Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour Chapter 17

Behaviour: Behaviour refers to the coordinated activities of an animal that are produced in response to an internal or external stimulus. Individual behaviour: Individual behaviour includes those related to movement or physiological regulation Social behaviour: Social behaviour is related to interactions with other organisms. This includes behaviours related to courtship, reproduction, parenting, feeding, defence strategies as well as communication within and between groups of animals

Innate or Learned Innate: Innate behaviour is generally any behaviour that is not learned. Instinct is the innate ability to complete a specific behaviour pattern with no conscious intention. A releaser is a specific signal called a sign stimulus that results in an innate behavioural response. Learned: Learning is the modification of a behavioural response to a stimulus on the basis of a previous experience. Learning depends on memory which is the ability to store and retain information about past events Learning allows an organism to modify its behaviour in response to unpredictable events.

Types of Learned Behaviours: Imprinting: In some animals the capacity for learning about a particular stimulus is very high at a certain stage of development. This learning period is usually at the start of life. Example: ducklings learn to walk very soon after hatching and imprint on their mother, that is they follow her wherever she goes Habituation: Habituation involves the gradual fading of a response, usually an innate response, to a stimulus that proves to be safe or irrelevant. Example: a scarecrow may initially frighten away birds from a crop but soon you will observe those birds now sitting upon the scarecrows shoulders Associative Learning: Associative learning is the association of a new signal with the innate signal that triggers a behavioural response. . This type of behaviour is also known as classical conditioning. Example: Pavlov’s dog

Trial and error learning: Trial and error learning is where an animal carries out a particular behaviour and remembering the attempt and the outcome, modifies its subsequent behaviour in order to improve the chance of success. Example: A child learning to ride a bike for the first time Observational Learning: Observational learning is when an animal (a higher order vertebrate) learns a particular pattern of behaviour by observing other animals. Example: this type of learning is most likely to be gained from observing parents or peers. It is the means by which cultural information is [past form one generation to the next or from one individual to another individual. Insight Learning: Insight learning is the most complex type of learning. It requires a complex brain like that of a human or dolphin. These animals are able to recall past general experiences and apply then to a new situation. The type of learning involves thinking about it, instead of trial and error

Behaviour for Maintenance: Maintenance behaviours include activities such as feeding, drinking, ventilation, regulating temperature, finding shelter and grooming. Generally patterns of behaviours are adaptive that is, they are for the benefit of the organism. Rhythmic activities Daily cycles are known as circadian rhythms Lunar cycles are cycles that coincide with the waxing and waning of the moon. Circannual rhythms are yearly rhythms

Movement: Animals move to obtain food, seek shelter, interact with other animals and to find a mate. Animals use several different methods of movement, which all require different sensory inputs, such as: Feeding behaviour: Adaptations for feeding include physical characteristics such as a carnivores sharp teeth for killing and tearing meat. Animals also have behavioural adaptations for getting food such as dropping seeds and hard shelled animals form a height to break open the shell and get the food inside.

Avoiding being caught: Searching for food is a risky behaviour for animals as it exposes them to potential predation from other animals. To prevent this animals have protective adaptions: Homeostatic behaviours: Behaviours that contribute to the control of the internal environment including water balance and temperature.

Grooming and preening: Many animals clean the outer surface of the bodies. For birds the preening process is particularly important as it moves the oil produce in glands over the feathers to maintain aerodynamic properties. Territorial behaviour: Territorial behaviour is displayed by many animals. Territorial behaviour is the defending of a certain area (territory) that contains a limited resource against occupation by another animal. The boundaries of territories are often defended aggressively, with behaviours including patrolling bordersand marking edges with their scent Examples of this territorial behaviour include Magpies who swoop on any invading ‘threat’ to their territory.

Communication and Living Together Communication is the transfer of information from one animal to another. The message or signal, which may be chemical, auditory, tactile, visual, is passed between a sender and a receiver. Chemical Communication: Chemical communication is the most primitive and universally used form of communication . Chemical communication is the release of chemicals into the environment that transmits information to those animals that have appropriate receptors. These chemicals are known as pheromones. Visual Signals: Visual communication is instantaneous and can carry a large amount of information. Auditory Signals: Unlike visual communication an animal can receive the information without actually seeing the sender. Auditory signals are also faster than chemical signals. This form of communication is only seen in animals with complex nervous systems. The humans speech is the most complex example of auditory communication.

Tactile Communication: Tactile communication is found more frequently in highly social groups of animals such as some birds and mammals. It is limited due to the fact the receiver has to be in close proximity to the sender, the message is also relatively simple. Social Behaviour: Communication is most important in animals who form cooperative groups known as societies. Social behaviour involves interactions between the members of a group. An important factor in the social cohesiveness of a group is efficient two way communication between its members. Dominance: Dominance means that one individual has a greater access to resources, such as food and mates than other individuals of the group. There may be a hierarchy or pecking order in certain groups. Males are usually the dominant individual of the group as he provides protection for the females and the younger members of the group. Culture: Cultural exchange is the passage of information from one generation to the next by non genetic means. It includes behaviours such as catching prey, recognising enemies, learning songs and migratory routes.

Glossary: Learned behaviour Innate behaviour Social behaviour Chemical communication Instinct Releaser Imprinting Habituation Associative learning Trial and error learning Observational learning Circadian rhythm Circannual rhythm Territorial behaviour Communication Dominance

Complete the following: Key questions: 1,2,3,4, 7, 9, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20 Chapter Review: All

Animal Behaviour