative effect
Movement behavior • Kinesis – a change in activity or turning rate in response to a stimulus. • Ex: Sow bugs response to variations in humidity. They will move faster in a dry environment, making it more likely that they will move into a more moist environment. • Taxis – an oriented movement toward (positive) or away from (negative) some stimulus. • Ex: trout orienting themselves upstream to get food