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Behavior

Behavior. What is behavior?. Behavior can be considered any response to a stimulus . More broadly behavior can be considered what an organism does and how it does it. Niko Tinbergen defined behavior as “the total movements made by the intact animal.”.

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Behavior

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  1. Behavior

  2. What is behavior? • Behavior can be considered any response to a stimulus. • More broadly behavior can be considered what an organism does and how it does it. • Niko Tinbergen defined behavior as “the total movements made by the intact animal.”

  3. Bacterial “behavior”: Quorum Sensing • Aliivibriovischeri is a bacteria that can either be found free living in the ocean, or within the mantle of the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid. • When large numbers of vischeri are concentrated together within the mantle of the squid, they glow (bioluminescence) • Free living vischeri do not glow.

  4. Tropism – Plant “behavior” • Growth in a direction either towards (positive) or away from (negative) a stimulus • Photo- light • Gravi- gravity • Chemo- chemicals • Hydro – water • Thigmo – Touch or contact

  5. Animal Behavior • What an animal does and how it does it • Includes both motor components and concepts such as learning and memory

  6. Every behavior has both an ultimate and a proximate cause • Proximate causes – the stimulus that activates a behavior • Ultimate causes – ask why a behavior originated, what adaptive benefit does it produce?

  7. Nature or Nurture? • Which determines behavior, an organism’s genes or an organism’s environment?

  8. Nature or Nurture?

  9. Nature or nurture? • Both • All behavior is at least in part controlled by genetics and at least in part controlled by the environment an organism finds itself in. • A better question may be to what degree is a trait genetic or to what degree is a trait environmental?

  10. Instinct • Instincts are behaviors that are considered developmentally fixed • All individuals exhibit the same behavior despite environmental differences

  11. Fixed Action Patterns • A behavioral act, initially by a sign stimulus, that is unchangeable.

  12. Supernormal stimulus

  13. Code breaking

  14. The Four Questions • Proposed by Niko Tinbergen • 1. What are the stimuli that elicit the response? (Mechanism) • 2. How does the behavior change over time and how is behavior affected by environment? (Development/Ontogeny) • 3. How does the behavior impact survival and reproduction? (Adaptation) • 4. How does the behavior compare with that of similar species? (Phylogeny)

  15. The Four Questions • 1. What are the stimuli that elicit the response? (Mechanism) • 2. How does the behavior change over time and how is behavior affected by environment? (Development/Ontogeny) • 3. How does the behavior impact survival and reproduction? (Adaptation) • 4. How does the behavior compare with that of similar species? (Phylogeny)

  16. Learning • Modification of behavior from experience • Learning can affect the efficacy of instincts

  17. Maturation • Maturation refers to refinement of an instinct with age, not with learning.

  18. Habituation • Simple learning • An organism stops responding to a stimulus if disturbed repeatedly with no payoff.

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