Comparative Animal Behavior: Lecture 2 - What is animal behavior and how do we study it?
tinbergen's 4 questions
- what is the CAUSE of the behavior? - HOW does the behavior DEVELOP? - what is the EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY/BASIS of the behavior? - what is the ADAPTIVE FUNCTION of the behavior?
fathers of ethology
Karl von Frisch, Konrad Lorenz, Nikolaas Tinbergen
adaptation
a structure or behavior of an organism that arises by way of natural selection wherein the organism becomes better fitted to survive and reproduce in its environment
some behaviors are
adaptations
not all behaviors are ____ some are ___
adaptive; maladaptive. some behaviors are maladaptive by products of adaptations or "evolutionary hold-overs"
an example of a behavior
an animal moving to a shade and resting
behavior is a method that
animals use to solve problems in their environment
when studying animal behavior, you must be
aware of your own observational biases
behavior is not fixed
behavior is phenotypical, heritable, shaped by evolution through natural selection, and situationally flexible
ethology gave rise to
behavioral ecology
behavioral choices and decisions are not
conscious, purposeful, or always rational; they are evolutionary choices and are made as a result of natural selection
ultimate explanations
invoke evolutionary or historical mechanisms When and why did the behavior evolve? Is it adaptive? What's it good for?
proximate explanations
nvoke physiological, neurobiological, anatomical, or developmental mechanismsHow does the behavior work?
scientific method
systematic approach to answering scientific questions that depends on a regimented sequence of steps and a body of evidence or research
a hypothesis must be
testable and falsifiable
not an example of a behavior
the act of sweating; a physiological response of the skin organ to internal and external stimuli from the environment
anthropomorphism
the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions onto non human entities/organisms; should be avoided when studying animal behavior
what is behavior?
the coordinated responses of whole living organisms to internal and external stimuli
phenotype
the expressed traits of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment
ethology
the scientific and objective study of animal behavior that views behavior as an evolutionary adaptive trait with a focus on behavior occurring under natural conditions
behavioral ecology
the study of the evolutionary basis of animal behavior due to ecological stressors and pressures
