国外动物学36.ppt

Animal Behavior Chapter 36 What Is Behavior? Behavior is what an animal does and how it does it. Learning is also considered a behavioral process. Pioneers of ethology: Proximate vs. Ultimate Causes The scientific questions that can be asked about behavior can be divided into two classes: Those that focus on the immediate stimulus and mechanism for the behavior. Those that explore how the behavior contributes to survival and reproduction. Proximate and Ultimate Questions Proximate, or “how”, questions about behavior focus on the environmental stimuli that trigger a behavior. Focus on the genetic, physiological, and anatomical mechanisms underlying a behavioral act. Proximate and Ultimate Questions Ultimate, or “why”, questions about behavior address the evolutionary significance of a behavior. Ethology Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, particularly in natural environments. Behavioral Ecology The modern scientific discipline of behavioral ecology extends observations of animal behavior by studying: how such behavior is controlled and how it develops, evolves, and contributes to survival and reproductive success. Sociobiology Human culture is related to evolutionary theory in the distinct discipline of sociobiology. Human behavior, like that of other species is the result of interactions between genes and environment. Ethology – basic concepts Lorenz and Tinbergen (1938) examined egg-rolling behavior in the greylag goose. If the egg slipped away, she continued the motion. Once started, the behavior must be completed in a specific way. Stereotypical behavior Fixed Action Patterns A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a sequence of unlearned, innate behaviors that is unchangeable. Once initiated, it is usually carried to completion. Fixed Action Patterns A FAP is triggered by an external sensory stimulus known as a sign stimulus. The egg, for example. Fixed Action Patterns In male sticklebacks, the sign stimulus for attack behavior, is the red underside o