Animal behavior

1. Animal Behavior
The things animals do….

2. Animal Behavior Vocabulary
 Ethology = study of animal behavior
 Behavior = action performed in response
to stimulus
Whale tail

3. Vocabulary
 Stimulus = something that elicits a
response
Examples of stimuli?
Sight
Touch
Smell
Taste
Sound

4. Stimuli
 External Stimulus =
something
outside the animal
e.g. sound, sight, smell, etc,
presence of another animal

5. Stimuli
 Internal Stimulus =
something inside the animal
e.g. hunger, fatigue, feeling cold,
hormones

6. Vocabulary
 Anthropomorphism =
attributing human emotions to animals
★We need to be careful about ascribing
human emotions to animals
E.g. the animal is happy

7. Types of behaviors
 Genetic / Innate
 Foraging
 Parental care
 Courtship
 Reproductive
 Offensive / defensive
 Territorial
 Migratory
 Social
 Inprinting
 Curosity
 Resting
 Elimination
 Learning
 Imprinting
 Habituation
 Classical conditioning
 Operant conditioning
 Reasoning

8. Types of Behavior
1. Foraging = feeding
e.g. locate, obtain
& consume food

9. Types of Behavior
2. Parental Care =
ensuring survival of young
e.g. carrying, nursing,
cuddling, holding young

10. Types of Behavior
3. Courtship = attracting a mate
e.g. courtship displays, bright feathers, songs, other
vocalizations, head butting, fighting

11. Courtship

12. Types of Behavior
4. Reproductive =
e.g. mating, giving birth

13. Types of Behavior
5. Offensive/Defensive =
aggression, submissive behavior,
defense from aggressors
e.g. hiding, fighting, escape, threatening

14. Types of Behavior
6. Territorial = protect a resource for
exclusive use
e.g. scenting / marking, birdsong,
protection of mate / offspring,
space, food or water source

15. Types of Behavior
7. Social = work to create
alliances, help the group
e.g. grooming, babysitting,
defense of musk ox young,
play, play fight

16. Types of Behavior
8. Migratory = movement to a more
suitable environment as seasons
change
e.g. dry vs. rainy seasons,
winter vs. summer range
for browsers & birds
e.g. salmon upriver to spawn,
artic tern –
1800 m from
Arctic
to Antarctic,
2x/year

17. Types of Behavior
9. Communication =
signaling between one animal & another
 Greeting e.g. sniff, hug, kiss “bite”
 Aggression e. g. charge, bite, hit, fight, etc.
 Non-aggression e.g. patting, head butting,
stroking

18. Types of Behavior
10. Curiosity = investigating
new stimulus in environment
e.g. approach, sniff, chew, bite, mount

19. Types of Behavior
11. Elimination = defecation, urination

20. Types of Behavior
12. Resting = apparent inaction
e.g. lying down, sitting, basking,
sleeping, loafing

21. Types of Behavior
13. Play
Purpose = training for life
(defense, hunting,
etc)

22. Types of Behavior Development
2. Learning
 development of behaviors through
experience
 determines final shape of innate
behaviors
 5 types of learning

23. Types of Learning
1. Imprinting (both innate & learned)
 occurs only during a critical time frame
 once learned, can’t be changed
(see Conrad Lorenz with ducklings)

24. Imprinting

25. Types of Learning
2. Habituation
Animal learns to ignore frequent,
harmless stimulus
 E.g. scarecrow, habituation to observer

26. Types of Learning
3 Classical Conditioning
Animal learns to associate unrelated
response with a stimulus
 E.g. Pavlov’s experiments
 bell ringing, food,  salivation
 bell ringing, salivation (even if no food is
given)
+ + 

27. Classical Conditioning
E.g. 1. leash = going for a walk,
excitement
2. sight of leash = excitement

29. Types of Learning
4. Operant Conditioning and 5th Reasoning
 Animal learns to behave in a certain way
through repeated practice
 Trial & error learning – animal tests
conditions for desired response
e.g. Skinner box
 Animal learns that a behavior gets a certain
response
 e.g. rat presses lever, gets food

31. Can primates reason?
 Primates? yes
 e.g. chimp, bananas, boxes

32. Can primates reason?