bio final

• proximate explanations: mechanistic, identifies the physiological reasons of why an animal exhibits a behavior
• ultimate explanations: evolutionary explanations of why and how this behavior evolved over time
• proximate explanations

  • causation and development
  • how explanations
• ultimate explanations

  • why explanations
  • adaptive function and evolutionary history
• causation


  what physiological mechanisms cause the behavior
• development


  how does the behavior develop
• adaptive function


  how does the behavior promote the individuals ability to survive and reproduce
• evolutionary history


  how did the behavior evolve over time
• innate behaviors

  • instinctive behaviors
  • genetically derived and often preprogrammed based on gene expression
  • can be influenced by the environment
• learned behaviors

  • behaviors that are primarily the result of experience or conditioning
• behaviors are triggered by stimuli

  • rely on specialized sensory detectors
  • only appropriate stimulus will trigger behavior
  • stimuli response is often mediated by hormones and rely on genetic controls
• communication:


  transfer of information between two individuals, the sender and reciever
• many innate behaviors are associated with biological clocks
• circadian clocks:

  • daily rhythms
  • feeding, sleeping, hormone production, body core temperature
• lunar clocks

  • monthly rhythms
  • behavioral changes associated with tides
• annual clocks

  • yearly/seasonal rhythms
  • seasonal physiological or behavioral changes
• types of communication:

  • visual
  • auditory
  • electrical
  • chemical
  • mechanical
• stereotyped behaviors: fixed action patterns
• fixed action patterns


  a sequence of stereotyped behaviors that once triggered, are followed through completion
• fixed action patterns

  • set of fixed steps of sequence
  • follow through completion
  • susceptible to supernormal stimulus
• non-associative learning


  learning without immediate reward or punishment

  • habituation
  • sensitization
• habituation


  reduction or elimination of behaviors to a repeated stimulus

  • blender noise tolerance, urban wildlife interactions with humans
• sensitization


  enhancement of a response to a stimulus by a previous strong or novel stimulus first

  • fear of something after a terrifying experience
• associative learning


  learning when two events are linked

  • classical conditioning
  • operant conditioning
• classical conditioning

  • neutral stimulus that results in a reward, causes a behavior
  • after repeated exposure, the neutral stimulus causes the behavior even in the absence of the reward
• operant conditioning

  • learning following either positive or negative reinforcement
  • positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behavior
  • negative reinforcement decreases the likelihood of the behavior
• cooperation

  • altruism
  • reciprocal altruism
  • kin selection
• altruism


  act of self-sacrifice that helps others
• reciprocal altruism


  help one another out with the expectation that the other will reciprocate the favor

  • usually only occurs in animals that live in groups with close associations and recognition among individuals
• kin selection


  help of close relative or kin
• kin selection


  help to maximize total fitness

  • direct fitness: your offspring
  • indirect fitness: offspring of close relatives
• why would it be beneficial to help others

  • get help in return (reciprocal altruism)
  • increase total fitness (kin selection)
• who are you more likely to cooperate with

  • individuals that retribute the help (reciprocal altruism)
  • closely related individuals (kin selection)
• cooperation


  behavior to help other individuals
• ecology


  study of the interactions of organisms with their environment and with other organisms
• interaction with other organisms = biotic factors
• interaction with the environment = abiotic factors
• population ecology


  factors that influence population growth
• community ecology


  species interactions within an environment and how it affects population growth
• global ecology


  species effects on communities across the globe (Anthropocene)