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Biology 1030
Chapter 32
Behavior
Researchers from various
disciplines study animal behavior.
Animal behavior is the
scientific study of
everything animals do,
whether the animals are
single-celled organisms,
insects, birds,
mammals, fish, or
humans. However,
human behavior is more
often studied by
psychologists,
anthropologists, human
ethologists, or other
social scientists.
Researchers from various
disciplines study animal behavior.
The field of animal behavior is
concerned with understanding the
causes, functions, development,
and evolution of behavior. The
causes of behavior include all of
the stimuli that affect behavior,
whether external (food or
predators) or internal (hormones or
nervous system changes). The
function of behavior include both
the immediate effects of behavior
on an animal (such as attracting a
mate), and the adaptive
significance of the behavior in a
particular environment (such as
huddling together in cold weather).
The development of behavior is
concerned with the ways in which
behavior changes over the lifetime of an
animal. The evolution of behavior is
concerned with origins of behavior
patterns and how these change over
generations of animals.
Researchers from various
disciplines study animal behavior.
y
Animal behavior is signals in
mating rituals, territoriality,
learning, feeding,
communications,
parenting, etc.
32.1 The history of the study of
animal behavior
Animals exhibit behaviors in many different ways.
Behaviors include:
• body movements
•Sounds
•Body positions
•Change in coloration
•Scent
32.1 The history of the study of
animal behavior
Ethology (ee-THOL-uh-jee) the study of animal
behavior in the natural environment. Ethology
examines the biological basis of the patterns of
movement, sounds, and body positions of animals.
Konrad Z. Lorenz referred to as the father of
modern ethology. He believed that animal
behaviors are evolutionary adaptations. He referred
to behaviors as the animals “equipment for
survival.”
32.1 The history of the study of
animal behavior
Adaptive behaviors-behaviors that enhance the
ability of members of a population to live to
reproductive age and that tend to occur at an
increased frequency in successive generations.
Behaviorists- psychologists who focused on
behaviors, studying them in a laboratory without
focusing on the cognitive events that took place
during the behaviors.
In the 1950-60s, ethology and behavioral
psychology merged to form the discipline of animal
behavior.
32.1 The history of the study of
animal behavior
In 1970s the science of behavioral ecology
emerged.
Today, animal behavior is studied by many
researchers:
• psychologists
•Socio-biologists
•Neurobiologists
•Behavioral ecologists
32.2 The link between genetics
and behavior.
All behaviors depend upon nerve impulses,
hormones, and other physiological
mechanisms such as sensory receptors.
Therefore, genes play an important role in the
development of behaviors because they
direct the development of the nervous
system.
Margaret Bastock experimented in the 50s and showed that certain
behavioral traits are under the control of single genes.
Innate behaviors- behaviors resulting from genetically determined neural
programs that are part of the nervous system at the time of birth or develop
at an appropriate point in maturation.
32.2 The link between genetics
and behavior.
Learning is an alteration in behavior based
on experience.
Ethologists are debating the relationship between innate behaviors and
environment.
Innate behaviors
Learned behaviors
Why do people yawn? (Pg. 720 discussion)
32.3 Coordination and orientation
behaviors

To survive animals have to respond to the
environment. They must coordinate their
movements in ways that
result in effective
responses.
Orientation behaviors –
movements in relation to
external stimuli.
32.3 Coordination and orientation
behaviors

Certain behaviors are characteristic of a
species and thus are considered innate.
A reflex is the simplest
type of innate reaction to
a stimulus and is an
example of coordination
behavior involving
various muscles.
32.3 Coordination and orientation
behaviors
Reflexes- an automatic response to nerve
stimulation.
 Knee jerk
Kineses – change in the speed of random
movements of an animal with respect to
changes in certain environmental stimuli.
nondirect types of movements
Taxes – directed movement toward or away from a
stimulus, such as light, chemicals or heat.
32.3 Coordination and orientation
behaviors
Taxes Female mosquitoes and ticks- detect warmth,
moisture and certain chemicals emitted by
mammals.
 Phototaxis- attraction of light to certain insects.
(negative phototaxis-cockroach avoids light.)
 Fish swim upright by orienting their ventral side
to gravity and their dorsal side to light.
 Some fish are oriented against a current and
therefore face and swim upstream.
32.4 Fixed action patterns (modal action)
Fixed action patterns are sequences of innate
behaviors in which the actions follow an
unchanging order of muscular movements.
Bird feeding her young;
Cat washing its face;
Courtship behavior
Next building
Food attainment
http://www.pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/psych26/spence.htm
32.5 Learned behaviors and survival
Important in many respects to the survival and
fitness of animals, innate behaviors can become a
liability if environmental conditions change and an
animal’s behavior cannot change to adapt to new
conditions.
Some behaviors are innate and permanent.
Many can be changed or modified by an individual’s
experiences during the process of learning.
Learned behaviors help animals become better suited to
a particular environment or set of conditions.
Five groups of learned behaviors:
1. Imprinting
4. Trial-and-error learning
2. Habituation
5. Insight
3. Classical conditioning
32.5 Learned behaviors and survival
1. Imprinting
4. Trial-and-error learning
2. Habituation
5. Insight
3. Classical conditioning
Imprinting, habituation, classical
conditioning and trial-and-error
learning are all rote memory. These
are regarded as automatic and
machine-like. These kinds of learning
take place in a stimulus/response
fashion, possibly reinforced by some
type of reward that may or may be not
be readily apparent. (Schools)
32.5 Learned behaviors and survival
1. Imprinting
4. Trial-and-error learning
2. Habituation
5. Insight
3. Classical conditioning
Behaviorism- is theoretical basis for
many of the rote, drill-and-practice
type approaches to learning.
Cognitivism- suggests that indiviuals
acquire and then store information in
memory. Leaning takes place as new
information builds and merges with
the old, leading to new types of
behaviors.
32.6 Types of learning
Imprinting: a rapid and irreversible type of
stimulus/response learning that takes place during an early
developmental stage in animals.
Lorenz experiments with geese—2 halves of eggs-
One left with mother
One in incubator
Behaviors:
followed mother- followed Lorenz
Lorenz’ group courted adult humans.
32.6 Types of learning
Habituation – the ability of animals to “get used to” certain
types of stimuli that they perceive as non-threatening.
Pigeons living in the city
Gunshots on a firing range
“Cry wolf” type learned behaviors
32.6 Types of learning
Classical Conditioning –a form of learning in which an
animal is taught to associate a new stimulus with a natural
stimulus that normally evokes a response in the animal.
Dog correctly performs trick-gets reward.
Ivan Pavlov- conditioned dogs to salivate in response to
response normally not associated with food.
32.6 Types of learning
Trial-and-error Learning: Operant Conditioning – form of
learning in which an animal associates something that it
does with a reward or punishment.
Able to control the reward or punishment with the behavior.
B.F. Skinner studied conditioning rats. (rats in box with
levers-pushed lever-got food)
32.6 Types of learning
Insight- (reasoning) the capability of recognizing a
problem and solving it mentally before ever trying
out a solution.
This is the highest form of learning. Able to able to
perform a correct or appropriate behavior the first
time it tries, without having been exposed to the
specific situation.
Wolfgang Kohler performed experiments with chimpanzees
in 1920. He showed that an animal must perceive
relationships and manipulate concepts in its mind to solve a
problem on the first try.
No animal but primates can learn this way.
32.7 Circadian rhythms and biological clocks
24-hour cycles of physiological activity and behaviors
are called circadian rhythms. These are regulated by
biological clocks.
Circadian rhythms is genetic.
32.8 Migration
Migrations are movements of animals from one region
to another with the change of season. In animals,
migration occurs once per year and result from
interaction among various environmental factors:
• Day length
• Temperature
• Snow and food shortage
•Biological clocks
•The sun, stars or Earth’s magnetic field
32.9 communication via social behaviors
Grooming behaviors- cleaning dirt,
debris and parasitic insects.
Strengthens the social bond between
animals.
Sociobiology-the study of social
behavior.
In sexually reproducing animals,
interactive patterns, care of offspring
and the defense of a territory.
32.10 Competitive behaviors
When two or more animals strive to obtain the same
needed resource, such as food, water, nesting sites or
mates, they are exhibiting competitive behavior.
Threat displays- (intimidation)
• Show of fangs or claws
• Changing body color
• Making body appear bigger
32.10 Competitive behaviors
Submissive behaviors –
• Make body appear smaller
• Put away weapons (claws, fangs)
• Turning away
• When one is loosing a fight, might display
submission.
32.10 Competitive behaviors
Territorial Behavior
• Marks off its territory
• Patrolling
•Sounds
• Odor (urine)
• Bucks (scent gland) – leaves sent on high plant, more
impressive.
32.11 Reproductive behaviors
Genetic variability – the species will adapt more readily – biologically
significant because it provides genetic variability among organisms of the
same species. Combining of genes from two parents produces offspring
that are similar but different from their parents.
For reproduction to take place, animals must communicate and cooperate
with one another. Form bonds for the purposes of reproduction and
parenting.
Behaviors that promote successful sexual reproduction are highly adaptive.
Courtship- males and females must find each other; attract each other;
ritual of communication.
32.11 Reproductive behaviors
Aggressive behaviors against other males are often the same behaviors
that attract a female.
Males can attract female by displaying body colors or markings like
peacock.
Birds sing songs to attract mate.
Frogs and insects use other sounds.
Many male mammals and insects produce odors that are attractive to
females.
Males congregate and perform dances or songs as a group to attract mates.
32. 13 Group behaviors



Search for food together
Work together
Insect societies
 Ants
(pg. 737)
 Bees
 Cast system- 3 types of bees- queen, workers and drones
 50,000 workers, 5000 drones and 1 queen
 Waggle dance to communicate location of flowers
 Queen controls the workers with pheromone- queen
substance.
32. 14 Rank Order in Vertebrate Groups

Social hierarchy-rank order
 Fish,
reptiles, birds and mammals
 Peck order
32. 15 Human behavior
The nature of nurture
 Humans different from other animals in
their behaviors.
 Behavior is genetically determined but can
be modified, within limits, by learning.
