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Introduction to Animal Behavior

Introduction to Animal Behavior. Shearwater migrations. Shaffer S A et al. PNAS 2006;103:12799-12802. Behavior is driven by two causes. Proximate Causation. Ultimate Causation. Another example. Proximate mechanisms One male produces stronger signal vocal, visual, etc.

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Introduction to Animal Behavior

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  1. Introduction to Animal Behavior

  2. Shearwater migrations Shaffer S A et al. PNAS 2006;103:12799-12802

  3. Behavior is driven by two causes

  4. Proximate Causation

  5. Ultimate Causation

  6. Another example • Proximate mechanisms • One male produces stronger signal • vocal, visual, etc. • Elevation in sex hormones • progesterone, estrogen • Increase in epinephrine and serotonin • Leads to copulatory behavior Male – What do you look for in a mate? Female – What do you look for in a mate? • Ultimate mechanisms • Females that display a preference for particular males • Produce more offspring • Have healthier offspring • Have larger offspring – maybe feed more as babies • Their offspring are simply more attractive

  7. Why do birds migrate? Shearwater migrations Shaffer S A et al. PNAS 2006;103:12799-12802

  8. What are the mechanisms that cause behavior? How does the behavior develop? What is the survival value of the behavior? How did the behavior evolve?

  9. History of Animal Behavior Contempt

  10. Schools of Behavior Nikolas Tinbergen Gerard Baerends Miles Keenleyside Jan Smith Alicia Mathis Brian Gall YOU!

  11. Classical Ethology • Observation • Generate hypotheses • Limited manipulation • Comparative approach

  12. Example of the comparative approach in early animal behavior… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvA2WO9wMgU

  13. Enter the Kittiwake…

  14. Let’s do what early ethologists wouldn’t…. • Design an experiment to ask: • Do gulls remove egg shells to protect chicks from predation? • Break into 4 groups • Start with 40 (independent) gull nests • May use unlimited number of eggs • May be more than one way to test question • Team with the best design gets?

  15. Stereotypic Behavior • Whitman and Heinroth • Motor response (i.e. behavior) initiated by environmental stimulus and continues to completion without the influence of external stimulus What triggers the behavior?

  16. Begging in Herring Gulls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkKSV15ddgE Tinbergen, 1950

  17. FAP’s in Stickleback http://www.arkive.org/three-spined-stickleback/gasterosteus-aculeatus-aculeatus/video-ac12.html What is the fixed action pattern? What is the sign-stimulus? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfcGZCGdGVE&NR=1&feature=endscreen Tinbergen 1951

  18. Goose Egg Retrieval • Lorenz and Tinbergen, 1938 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUNZv-ByPkU

  19. What do you think will happen if you provide a greater intensity sign-stimuli? • Why? • In all of these cases, NS strongly favors individuals that exhibit the correct behavior

  20. Supernormal Stimuli in hatching gulls

  21. Criticisms of FAPs

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