Summary: Animal Behavior

Read the summary and the most important questions on Animal behavior

• 1 Introduction to animal behavior

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• What arre ultimate questions?

  = about the consequence of the behavior
  - evolution
  - function
  - phylogeny

• What arer the 4 why's of tinbergen?

  
  proximate questions:1. Causation -> what makes an individual show a certain behavior
  - direct stimuli that trigger a behavior
  2. Ontogeny (development of behavior) -> how did an individual develop the ability to show this behavior
  - how does a behavior change over an animals lifetime
  
  ultimate questions:
  3. Evolution -> how did this behavior evolve
  - evolutionary/phylogenetic history
  4. Function and survival value -> what is the function of the behavior
  - survival value -> differential reproductive fitness

• What is the defenition of behavior?

  Internally coordinated response of whole living organisms to an external and/or internal stimuli

• What causes reproductive isolation?

  1. Geograpic barrier
  2. Resourcce shifts
  3. Mate choice
  4. Genetic change

• What can you tell me about genetic variation?

  = a measure of the variation in phenotype that is due to all variation in genotype
  - two types of genetic variation:
  1. Additive genetic variation = the proportion of genetic variation that is due to differences among alleles that sum together
  2. Non-additive genetic variation = results from interactions between genes and from gene dominance 

• 2 animal communication

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• What are the different ways for animals to show communnication?

  - sound
  - colour
  - gesture
  - smell

• What are cost of signals?

  - physical challenge -> low-quality animals may not have the time or energy to invest in giving a big signal 
  - physical status
  - social punishment -> when dishonest 

• What can you tell me about communication network?

  = mixture of signalers, receivers, and eavesdroppers
  - eavesdroppers can benefit because these signals often contain information on the phenotype of the signaler and receiver  
  -> Eavesdroppers can learn about potential competitors, potential allies or mates, and predators 
  - eavesdroppers can also affect behaviour of signalers -> audience effect =. When a signaler is aware that it is being observed it can change what it is trying to signal + how it is trying to signal this 

• What arre the three types of complex signals?

  1. Referential signals -> signals referring to something external, in the external environment
  2. Signature signals -> signals referring to a specific individual (names in humans)
  3. Syntax -> rules about the order of signals and how this affect meaning

• What are the 2 transmission characteristics of the environment?

  1. Attenuation
  -> spherical spread
  -> excess attenuation
  2. Degradation
  -> frequency-dependent attenuation
  -> reverberation (sound smears out in time)