Instinct

1. Instinct • inborn, unlearned behavior • Triggered by releasers – Ex. male Robins • Inherited circuitry • Fixed action pattern – not simple reflexes, not decisions Ex. Egg rolling by a goose. Will roll Fake egg too.

2. Learning • Brought on by an experience • Imprinting, Classical conditioning, Operant conditioning, Insight, spatial, observational

3. Imprinting • Form of learning that occurs during a brief time • Gosling recognize mother’s call and follow

4. Classical Conditioning • Pavlov’s dogs • Associative learning – dog’s associate bell with food and salivate. • Spatial learning – Nikolas Tinbergen – wasps located nests by certain pine cones

5. Operant Conditioning • B.F. Skinner • Animal’s behavior determines reward or punishment • Habituation – response to stimuli with no consequence will result in no response. Ex. Marine worm

6. Insight • The ability to figure out behavior that generates a desired outcome • Involves problem solving and reasoning • Humans and chimpanzees

7. Observational Learning • Copy the behavior of another animal • Ex. Monkeys and potato

8. Internal Clocks • Circadian rhythm • Plants and animals both have rhythm • Daily rhythms • Melatonin released by the pineal gland – jet lag • Hibernation – reduce E level because food is scarce • Estivation – opposite of hibernation – summer hiding to prevent desiccation • Spring courtship and mating – food is plentiful, weather is good – more energy • Migration – based on food and weather

9. Communication • Chemical, visual, electrical, tactile • Pheromones – chemical signals • Fireflies pulsed flashes – visual • Fish send and receive weak electrical pulses • Tactile - using mechanoreceptors in the skin to detect prey, social bonding

10. Social Behavior • Agonistic – aggressive behavior “showing” • Dominance hierarchies – pecking order • Territoriality • Altruistic - ground squirrels risk being seen in order to warn about a predator – kin selection • Eusocial – truly social – castes within the species – bees, ants, termites

11. Survival responses • Fight or flight – surge of epinephrine • Avoidance response – getting away from trouble – electric fence • Alarm response – calling out for specific predators

12. Parental Care • Innate behavior directed at caring for offspring • Incubation of eggs, milk production

13. Foraging behavior • Flower color and scent – bees are attracted to yellow and blue flowers • Fruit color – indicates poisons • Body scents – zebras can smell lions • Herds and flocks – have concealment, vigilance (look outs while foraging), defense (protect young) • Packs can successfully isolate and attack prey. • Search images – allow birds to easily find prey Ex. Humans and police cars!

14. Animal movement • Kinesis – speeds up when environment is unfavorable, no direction – insects scurry when you move the log • Taxis – directed movement in response to light (phototaxis) and chemicals (chemotaxis) • Quorum sensing – bacteria move together to form colonies in response to chemical signals from other bacteria. Create biofilms (dental plaque) • Moths move toward light, mosquitos move to toward lactic acid