Animal Behavior/Scope
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Contents |
[edit] The Aims and Scope of Animal Behavior
This article is a stub. You can help Wikibooks by expanding this section of the Animal Behavior Book. In the meantime please consult Wikipedia in this subject.[edit] Tinbergen's 4 Aims
Niko Tinbergen's legacy as a co-founder of Ethology and exceptionally gifted experimentalist include the phrasing of four different types of questions that can be asked of any animal behavior.
[edit] Internal Mechanism, Proximate Causation
Causes that explain how a behavior is elicited and coordinated. What are the anatomical or physiological mechanisms that underly the behavior? The behavior is present because the nervous system makes it happen. It includes a search for the impact of genetic components, physiological mechanisms, environmental conditions needed, and hormones on behavior. Examples include our understanding of the neural machinery for crayfish escape behavior, the role of vasopressin in mate choice of prairie and meadow voles, etc.
[edit] Survival Value, Ultimate Causation
Explanations are phrased as ultimate causes that explain why a behavior has evolved. Selection ought to favor individuals with behaviors that help it increase its reproductive success. The behavior is present because the individual inherited them from parents who were historically successful with this behavior.. This includes a search for functional significance or adaptiveness of behavior. Examples: Dominance in elephant seals, etc.
[edit] Phylogeny, Evolution
What were the macroevolutionary patterns of changes that lead to the behavior today?
Phylogeny is the study of evolutionary relatedness among groups of organisms as It treats a species as a group of lineage-connected individuals over time. It attempts to historically characterize the branching processes in which breeding populations have changed over time. The ethologist's view holds that behavioral characteristics, which receive at least a partial genetic contribution, and can be viewed in a phylogenetic perspective like any other morphological trait. The behavior is present because the individual is an offspring from ancestors that had the behavior. Examples: Courtship displays in ducks, etc.
[edit] Ontogeny, Development
How does the behavior develop and change during the lifespan of a single individual? The behavior is present because the individual developed an ability to do it this way. Examples: Examples: Human language learning, etc.
[edit] Examples
[edit] Escape Behavior in Crayfish
This is a stub about a specific behavior. You can help Wikibooks by expanding this section of the Animal Behavior Book.[edit] Territoriality in Red-winged Blackbirds
[edit] Mate Fidelity in Prairie and Meadow Voles
[edit] References
- Tinbergen, Nikolaas 1963. On the aims and methods of ethology. (Z. Tierpsychol. 20:410-433)
