ANIMAL BEHAVIOR

(Topic by Gian Lester Nulla)

Third Grading Project in Advanced Biology

by Kayla Denize Gerardino

of Grade 9-SSC

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR

Animal behavior includes all the ways animals interact with other organisms and the physical
environment.

Behavior can also be defined as a change in the activity of an organism in response to a

stimulus, an external or internal cue, or a combo of cues.

The study of animal behavior is a cornerstone of psychology for several reasons. Ethology, or
the study of animals in their natural habitats, sheds light on how animals interact with each other
and their environments, and why they behave the way they do. By studying animal behavior,
humans can also learn more about their own behavior – a field known as comparative
psychology.

The scientific study of animal behavior under natural conditions, known as ethology, focuses on
both instinctual and learned behavior. Ethologists look at an animal’s environment to see how
events in that environment combine with an animal’s instincts to shape overall behavior. This is
especially important in the developing or early stages of an animal’s life.

Animals exhibit various levels of instinctual behavior. On an elementary level are reflexes. A
reflex is a simple, inborn, automatic response of a part of the body to a stimulus. Reflexes help
animals respond quickly to a stimulus, thus protecting them from harm. Other instinctual
behaviors are more complex. Examples of this kind include the nest-building behavior of birds
and the dam-building behavior of beavers.

What Causes Animal Behavior?

Animal behavior is a result of biology and the environment.

Behavioral changes are triggered by an internal or external cue, such as the appearance of a
threat nearby. Animal responses are driven by the primal urges to survive and reproduce. While
animal behavior can vary widely based on the individual, certain behavioral traits, like attention
seeking and chasing prey, are genetically inherited, as with dog behavior.
 EXCITING ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
IN THE MOST ENCHANTING FORESTS OF OUR PLANET
A summary of a 90-minute animal behavior documentary film by Heiko De Groot
Posted in Free High-Quality Documentaries YouTube Channel

The film presents breathtaking images of exciting animal behavior and grand landscapes–how the forests
and their animal biodiversity overcome significant challenges in surprising and fascinating ways.
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRuuRPM3X3o
A forest is like an organism, ancient and full of complex mechanics at work. Its vegetation needs
water and a specific range of temperature. And still, it can be found in the most variable places
of the world. But how does it manage to adapt to the most adverse condition and still thrive?
“Forests of this earth” uncovers the forest’s amazing strategies of survival, the strange
phenomena that allow them to strive in varied biotopes and under different environmental
conditions, and the interplay they have with the fascinating animals living in them.

Coexistence in the woods is a symbiosis. The trees depend on the animals, and many animals
depend on the trees.

As one approaches the cold, the animals of a species become larger. In warmer regions, they’re
smaller. A moose, for example. In Northern Sweden, they’re noticeably bigger than in the south.
It’s a simple trick; the larger the volume of an animal, in relation to its body surface, the more
warmth it can conserve. Volume saves warmth while surface area releases it.

With trees, however, things are different. Thick trunks are more suited to conserving body
warmth. But trees don’t produce warmth and therefore, are dependent on atmospheric
temperature.

Throughout the year, the forest produces a vast quantity of organic waste. Plant remains are
consumed by animals, such as Deers, and decayed by fungus and bacteria. In Africa, Umbrella
Thorn Acacia trees have armed themselves against a few giants large enough to reach their
leaves.
As soon as they register a giraffe or an elephant is nibbling at them, they produce a poison that
is transferred to the leaves directly. This makes them inedible for a period of time. On top of
that, the affected trees alert other acacia trees in the surrounding area. In that case, before the
elephants and giraffes reach the next trees, its already been warned and have started to
produce their own poison. The earlier the poison is produced, the fewer leaves the elephant can
manage.
In the everglades of Florida, water is present the whole year-round; an advantage for the birds
as they enter into an unusual symbiosis.

Alligators hunt into the water, mostly for fish. Their egg clutch requires absolute dryness;
however, they make their nest on forested islands and stand guard over them.

When the little one’s hatch, their mother carries them into the water. From there on, the mother
will look after them for several months.
The presence of the alligators attracts breeding birds who nest in the trees above.

And of course, Reptiles also eat birds. But the advantage for the colony prevails.

With alligators in the water, the chicks are well-protected from predators such as raccoons, rats,
and lizards.
Saltwater is water that contains a certain amount of salt. Freshwater is water with a dissolved
salt concentration of less than 1%. There are two kinds of freshwater reservoirs: standing
bodies of freshwater, such as inland wetlands, and floating bodies of freshwater, such as
streams and rivers. Nevertheless, there is a forest that can manage; The Mangrove Forest.

With the coming and going of the tide, mangrove forests on coasts worldwide are completely
submerged twice a day; but the trees don’t drown. From the roots, snorkel-like tubes grow that
poke out of the mud. The tubes draw in the oxygen necessary for the trees to grow.

Perhaps this was the environment of the first creatures to walk on land; walking fish.
The equilibrium of the forest depends on many factors; light, air, and water.
Too many herbivores can cause damage. Predators often take the responsibility of managing
their numbers. But even forests without predators are balanced and maintained. Terrestrial
predators such as rats and cats were first brought into New Zealand by human settlers. Before
that, the forest animals had no enemies.

Many birds live close to the ground; such as a kakapo. A kakapo is the only parrot in the world
unable to fly and nests on the ground. The chicks and eggs are easy prey not least for weasels
and ferrets. Farmers introduce them in New Zealand because a plague of rabbits has been
brought into the country.
The forest is incredibly resistant; whenever it is driven back, it always finds a way to spread out
once again.

Many elements in the woods combine to create unity; be it animal or plant. Everything
unwittingly takes on a role that contributes to the functioning of the entire system of survival.

If the forest’s environment changes, its occupants will likewise alter themselves; but the
woodland itself remains imperfectly balanced.
It adapted over millions of years to climate and weather and the forest has managed to win
through. Does that mean it’s a living organism?

The cooperation of its many parts does not follow a prescribed goal as it rather seems to be
guided by a coincidence. All the same, it is turned the forest into perhaps the most successful
ecosystems on earth; a system we have a duty to protect.
 EXCITING ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
IN THE MOST ENCHANTING FORESTS OF OUR PLANET
My reaction to a 90-minute animal behavior documentary film by Heiko De Groot
Posted in Free High-Quality Documentaries YouTube Channel

Behavior is shaped by natural selection. Many behaviors directly increase an organism's fitness,
that is, they help it survive and reproduce. Animal behavior is the study of how animals move in
their environment, how they interact socially, how they learn about their environment, and how
an animal might achieve a cognitive understanding of its environment.
The generally held view I have learned from the documentary:
ANIMALS AND PLANTS ARE MUTUALLY DEPENDENT

The lives of animals and plants are intertwined. The decline of one species creates a marked
reduction for the other. Rainforest Biomes state that thousands of years of heavy rains have
washed away the nutrients of rainforests. Nutrients in rain forests are found mainly in living
plants and the layers of decomposing leaves on the forest floor.

Various species of decomposers, such as insects, bacteria, and fungi, convert dead plant and
animal matter into nutrients, according to Rainforest Biomes. Plants then absorb these
nutrients, which promote tree growth to produce fruits and seeds in addition to leaves for the
animals' diets.

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR IS AFFECTED BY THE ENVIRONMENT

What affects animal behavior?
Both external and internal stimuli prompt behaviors — external information (e.g., threats from
other animals, sounds, smells) or weather and internal information (e.g., hunger, fear).
Understanding how genes and the environment come together to shape animal behavior is also
an important underpinning of the field.

Environment affects animal behavior by changing the availability of survival resources like food
& shelter, as well as situational things like proximity to human activity.

Sometimes the same species of animal will behave completely differently in a forest
environment compared to an urban environment.

Climate change also alters the life cycles of plants and animals. For example, as temperatures
get warmer, many plants are starting to grow and bloom earlier in the spring and survive longer
into the fall. Some animals are waking from hibernation sooner or migrating at different times,
too.
The film presents breathtaking images of exciting animal behavior and grand landscapes–how
the forests and their animal biodiversity overcome significant challenges in surprising and
fascinating ways.

As a matter of fact, harnessing the knowledge of animal behavior can improve environmental
restoration outcomes.