Animal Behavior Notes!

Imprinting -occurs with visual and chemical stimuli

• Who???

Imprinting

• CRITICAL PERIOD-short window of time for imprinting to take hold

Learned Behavior

• Associative learning
• learning to associate a stimulus with a consequence

Operant Conditioning – Trial and Error Learning

• Big Bang Theory video clip

• B.F. Skinner

Classical Conditioning

• Attack of the Quack

• Ivan Pavlov

Spatial Learning

• Associative learning:
• Animals associate attributes of a location (landmarks) with the reward it gains by being able to identify and return to that location.

• Nikolass Tinbergen- observed wasps used pine cones as markers to locate their nest.
• When Tinbergen removed the pine cones the wasps were unable to locate their nest.

Learning: Habituation

• Puppy Habituation

Observational Learning

• Animals copy the behavior of another animal without having experienced any prior positive reinforcement with the behavior.

Learning: Insight- Problem-solving

• Do other animals reason?

• crow

Survival Responses

• Fight or flight response
• Triggered by stress
• Adrenaline & cortisol is produced which dilates the blood vessels, increases heart rate, increases the release of sugar from the liver, slow digestion to conserve energy…
• Avoidance response
• Avoid stressful situations
• EX: areas where predators can hide or areas with little camouflage, unknown organisms, or things in their environment that appear inappropriate.

Survival Responses

• Alarm Response
• Triggered when presence of a predator or other animal that’s a threat is detected.
• Warning is given for other in their group.