The Ecology and Evolution of Animal Behavior: A Comprehensive Guide
Posted on Jun 4, 2024 in Psychology and Sociology
Lecture 7: Biodiversity and Fitness
Avoiding Confirmation Bias
- Double-blind experiments and randomization
Survivorship Bias
- Focus on winners over losers and successes over failures
Reasons for Biodiversity Loss
- Loss of habitat
- Overexploitation
- Introduced species
- Pollution
- Global climate change
Approximating Endangerment
- Number of individuals in a population
- Number of breeding individuals
- Variation in breeding success
- Sex ratios
- Factors affecting genetic variation
Fitness
- Quantitative representation of reproductive success and gene pool contribution
Surrogates for Fitness
- Population size
- Heterozygosity
- Quantitative genetic variation
- Epigenetics and methylation
Genetic Drift
- Random fluctuations in allele numbers
- Occurs in small populations
- Can lead to allele loss or fixation
- Influenced by environmental factors and epigenetics
- Common after population bottlenecks (e.g., translocations)
- Role in evolution and genetic distinction
Inbreeding and Outbreeding Depression
- Inbreeding: Mating between related individuals
- Leads to excess homozygotes and reduced genetic variation
- Outbreeding depression: Reduced fitness in offspring from distant groups
- Caused by intermediate genotypes or biochemical incompatibility
Effective Population Size (Ne)
- Number of breeding individuals
- Decreases with skewed sex ratios or reduced breeding individuals
Reproductive Suppression
- Example: Seychelles warbler
Mate Choice
- Selection based on specific characteristics
- Example: Kakapo
Dispersal
- Mechanism for gene flow
- Impacted by habitat fragmentation and disturbances
- Can reduce gene flow and alter parasite dispersal
- Destruction of breeding or wintering grounds
Conclusions
- Importance of Animal Behavior: Understanding behavior is crucial for effective management
- Species-Specific Responses: Not all species respond to manipulations in the same way
- Reproductive Suppression: Identifying the causes of reproductive suppression is essential for management
Lecture 8: Mating Systems and Non-Consumptive Effects
Mating Systems
- Monogamy
- Polyandry
- Polygyny
- Polygynandry
- Promiscuity
- Testes size reflects mating system (larger in polyandrous species)
- Behavior can drive phenotypic changes
Non-Consumptive Effects
- Changes in prey behavior or physiology due to predator presence
Lecture 9: Animal Behavior and Management
Importance in Management
- Understanding sociality (e.g., herding) for management
- Ensuring animal welfare by meeting behavioral needs
- Utilizing predators (e.g., guard dogs)
- Managing fisheries based on species behavior
- Incorporating behavior in biosecurity measures
- Considering species interactions with devices
- Understanding risk allocation, fear, and trophic cascades
Sensory Ecology
- Sound and smell in animal behavior
- Echolocation in bats and moth adaptations
- Using sound for invasive species detection and pest control
- Olfaction and scent marking
- Dogs’ olfactory capabilities for pest detection and conservation
- Pheromone use in pest management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
- Multifaceted approach to pest control
- Combines various methods for economic and safe pest suppression
- Requires knowledge of pest behavior, acceptable pest levels, and control measures
Types of Biological Control
- Classical biological control (importation of natural enemies)
- Augmentation (supplementing existing natural enemies)
- Conservation (protecting and enhancing natural enemies)
Biological Control Applications
- Arthropod natural enemies (predators, parasites)
- Microbial control (nematodes, fungi, bacteria, viruses, protists)
- Importance of understanding pest/predator and at-risk species behavior
- Applications in agriculture, conservation, and disease control
Lecture 10: Animal Cognition
Definition
- How animals perceive, process, learn, and store information
Studying Cognitive Abilities
- Brain size and cephalization index (K value)
- Limitations: Body size and habitat influences
- Learning set and choice experiments
- Considering habitat-specific cognitive demands
Imitation and Social Learning
- Stimulus enhancement: Increased likelihood of behavior after observing others
- Social facilitation: Imitation without deeper intention
Pavlovian Response
- Learned involuntary response to a stimulus
Theory of Mind
- Understanding others’ motivations and one’s own actions
- Examples: Competitive advice, asking for directions, self-awareness
Summary
- Cognition encompasses various forms (physical, spatial, social)
- Influenced by phylogeny, neurology, and individual variation
Challenges in Animal Cognition
- Quantifying cognitive performance
- Conducting field experiments
Definitions
- Mind and mental life: Totality of animal behavior and its underlying operations
- Intelligence: Problem-solving abilities
- Thought: Potentially limited relevance to animal intelligence due to language
- Cognition: Perceiving, thinking, reasoning, and analyzing reflected in behavior
- Learning: Acquiring skills or knowledge through experience
Lecture 11: Individual Variation and Behavioral Syndromes
Persistence of Phenotypic Variation
- Individual variation buffers against selection in changing environments
Individual Variation
- Relevance to biological invasions, population dynamics, dispersal, and predator-prey interactions
Axes of Behavioral Variation
- Boldness
- Aggressiveness
- Neophobia
- Exploratory behavior
- Sociability
Behavioral Syndromes
- Correlated behaviors within or across contexts
- Repeatability assessments and potential underestimation
Implications of Personality Differences
- Effects on population growth, species interactions, community dynamics, social evolution, and speciation
Lecture 12: Olfaction and Chemical Communication
Uses of Olfaction
- Finding food
- Sex recognition
- Individual and species discrimination
- Predator defense
- Parental care
- Orientation and migration
Advantages and Disadvantages of Odors
- Effective over distances, low cost, provide information
- Can attract predators, require adaptations
Sources of Odors
- Scent glands (exocrine glands)
- Urine and feces
Location of Scent Glands
- Near eyes, hands/feet/paws, chest, genital region
Types of Chemical Signals
- Allelochemicals (interspecific)
- Pheromones (intraspecific)
Functions of Social Odors
- Territory
- Defining, marking, and claiming territory
- Hypotheses: Intimidation, border maintenance, orientation
- Reproduction
- Increased scent marking during reproductive activity
- Social Awareness
- Scent marking within territories
- Interspecies Communication
- Facilitating dispersal of similar species
- Protection by Defense
- Using chemicals for defense (e.g., dart frogs)
Take Home Message
- Chemical communication is widespread and ancient
- Importance of considering anatomy, physiology, behavior, and epigenetics
Lecture 13: Parasitism and Conservation
Types of Parasites
- Endoparasites (internal)
- Ectoparasites (external)
Factors Influencing Parasite Impact
- Prevalence in the host population
- Virulence of the parasite
- Co-evolutionary history
Example: Avian Malaria
- Threats to birds: Introduced predators, invasive species, habitat loss, environmental stressors
Lecture 14: Human Mating Strategies
Types of Mating Strategies
- Long-term mating: Both sexes are choosy
- Short-term mating: Extra-pair copulations (EPCs)
Factors Influencing Mating Strategies
- Sex ratio
- Male quality
- Cultural norms
Pressures on Mate Choice
- Reproductive ability
- Genetic compatibility
- Cultural influences
- Economic stability
- Parental investment
Lecture 15: Kin Selection and Cooperative Breeding
Kin Selection
- Helping relatives to increase inclusive fitness
Importance of Cooperative Behavior
- Evolutionary insights (kin selection, altruism, social evolution)
- Ecological impact (population dynamics, ecosystem functioning)
- Behavioral ecology (resource acquisition, protection, defense)
Individual vs. Group Selection
- Differential extinction/reproduction rates
- Cheating can benefit individuals
Types of Helping Behavior
- Cooperation (mutualism): Shared gain of direct fitness
- Reciprocity: Delayed benefits (e.g., pied flycatchers, vampire bats)
- Altruism: Costly to the actor, beneficial to the recipient
Reciprocity
- Benefit to recipient outweighs cost to actor
- Requires cheater recognition and long-term associations
Altruism
- Facultative altruism: Temporary loss of direct fitness, potential for indirect fitness gain (e.g., Florida scrub jay)
- Obligate altruism: Permanent loss of direct fitness, potential for indirect fitness gain (e.g., honeybees, ants, naked mole rat)
Cooperative Breeders
- Example: Florida scrub jay
- Helpers increase breeding success, reduce workload, and enhance survival
- Removing helpers can have varying effects on breeding success
Delayed Breeding
- Habitat saturation hypothesis: Costs of early dispersal
- Benefits of philopatry hypothesis: Gains from staying home (inheritance, competition)
Evolution of Helping
- Decision to breed independently or become a helper
- Ecological and demographic factors influence breeding decisions
Lecture 16: Communication and Levels of Selection
Communication
- Signal transmission and behavioral response
- Plant communication (vibrations, chemicals, electric fields)
Levels of Selection
- Genes, individuals, kin, groups, species
- Different levels can lead to different outcomes
