Summary of the study material of the book "Animal Behavior; Concepts, methods and applications (3rd edition; 2021)", used in the course Behavioural Biology, given in 2021/2022.
Chapter 1: The science of animal behaviour
Animal behaviour: any internally coordinated, externally visible pattern of activity that responds
to changing external or internal conditions.
- Internally coordinated refers to internal information processing such as endocrine
signalling, sensory information processing or the action of neurotransmitters.
- Externally visible activity refers to patterns that we can observe and measure.
Animal’s behavioural response to changing conditions can be observed. Eg. reaction in
changing the environment in day length, temperature or moisture at specific times of the year.
In order to understand behaviour, it must be measured following the same rules. Therefore an
ethogram is used with a formal description of the animal’s characteristics. It lists defined,
discrete behaviours that a particular species exhibits. It can be used to show:
- How many times a behaviour occurs (frequency)
- The length of a behaviour (duration)
- The frequency of the behaviour per unit time (rate)
- The vigor or forcefulness of the behaviour (intensity)
From these observations a researcher can determine both the total and relative time that an
animal engaged in each behaviour → the measure of the behaviour divided by overall time
spent observing the animal → this results in a time budget that indicates the total time and
relative frequency of each behaviour.
Stereotypic behaviour = captivity-induced behavioural anomalies → used as index of the welfare
of captive animals.
Tinbergen’s four questions:
- Proximate explanation: focus on understanding the immediate causes of a behaviour.
These explanations often incorporate studies of genetics, sensory systems, neurons,
hormones and learning. Proximate explanation deals with Development and Mechanism
- Ultimate explanation: require evolutionary reasoning and analysis. Ultimate explanation
deals with Function and Evolution.
Behaviorists like pavlov studied behaviour of captive animals:
Conditional reflex: conditioning occurs whenever a novel stimulus is paired with an existing
stimulus and elicits a particular response.
Operant chamber = skinner boxes → house a single animal so that the behaviour could be
modified by pairing a particular behaviour with either a reward or a punishment. Behaviour could
be enhanced or reduced → this is called operant conditioning → animal learns to associate a
behaviour with a particular consequence (either positive or negative).
Ethologists study the behaviour of wild animals by observation and experimentation. Ethologists
assume that natural selection has shaped brain architecture and thought processes in an
adaptive manner. They also seek to understand how natural selection has acted on mental
processes and cognition in order to better understand the behaviour of animals.
, Classical ethologists tend to focus on proximate questions, while behavioral ecologists often
emphasize ultimate explanations of behaviour.
Chapter 2: Methods for studying animal behaviour
Animal behaviour scientists test hypotheses to answer research questions about behaviour.
These hypotheses / questions can be based on earlier observations, prior research, a theory
etc. Hypotheses can also be based on mathematical models. Models generate predictions
about behaviours that can maximise an individual’s fitness for example. The advantage of
analytical models is that they allow scientists to easily manipulate their assumptions to produce
new predictions.
Handling time / food-processing time: important factor for analytical models (think about
squirrel example) → as handling time increases, so does the antipredator benefit in carrying a
food item to safety.
Researchers use observational, experimental and comparative methods to study behaviour.
3 common methods used in behavioural research are the observational, experimental and
comparative methods. Important to note that numerous protocols or data collection techniques
can be used with each method + often more than one method is used during a study.
The observational method: scientists observe and record behaviour of an organism without
manipulating the environment of the animal. This method is used both to test hypotheses and to
describe behavioural patterns. Observational method often used to study stereotypical
behaviour because behaviour is often an important indicator of wellbeing or stress level of an
animal. Researchers studying wild animals also use observation method to test hypotheses
Disadvantage of observational method: causality often unclear.
The experimental method: scientists manipulate / change a variable to examine how it affects
the behaviour of an animal. The variable that is changed is called the independent variable, and
it can be anything that we can measure, control or manipulate (e.g. biotic or abiotic). Then
changes in the dependent variable are measured, that occur in response to changes in the
independent variable. During these experiments, it is essential to include a control group. Only
1 factor differs between experimental group and control group.
Advantage of experimental method: Direction of causality is clear
Comparative method: scientists examine differences and similarities between species to
understand the evolution of behaviours. Often, closely related species that share similar
behavioural adaptations are compared. By comparing the behaviour it is possible to understand
whether a behaviour is ancestral or derived. When using the comparative method, knowledge
about relatedness, phylogeny and genetics is required.
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