Ethology: Animal Behavior

What is Behavior?
• Behavior is what an animal does and how it does it.
Ecology:
Interaction between organisms and the biotic
and abiotic environment
• Abiotic- non living; e.g., temperature,
light, dissolved gas, water
• Biotic- living; e.g., predators, prey, mates

Behavioral Ecology
The study of the behavior of organisms within
an evolutionary framework.
• e.g., communication, finding food,
protection from predators
Mechanistic basis for behavior:
A. Identify the stimuli that triggers the behavior or
B. Study the psychological, neuronal, and
hormonal changes that underlie the behavior
E.g., MIGRATION

Distribution & Migration

Map of Pacific Golden
Plover
Hawaii
Proximate causes
• External stimuli- changes in day
length and temp
• Internal stimuli - hormone levels

Winter plumage Breeding plumage

Ultimate causes - address the evolutionary
significance for a behavior and why natural
selection favors this behavior.
• Why did a behavior evolve?
• Is it adaptive?
• Does it contribute to reproductive success?

Example: birds that migrate have a selective

advantage over birds that don't/didn't, selected
for over time, could be due to long term climate
changes, glaciation, disease, taking advantage
of food sources, etc.
 Nature versus Nurture:
Revisiting an Old Debate
Nature Nurture
Behaviors are: Behaviors are:
• Innate • Learned
• Hard-wired • Flexible
• Instinctual • Not genetically
• Genetically determined
determined
Behavior results from both genes and
environmental factors
A. Behavior - What an animal does and how it does it.
- some behavior is learned, some behavior is
inherited

B. To some extent ALL behavior has a Genetic Basis

1. some is totally genetic - which implies heritable

2. some is learned but relies ENTIRELY on
genetically based mechanisms

C. In general, behavior is a response to some

environmental stimulus
Innate Behaviors – inherited, instinctive
A. programmed by genes;
B. highly stereotyped (similar each time in
many individuals)
C. Four Categories

1. Kinesis
2. Taxis
3. Reflex
4. Fixed Action Pattern
1. Kinesis: "change the speed of random movement in
response to environmental stimulus“
2. Taxis: "a directed movement toward or away from a
stimulus; positive and negative taxes
3. Reflex: "movement of a body part in response to
stimulus".
4. Fixed Action Pattern (FAP): "stereotyped and often
complex series of movements, responses to a specific
stimulus", hardwired, however, not purely genetic, may
improve with experience
a. programmed response to a stimulus
b. stimulus of FAP = "releaser", sometimes called "sign
stimulus“
c. examples:
- courtship behavior
- rhythms - daily (circadian); annual (circannual)
D. Characteristics of Innate Behaviors -
especially FAPs:

1. The behavior is performed correctly the 1st

time without prior experience (no
opportunity to learn)
2. Triggered by some external stimulus
3. Once started, run to completion with no
further input
4. Breeding crosses produce hybrid behaviors