This document summarizes key concepts about behavioral adaptations from Chapter 35, including different types of social behaviors such as monogamy, polygamy, and promiscuity. It discusses environmental cues that trigger behaviors, and distinguishes between proximate and ultimate causes of behavior. Specific examples are provided to illustrate concepts like imprinting, spatial learning, associative learning, problem solving, communication, social behaviors like cooperation and aggression, and altruism. Genetic and environmental factors that influence traits such as intelligence and personality are also mentioned.

1. CHAPTER 35 REVIEW
Behavioral Adaptations to the Environment

2. Of Mice & Monogamy
 Behavioral Ecology: the study of behavior in
an evolutionary context
 Promiscuous: multiple partners and form no
long lasting bonds
 Polygamous: An individual of one sex mates
with several of the other
 Monogamous: form a bond with a single
partner; both partners care for the offspring
 Prairie Vole vs. Meadow Voles; Genetic
factors

3. 35.1
 Stimuli: Environmental cues that cause a
response
 Proximate causes: answers to questions about
the immediate mechanism for a behavior (How
a behavior occurs.)
 Ultimate causes: evolutionary explanations to
behavior (Why a behavior occurs.)

4. 35.2
 Innate behavior: under strong genetic control
and perfomed virtually the same way by all
members of the species
 Fixed Action Pattern: unchangeable series of
actions triggered by a specific stimulus
 Ex. Baby birds and adult birds

5. 35.5
 Imprinting: learning that is limited o a specific
time period in an animals life and that is
generally irreversible.
 Ex. G raylag G e e se & Ko nrad Lo re nz

6. 35.7
 Spatial Learning: establishing memories of
landmarks in the environment that indicate the
locations of food, nest sites, prospective
mates, and potential hazards.
 Ex. Tingenberg & Digger wasp

7. 35.8
 Cognitive maps: internal representation or
code of the spatial relationships among
objects in an animals surroundings.
 Migration: the regular back & forth of animals
between two geographic areas.
 Ex. Gray Whales & Indigo Bunting (bird)

8. 35.9 & 35.10
 Associative Learning: ability to associate on
environmental feature with another
 Ex. Cat hears sound of can opening
 Trial & errorlearning: learns to associate one
of its own behaviors with a positive or negative
effect.
 Ex. Coyotes & Porcupines
 Social Learning: learning by observing the
behavior of others
 Ex. Vervet monkey calls (eagle, snake, leopard)

9. 35.11
 Cognition: process carries out by an animal’s
nervous system to percieve ,store, intergrate
and use information gathered by the senses
 Problem solving: process of applying past
experience to overcome obstacles in novel
situations
 Ex. Chimpanzee in room

10. 35.13
 Signal: a stimulus transmitted by one animal to
another
 Communication: The sending of, reception of,
and response to signals
 Diurnal (day) vs Nocturnal (night)
 Honeybees

11. 35.17-35.19
 Social Behavior: any kind of interaction between
two or more animals usually of the same species
 Ex. Aggression & Cooperation
 Territory: an area, usually in a fixed location,
which individuals defend and from which other
members of the same species are excluded
 Ex. Male cheetah
 Agnostic behavior: threats, rituals, and combat
that determine which competitor gains access to a
resource
 Ex. Rattlesnakes

12. 35.20
 Dominance hierarchy: a ranking of individuals
based on social interactions
 Ex. Chickens

13. 35.22
 Altruism: a behavior that reduces and
individual’s fitness while increasing the fitness
of others in the population.
 Honeybees
 Kin selection: natural selection favoring
altruistic behavior that benefits relatives
 Honeybees

14. 35.23
 For behavioral traits such as general
intelligence and personality characteristics,
genetic differences account for roughly half
the variation among individuals. The
remainder of the variation can be attributed
mostly to each individual’s unique
environment.
 Ex. Twins