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Behavior Development b

Behavior Development b. Learning. Learning is a change in an animal’s behavior linked to a particular experience it has Brain properties change by gene and environmental interactions . Learning. Forms of learning Imprinting Specialized learning Variation in learning behavior

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Behavior Development b

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  1. Behavior Development b

  2. Learning • Learning is a change in an animal’s behavior linked to a particular experience it has • Brain properties change by gene and environmental interactions

  3. Learning • Forms of learning • Imprinting • Specialized learning • Variation in learning behavior • Environmental influences

  4. Imprinting • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OynlzqtxmY • Why would this behavior be adaptive?

  5. Imprinting • Occurs when a young animal’s early social interactions lead to learning • Functions • Recognition of parents in animals with preccocial young (ex geese) • Recognition of an appropriate sexual partner • Dependence of recognition on recognition • Young animal must see model to recognize it • Learning is flexible- model does not need to look like parent or even same species

  6. Konrad Lorenz • Imprinting in Greylag Geese • Imprint on humans • Later preferred Humans as mates • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UIU9XH-mUI • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK65euK1FGU

  7. Great Tits & Blue Tits Imprinting has different effects among species

  8. Imprinting has Different Effects Among Species • When cross imprinted • Some individuals became imprinted on opposite species • None of the Great Tits mated with a member of it’s own species • Formed a mate preference based on imprinted foster parent • Most of Blue Tits mated within it’s own species • Exhibited a different developmental interaction

  9. Specialized Learning • Memory formation to aid in finding food

  10. Clark’s Nutcracker

  11. Clark’s Nutcracker • Whack cones of Whitebark pine • Also eats limber pine seeds • Seed pouch under tongue • Distribute seeds in Caches • Cache more than they will retrieve • Hides up to 38,000 of seeds per season • Up to 5,000 separate caches • Up to 20 miles away • Buries seeds in fall downslope • In winter will retrieve

  12. Clark’s Nutcracker

  13. Clark’s Nutcracker • Nutcrackers able to relocate caches with up to 80% accuracy • Recall memory for months • Use landmarks to relocate caches

  14. Nutcracker torture!

  15. White Bark Pine

  16. Seeds germinate in clusters Un-retrieved caches create new stands

  17. Learning varies among members of the same species • Chickadees in Alaska require fewer inspections to locate food stores that the same species in Colorado • What causes variation among individuals?

  18. Factors that Influence the Development of Learned Behavior • Environmental • Genetic

  19. Environmental Differences • Individuals can learn based on their interactions as young • Interactions with siblings can shape behavior • Kin recognition • Used to identify closely related individuals from potential rivals • Cues such as olfaction & sight can be used as recognition cues

  20. Polistes Paper Wasps • Paper wasps use both olfactory cues to recognize individuals from the same nest • Females are also able to recognize facial markings • Individuals with altered face markings were attacked more frequently

  21. Belding’s Ground Squirrels

  22. Belding’s Ground Squirrels

  23. Belding’s Ground Squirrels • Lives in subalpine and alpine communities • Meadows • Social ground squirrel • Females remain, males disperse • Closely related females help raise and protect each others offspring • Prey species lifestyle • Aerial predators such as hawks • Ground predators such as weasels • Colonial living aids in protection

  24. Kin Recognition • Kin recognition critical • Helps identify closely related for assistance • Ability to recognize intruders • Prevents inbreeding • Strong selection pressure favoring genes that code for recognition behaviors

  25. Kin Recognition • Signals used to identify kin include • Scent • Appearance

  26. Ground Squirrel Musical Chairs • Newborn Ground squirrels were moved from their nests into 4 groups • Siblings reared apart • Siblings reared together • Non-siblings raised apart • Non-siblings raised together

  27. Belding’s Ground Squirrel Torture! • After raised in their respective groups ground squirrels were placed in an arena to test their ability to recognize each other • Recognition was measure using levels of aggression • Aggression indicates less kin recognition

  28. What would you predict? • Siblings reared apart • Siblings reared together • Non-siblings raised apart • Non-siblings raised together

  29. Individuals learn based on their olfactory interactions as young • Ground squirrels raised together learned each others smell and were less aggressive towards each other • Independent of whether they were siblings • Ground squirrels raised separately tended to be more aggressive toward each other

  30. Have we met? • Biological sisters raised apart had fewer aggressive interactions than nonsiblings raised apart • Indicates siblings have a secondary learned behavior for recognizing kin

  31. Kin Discrimination

  32. Why are Females more Discriminating in their Sense of Smell?

  33. Armpit Effect • Animals have ability to recognize relatives they have never met before • Individuals can learn their own olfactory profile • Self recognition provides a reference to compare other individual’s smells to • Individuals who smell similar are more closely related, whereas individuals that smell less similar are less closely related

  34. Chemical Communication • Oral and dorsal glands • Nasal investigation • Scent mark behavior • 5 odors that are individually distinct

  35. Scent Discrimination • Individuals learn to recognize their own scent • Spend more time sniffing less closely related relatives

  36. Ultimate Causation • Kin Recognition by using scent discrimination allows Belding’s ground squirrels in order to • Helps identify closely related for assistance • Ability to recognize intruders • Prevents inbreeding

  37. Genetic Differences • Some behavioral phenotypes can be determined by a genetic component • Alleles that code for behavioral differences can be selected for or against by natural selection to maximize fitness

  38. Western Terrestrial Garter SnakeThamnophis elegans

  39. Western Terrestrial Garter SnakeThamnophis elegans • Highly variable in habitat • Can be found near water or away from water • Feeds on a wide array of food sources • Slugs, worms, leeches, tadpoles, frogs, fish, insects, lizards, small birds

  40. Western Terrestrial Garter Snake Populations • Coastal and inland snake populations exhibit variation in their diet preference • Inland population • Lives in arid habitats near lakes and streams • Feed primarily on fish and frogs • Coastal populations • Lives in moist coast ranges • Feed primarily on banana slugs Is variation in prey preference genetic?

  41. Garter Snake Prey Preference Experiment • Pregnant snakes from both coastal and inland populations were brought into lab • Immediately after birth offspring were isolated • Controlling for environmental learning influences • After several days each snake offspring was offered a segment of Banana slug • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92InYz1cU2o

  42. Garter Snake populations exhibit Prey Preference • Feeding score indicates how many days a snake ate the offered slug • A score of 10 indicates slug was eaten every offering • Coastal slugs exhibited greater likelihood of eating slug than inland garter

  43. Garter Snake populations exhibit Prey Preference

  44. What happens if Garter snakes are offered multiple prey options?

  45. The Tadpole vs Slug Taste Test • Newborn garter snakes are offered cotton swabs with different prey “juice” • Snakes were offered swab for 1 minute • Preference was measured by number of tongue flicks What?

  46. Tongue Flicking in Snakes • Tongue flicking is a sensory-gathering behavior • Olfaction • Tongue flicks are used during prey trailing, foraging, mate searching • Chemical molecules gathered by the tongue are delivered to the Vomeronasal organ on roof of mouth

  47. Tongue Flicking in Snakes • Ability to triangulate chemical cues in the environment is maximized by: • Waving tongue in the air to detect vertical gradients • Forked tongue increases sensitivity to chemical gradients in the environment • Tongue flicking rate http://vimeo.com/1206868

  48. Vomeronasal Organ • AKA Jacobsen’s organ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzC8DZK0aT4

  49. The Tadpole vs Slug Taste Test • There was no difference in preference to toad tadpole samples • i.e. Both populations had about the same number of tongue flicks to the tadpole covered cotton swab • Coastal garter snakes showed higher preference to slug samples • i.e. Coastal population had a significantly higher number of tongue flicks to the slug covered cotton swab • Genetic crosses of both populations indicated that this prey preference was being driven by a variation in alleles

  50. How Could Prey Preference Variation Occurred? • Remember the bell shaped curve? • A rare slug feeding allele could have become more prevalent in the coastal population • Hypothesis- Garter snakes with rare slug eating allele were able to gain a fitness advantage because they could acquire more energy from eating a slug than a snake eating a tadpole Selection Pressure

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