Introduction
Animal behavior physiology
Animal behaviour and physiology is the objective study
of how animals respond to and interact with the
environment and other biota. Understanding how
animals behave and adapt to external environments,
and why, is vital to many realms of science, but
particularly the environmental sciences of biology,
ecology, conservation, animal welfare and
biogeography. Key to this understanding is the process
by which adaptive responses arise through
evolutionary selection. The focus of this subject is
therefore to gain an understanding of the different
internal and external responses of animals and the
processes that drive their evolution. Emphasis is placed
on how adaptive responses enable species to survive
and reproduce, and how environmental change
favours or disfavours behaviours and physiologies.
Animal behaviour, the concept, broadly considered,
referring to everything animals do, including
movement and other activities and underlying mental
processes. Human fascination with animal behaviour
probably extends back millions of years, perhaps even
to times before the ancestors of the species became
human in the modern sense. Initially, animals were
probably observed for practical reasons because early
human survival depended on knowledge of animal
behaviour. Whether hunting wild game, keeping
domesticated animals, or escaping an attacking
predator, success required intimate knowledge of an
animal’s habits. Even today, information about animal
behaviour is of considerable importance. For example,
in Britain, studies on the social organization and the
ranging patterns of badgers (Meles meles) have helped
reduce the spread of tuberculosis among cattle, and
studies of sociality in foxes (Vulpes vulpes) assist in the
development of models that predict how quickly rabies
would spread should it ever cross the English Channel.
Likewise in Sweden, where collisions involving moose
(Alces alces) are among the most common traffic
accidents in rural areas, research on moose behaviour
has yielded ways of keeping them off roads and verges.
In addition, investigations of the foraging of insect
pollinators, such as honeybees, have led to impressive
increases in agricultural crop yields throughout the
world.
Even if there were no practical benefits to be gained
from learning about animal behaviour, the subject
would still merit exploration. Humans (Homo sapiens)
are animals themselves, and most humans are deeply
interested in the lives and minds of their fellow
humans, their pets, and other creatures. British
ethologist Jane Goodall and American field biologist
George Schaller, as well as British broadcaster David
Attenborough and Australian wildlife conservationist
Steve Irwin, have brought the wonders of animal
behaviour to the attention and appreciation of the
general public. Books, television programs, and movies
on the subject of animal behaviour abound.
All animals, including humans, exhibit some very
distinct - and often amusing - behaviors. In studying
animals, we often attribute defining distinctions
between them based upon their behaviors, just as
much or even more so than their anatomy. The study
of animal behavior is known as ethology, which
particularly emphasizes the natural environment that
influences the behaviors.
Think of the behavioral differences between a
domestic dog and a wolf - though they are very closely
related, their common behaviors are divided by human
influence. Understanding the dynamics of animal
behavior has important implications for the fields of
evolutionary biology, farming and agriculture, animal
husbandry, ecology, and psychology.
List of the Types of Animal Behavior
physiology
The study of animal behavior, called ethology, is a
broad field, encompassing both instinctual and learned
behaviors as well as abnormal behaviors. Within any
particular species of animal, certain behaviors may be
present in all members while others are more specific
to certain individuals, locations or situations. Even the
most simple of life forms exhibit behavioral activity,
and whether the behavior is normal or abnormal can
provide insight into their mental state.
Instinctual behavior
One type of instinctual behavior is fixed action
patterns, which are behaviors the animal is compelled
to engage in. For instance, some birds will raise the
chicks of other birds if the eggs are put in their nests
during nesting season, because caring for an egg is a
fixed action pattern. Another instinctual behavior is
imprinting, wherein a baby animal accepts a person, or
even an item, as a surrogate mother. Sexual behavior is
also instinctual, bolstered by play, which helps animals
learn courtship and mating skills. Many of these
behaviors are dictated by specific body systems, like
the nervous system, which responds to stimuli in the
environment.
Learned behavior
Learned behavior is important both for wild animals,
who must learn specific and new ways to survive, and
for domestic animals that we seek to train. Animals can
learn to anticipate that an action will have a
predictable outcome through trial and error, such as
dog learning to sit for a treat. This is called operant
conditioning. They can also learn that one event
precedes another, such as the sound of a metal food
bowl being moved signaling food being served, which is
known as associative learning. Animals also learn a lot
through watching others and mimicry. All of these
behaviors allow an animal to adapt to new situations
and problems.
Abnormal behavior
Identifying behavior patterns enables people to
determine when animals are behaving abnormally.
These abnormal behaviors might simply be annoying to
animal owners; however, in other instances they may
also be dangerous for the animal and others or even
threaten their very survival. For example,
inappropriately aggressive dogs, which might be
suffering from disease or trauma, are potentially
dangerous to themselves and others. The behavior
may be addressed if it is identified as abnormal and
normal behavior is reestablished. More important to
species survival are mating and raising offspring, and in
these cases abnormal behavior that leads to failure to
mate or care for offspring can present a threat to the
animal's long-term survival.
What Is Innate and Learned Animal
Behavior?
Animal behavior is what animals do or avoid doing. The
difference between an innate behavior and a learned
one is that innate behaviors are those an animal will
engage in from birth without any intervention. Learned
behavior is something an animal discovers through
trial, error and observation. Most learned behavior
comes from the teaching of the animal's parent or
through experimentation with its environment.
Innate Behavior
Instinct is a powerful force in the animal world. It
dictates the behaviors necessary for survival, especially
in species that don't get much guidance from their
parents. These behaviors are programmed into an
animal at a genetic level. An innate behavior is
inheritable, passing from generation to generation
through genes. It is also intrinsic, meaning that even an
animal raised in isolation will perform the behavior,
and stereotypic, meaning that it is done the same way
every time. Innate behaviors are also inflexible and are
not modified by experience. Finally, they are
consummate, which means that the behavior is fully
developed from the animal's birth.
Example of Innate Behavior
Sea turtle hatchlings provide one of the best examples
of innate behavior. They hatch never having seen their
parents, so there is no opportunity for acquiring
learned behavior. Yet, sea turtle hatchlings instinctively
dig their way out of the buried hatchery. Even though
this digging can take days, the hatchlings time
themselves so that they emerge at night, when they
are safest as they struggle toward the sea. There is no
parent present to tell them they must wait for nightfall
or that they must get to the sea. It is simply an innate
knowledge, an instinct that drives them to action.
Learned Behaviors
Learned behaviors come from experience and are not
present in an animal at its birth. Through trial and
error, memories of past experiences and observations
of others, animals learn to perform certain tasks.
Generally, learned behaviors are not inheritable and
must be taught to or learned by each individual. They
are extrinsic, meaning they don't occur in animals kept
isolated from others or away from the opportunity for
trial and error. They are permutable, meaning that
they can change over time, in contrast to the rigid
repetition of an innate behavior. Learned behaviors
can also be adapted to suit changing conditions, and
they are progressive, meaning the behavior can be
refined through practice.
Example of Learned Behavior
Honeybees provide an interesting example of learned
behavior. While the desire to find nectar is innate in a
honeybee, they learn to associate given colors with the
food they're seeking. In experiments reported by North
Carolina State University, sugar water was put in a
yellow dish, while regular water was put in a blue dish.
The honeybees learned that the yellow dish contained
food and visited it while ignoring the blue dish, even
when the positions of the dishes were changed. When
regular water was put in the yellow dish and sugar
water in the blue dish, however, the honeybees
continued to visit the yellow dish until they learned
through trial and error that what they wanted was now
in the blue dish.
Complex Behavior
Behavior is actually more complicated than "innate" or
"learned." Most behaviors are a mix of the two, neither
completely innate nor entirely learned. For instance,
some innate behaviors -- such as flying in insects -- can
be perfected over time and through experience.
Locusts know how to fly from birth, but they get better
at it with practice, eventually learning to expend less
energy to accomplish the same flight. The same is
certainly true of foals, born with the knowledge of how
to walk; it still takes time for the foal to learn how to
operate its legs.
What Influences Behavior
It may seem that what drives animal behavior
ultimately boils down to a pretty simple factor:
survival. It seems obvious that the role of survivorship
is pretty powerful. Nature tends to reward the
behaviors that best ensure that an individual escapes
predators or finds food. 'Survival of the fittest,' right?
This is true to an extent, but there is an even more
powerful influence: the drive to reproduce.
In evolutionary terms, living a long life only matters in
so far as the individual reproduces and passes along
the genes that code for those positive physical traits or
behaviors. Really, we should be saying, 'Reproduction
of the fittest.' So procuring reproductive success is a
pretty powerful force in nature, and is the impetus for
behaviors that ensure such success.
For example, territoriality occurs when individuals
(usually males) establish dominance over a particular
region and, oftentimes, the females of that region.
They defend their territories from other males,
violently when necessary, to ensure that they have
exclusive access to resources and mating rights.
A common example of this is male bighorn sheep
clashing heads in battle over harems of females.
Bighorn sheep establish territories for mating and
foraging rights.
bighorn sheep
Other animal species engage in some pretty
entertaining mating behaviors in which males attempt
to attract females. Bird species, like peacocks and birds
of paradise, are known for their incredible displays!
Energy Balancing Act
It takes energy to achieve reproductive and survival
success. Animals replace that energy by consuming and
metabolizing food, the energy from which is measured
in calories. But, then again, catching and consuming
food also takes energy. If obtaining food requires more
metabolic energy than the food replaces in calories,
then the animal's food-finding behavior is not efficient,
and the animal will not thrive.
To avoid this problem, animals must ensure that their
food-finding behaviors achieve what is known as
optimal foraging, in which they strike a perfect balance
of calories in versus calories out. How this balance is
struck depends on a variety of factors, including the
animal's size and environment. Large mammals, for
example, tend to have slower metabolisms than
smaller mammals, but also have more body mass to
feed.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students
should be able to:
1. Describe the major behavioural and physiological
processes in animals;
2. Describe and explain the role of environmental
stressors on the evolution of animals through adaptive
responses.
3. Perform behavioural and physiological
experiments and reflect on their findings.
4. Design, execute and present the results of a
scientific experiment in animal behaviour and
physiology.
5. Write about the context and results of a scientific
experiment in the form of scientific paper.
6. Critically evaluate the content and value of
research papers.
Contribution to the development of
graduate attributes
This subject contributes to the development of the five
following graduate attributes:
1. Disciplinary knowledge
Your understanding of animal behaviour and
physiology will be learnt through participating in
discussion, lectures, reading, and workshop
experiences
Your application of this knowledge will be heightened
through engagement with in-depth content and
assessed through in-class learning exercises, reflective
exercises, presentations, and written work
2. Research, Inquiry, & Critical Thinking
You will develop an understanding of theoretical
frameworks in animal behaviour and physiology
through applying skills in the measurement of
processes affecting these frameworks. This knowledge
is presented in lectures and applied in workshops and
in a group-based scientific experiment
Your learning is assessed by the depth, extent, and
originality of your written work and analysis. This
learning culminates in the presentation of your
scientific research, drawing upon the skills learnt in the
workshops
3. Professional, Ethical, & Social Responsibility
You will learn teamwork skills through participation in
a group-based scientific experiment that requires you
to work collaboratively to gather information that
contributes to a collective goal: collection of primary
information and data and preparation of a
presentation. Your learning of these skills is assessed
by evaluation of your contributions and by writing a
reflective statement
You will analyse findings from behavioural experiments
on evolutionary problems to explain adaptive traits
among different species
4. Reflection, Innovation, & Creativity
You will develop an ability to think and work creatively
through the experimental research conducted in the
workshops and in the design and execution of the
group scientific experiment, guided by teaching staff
Your analysis skills will be assessed from the quality
and depth of the answers provided in the reflective
exercises
Your ability to synthesise evolving concepts in animal
behaviour and physiology will be assessed in the
presentation and written research report of the group
scientific experiment
5. Communication
You will develop and apply communication skills (both
oral and written) through the presentation of the
outcomes of a group scientific experiment and in
critical evaluation of research publications. Your skills
will be refined though directions via reading of written
material provided
Your skills will be assessed by your ability to show
understanding of concepts relevant to global discourse,
as well as your ability to synthesise and critique
provided material
You will use evidence-based approaches to actively
engage in knowledge creation through reading,
listening, and questioning, discussing theory with your
peers in class
References
Brooks, R.C. (2012). Sex, Genes & Rock 'n' Roll: How
Evolution has Shaped the Modern World. University of
New Hampshire Press.