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Animal Behavior exam Flashcards

Animal Behavior exam
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  • Innate Behavior
    Genetically programmed behavior that occurs automatically.
  • What is proximate causation?
    It examines the mechanisms behind behaviors, such as genetic and neurological factors.
  • Ultimate Causation
    Explores the evolutionary significance and function of behaviors.
  • What is a fixed action pattern?
    A sequence of unlearned acts directly linked to a simple stimulus.
  • Foraging
    Food-seeking behaviors including searching, identifying, capturing, and eating food.
  • What is kin selection?
    An evolutionary strategy that favors the reproductive success of an organism's relatives.
  • Monogamy
    A mating system where one male mates with one female.
  • What is a cognitive map?
    A mental representation of the spatial relationships between objects in an animal's surroundings.
  • Polygamy
    A mating system where an individual of one sex mates with multiple individuals of the opposite sex.
  • What is altruism?
    A behavior that benefits another individual at a cost to the actor.
  • Sexual Selection
    A type of natural selection where individuals select mates based on certain traits.
  • What is imprinting?
    A form of learning where young animals recognize and follow the first moving object they see, usually their parent.
  • Sign Stimulus
    An external sensory cue that triggers a fixed action pattern.
  • What is the optimal foraging model?
    A model that predicts how an animal behaves when searching for food, balancing energy gain and expenditure.
  • Pheromones
    Chemical signals released into the environment to communicate with other members of the same species.
  • What is mate choice copying?
    A phenomenon where individuals are more likely to mate with a partner that has been chosen by others.
  • Spatial Learning
    The establishment of a memory that reflects the environment's spatial structure.
  • What is reciprocal altruism?
    A behavior where an organism acts in a way that temporarily reduces its fitness while increasing another organism's fitness, with the expectation of a future return.
  • Fixed Action Pattern
    A sequence of behaviors that are unchangeable and usually carried to completion once initiated.
  • What is a stimulus-response chain?
    A series of behaviors where each behavior is triggered by the preceding stimulus.
  • Behavioral Ecology
    The study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior.
  • What is the coefficient of relatedness?
    A measure of the proportion of genes shared between individuals.
  • Mating Systems
    The way in which mating and sexual behavior are structured in a population.
  • What is inclusive fitness?
    An organism's genetic success is believed to be derived from cooperation and altruistic behavior.
  • Migration
    Long-distance movement of a population, often associated with seasonal changes.
  • What is a sign stimulus?
    A specific external trigger that elicits a fixed action pattern.
  • Learned Behavior
    Behavior that is acquired or modified as a result of experience.
  • What is Hamilton's rule?
    A principle stating that altruistic behavior is favored by natural selection if the benefit to the recipient, multiplied by the coefficient of relatedness, exceeds the cost to the actor.
  • Proximate Causation
    The immediate, mechanistic cause of a behavior.