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Foundations of Animal Behaviour Roz Dakin Niaux Caves, France We've Foundations of animal behaviour Niaux caves, France Roz Dakin [email protected] 10-15,000 years ago Montgomerie Lab people travelled 5 km deep into tunnels... Room 4325 Biosciences (moving to 3520) We’ve always observed animals The course website roslyndakin.com/biol321 Lecture notes posted here To download them before class, answer the latest poll on the course blog The course website Breakdown roslyndakin.com/biol321 8% lab attendance and participation policies, schedule, syllabus 7% online discussion comments lab/assignment info 12.5% project 1 50% course blog 22.5% project 2 labs + assignments 15% midterm 1 50% tests • updates 15% midterm 2 • discussions 20% final test BIOL_321F on Moodle Foundations of animal behaviour • we’ll use this site to hand in project reports (these must be in pdf format) History of the field • we’ll also use Moodle for posting grades What are we studying, anyway? How do we study it? Some things we got right... Ethology comes of age in the 30s Ethology: the study of the behaviour of animals First written records of in their natural habitats mutualism and brood (from Greek) parasitism Ethos = character or habit ...but he believed some goats that live near the Logia = the study of sea never drink Aristotle 384-322 BC Ethology comes of age in the 30s Karl von Frisch Founding fathers: Honeybee social organization & communication Karl von Frisch, Konrad Lorenz Worked on the waggle dance from 1920s-40s & Niko Tinbergen Konrad Lorenz Niko Tinbergen Pioneering studies of genetically programmed Puzzled and fascinated by the navigational behaviours (instincts) in birds abilities of digger wasps (c. 1929) Studied imprinting in greylag geese in the 1930s Concept of a critical period How does a beewolf find its nest? Tinbergen’s big contribution Tinbergen solved this using the scientific How do we study behaviour? method, some paint and a few pine cones We can ask 4 questions: • What factors (internal and external) lead to a particular behaviour at that time? Causation • How does the behaviour of an animal change as it matures? Development • How does the behaviour help improve survival and reproduction? Function • How has the behaviour changed over evolutionary time? Evolution Tinbergen’s big contribution Two categories of causation How do we study behaviour? We can ask 4 questions: 1. How is this behaviour caused? • What factors (internal and external) lead to a 2. How does the behaviour develop? particular behaviour at that time? Causation • How does the behaviour of an animal change Proximate causes as it matures? Development • How does the behaviour help improve survival 3. Why do animals exhibit this behaviour? and reproduction? Function 4. Why did this behaviour evolve? • How has the behaviour changed over evolutionary time? Evolution Ultimate causes Roaches and frogs Sensory tails (cerci) react to air movement How do cockroaches evade predators? Roaches adjust their reactions Reaction helps prevent capture • Does a very young cockroach The escape response has a built in delay: 44 ms show escape response? A toad commits to direction within the first 44 ms Yes! seconds of attack • How does the nervous system develop to ensure proper timing and direction of flight? It can adjust: if an adult looses one cercus, it can relearn escape. Cerci are present in related insects Why do gulls tidy up? No fossil record Blackheaded gulls remove egg shells from Comparison with other species their nests after the offspring hatch in same family: Orthopteroid insects • All have cercus-like structures • All have similar nervous structures This particular response evolved soon after first insect Tinbergen proposed hypotheses White egg shells = more vulnerable Shells might damage young Eggs not taken Eggs taken Shells might make brooding 100 difficult Shells might harbour disease Shells might attract predators 50 Percentage 0 White eggs Natural eggs Treatment Shells indicate presence of nests Why do blackheaded gulls tidy up? Eggs not taken White eggs are preyed upon more Eggs taken 100 Egg shells indicate nest presence to predators Note that Tinbergen’s predictions were based on specific hypotheses: 50 • If white colour attracts predators, white Percentage eggs should be preyed upon more than mottled (natural) eggs 0 • If removal of egg shells protects chicks, 15 cm 100 cm 200 cm the further away the shells are from the Distance from nest nest, the better (due to reduced predation) How do we answer these questions? Three approaches to studying behaviour We’ll consider 3 foundations Summary Natural selection: • We can ask questions about proximate and differential survival due to ultimate causes of behaviour variable, heritable traits • We approach these questions using empirical, Learning: changes in theoretical and conceptual methods behaviour during an • Interpretations are based on natural selection, animal’s lifetime due to learning and cultural transmission experience Cultural transmission: copying behaviour from Next time: Darwin’s contributions... other individuals This week in Animal Behaviour Lecture 1: Intro Lecture 2: Foundations of animal behaviour Lecture 3: Evolution and natural selection NO LABS Get textbook, read Chapters 1 & 2 Explore the course website Watch animals!.
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