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Honors Biology Chapter 3
The Process of Science:
Studying Animal Behavior
Concept 3.1: Biologists
study Behavior through
Observations and
Experiments
I. Asking Questions about
Behavior
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A. Discovery science leads to hypothesis
science
1. Ex. Humpback whales and
bubble blowing behavior (read p. 48-49)
2. Problem: Hypo science difficult to
do with animal behavior (Size, space, care, etc.
may be impractical)
a. Can still do this type of science in
wild (Read p. 49-Jane Goodall)
b. Must often observe behaviors in
natural environments.
II. Designing Experiments on Animal
Behavior – read p. 50
A. Ex. Digger wasp study.
III. Immediate and Ultimate Causes of
Behavior
 A. “How” questions – directed to
immediate causes of behavior
1. An explanation in terms of
orgs immediate interactions with the
environment
2. Ex. Arrangement of
landmarks is how wasp finds the nest
 (See Previous slide)
B. “Why” questions – directed to ultimate
causes of behavior
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1. Why do organisms act as they
do?
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2. Based on orgs evolutionary
adaptations
a. How did adaptation come
about?
b. What is the function of the
behavior?
C. Contrasting Example:
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1. Touch hot object, draw hand
away, yell “ouch”.
a. Immediate cause – reaction
of nervous system and effect on your
muscles
b. Ultimate cause – natural
selection has favored this response
(prevents excess tissue damage.)
 Concept 3.2: Experiments show both Genes
and Environment Affect Behavior
 (“Nature vs. Nurture” Controversy)
I. Innate Behaviors
 A. Def. Behaviors performed correctly by
all members of the species, even if no
previous experience with the behavior.
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1. “Born knowing”
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2. Ex. Digger wasps all build nests
same way, even if raised in isolation
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3. Ex. Bird nest building behavior
 B. Not completely isolated from environment,
though
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1. Ex. Wasp: needs right sandy nest
building site, proper nutrition to grow up strong
enough to build nest, physical skills must be
developed to build the nest, etc.
 C. Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) = innate
behavior that occurs in an unchangeable
sequence of actions
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1. Ex. Graylag goose and egg retrieval (read
p. 54)
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2. Performed as complete “script” from start
to finish
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3. Triggered by a specific stimulus
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4. Do not need to be practiced to get it right
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5. Often related to reproductive or feeding of
young behaviors = species survival advantage if
don’t need to practice!
Figure 3-6
The graylag goose responds to an egg outside her nest with a set of specific actions.
Even when the egg is removed, the goose will continue to push at the air with her
beak until she completes the FAP (fixed action pattern).
II. Rhythms of Behavior
 A. Great variety of rhythmic behaviors =
regularly repeated
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1. Ex Animal migrations with season
changes, daytime vs. nighttime sleep patterns,
human “jet lag”
2. Usually combinations of genetics and
environmental cues
3. Specific study: flying squirrels (read p.
55)
a. Circadian rhythm = innate rhythms
within a 24 hour period
Figure 3-8
A quantitative experiment with flying squirrels supports the hypothesis that environmental
cues influence the animal's activity rhythms. The wheel in each squirrel's cage was connected
to a machine that recorded wheel turns, allowing researchers to track active periods of the
squirrels. These graphs display the data collected each 24-hour period from noon to noon.
Control-group squirrels were kept in 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness, while the
experimental-group squirrels were kept in constant darkness.
 III. How to study the interaction of genes and
experience – Read Case study p. 56 on
Lovebird nest building
Concept 3.3: Learning is
Behavior based on
Experience
I. Learning = change in an animal’s behavior
resulting from experience
 A. Ex. Learn not to touch hot objects after the first burn
experience
B. Types of learning:
1. Habituation = learning not to respond to a
repeated stimulus that conveys little or no important info.
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a. Ex. Ignore ticking of clock though sense
organs still detect it
b. Ex. Hydra touch response, crow
scarecrow response (p.57)
c. Benefits animals? Maybe allows them to
focus N.S. on more important stimuli
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1.) Exs. Food, mates, real danger
2. Imprinting = learning limited to a specific time
period in life = critical learning period, and usually
irreversible
 a. has learned and unlearned
components
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b. Ex. Bond formation between 2
animals, often newborn and parent
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1.) Graylag Goose study (read p. 58)
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a.) critical learning period –
within first 2 days of hatching
3. Conditioning = learning a particular stimulus or
response is linked to a reward or punishment
 a. Ex. Dog responses to commands, cat
coming when they hear can opener, etc.
b. Classical conditioning = learning to
respond to a rather meaningless
stimulus b/c connect it with a
reward/punishment
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1.) Ex. Pavlov and salivating dog examples
(see fig. 3-12, p. 59)
Figure 3-12
In a classical conditioning experiment, Pavlov trained a
dog to associate a ringing bell with food. Afterward,
when the dog heard the bell, it would begin to salivate
even when no food was present.
c. Operant conditioning (trial and error
learning) = animal learns to associate a
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positive or negative effect with one of its own acts
1.)will purposely repeat for reward/ purposely avoid
for punishment
2.) Ex. Coyote and porcupine
3.) Often reinforces behaviors for survival
4.) Common in predator-prey rlshps.
4. Insight = innovation = respond to new situation
without previous experience
 a. involves analysis of problem and
testing of solutions
 b. Ex. Octopus and food in jar (read p.
60)
 c. Ex. Chimp in room trying to reach
banana
 d. Not really learning, but can contribute
to learning, and may result from prior
learning in similar experiences
5. Play Behavior = using adult
skills in a playful manner
a.
b.
Ex. Young foxes “stalking” and
“pouncing” on siblings/parents
Purpose of play behavior? – 2
hypotheses (read p. 61)
 Concept 3.4: Social behaviors are important
Adaptations in many Species
 (Many animals live in social groups, Social
Behaviors = interactions b/t 2 or more members
of same species)
I. Competitive Behaviors = involve
conflicts for food, space, mates, etc
 A. Agressive Behaviors = actual physical
struggles, or threatening behaviors
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1. Ex (can you think of any?)
2. Dominance Hierarchies = ranking of
individuals into orders of importance
a. Ex. “Peck Order” in Chickens
b. Once hierarchy set, no longer
waste time on it, can concentrate on finding
B. Territorial Behavior = when
animal defends an area, often
excluding members of the same
species, for purposes of feeding,
mating, etc.
 1.Ex. Song birds sing, bellowing of male
sea lions, cheetahs “marking” with urine
C. Courtship Behavior = courtship ritual = elaborate
physical displays prior to mating
 1. May: confirm same species, opposite
gender, ready to mate and even that
other is not a threat
2. Ex. Peacock males feather display
3. Result of natural selection refining
courtship rituals to improve reprod.
Success
4. Ex. Case study of barn swallow tail
length
Figure 3-19
A controlled experiment demonstrated that female barn swallows tend to
prefer mates with the longest tails. One hypothesis to explain this result
is that a male must be healthy for long tail feathers to develop. Natural
selection would favor female birds choosing these longer-tailed males
D. Communication = forms of signaling that
make social behaviors possible
 1. Types: sounds, odors, visual displays,
touches
 2. Ex. Honey bee communication – Read
p. 65 - more complex animal societies
have more complex communications
Figure 3-21
Von Frisch and later researchers determined that the angle of a
returning honeybee's "waggle dance" signals the direction of the food
source from the hive compared to the position of the sun.
E. Cooperation = individuals work together in
ways beneficial to whole group
 1. Ex. Honey bee society, “Wolf pack”
hunting, herd animals making rings to
defend young, etc.
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