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Animal Behavior and Ecology - Coggle Diagram
Animal Behavior and Ecology
Animal Behavior
Types of Behavior
Learned Behavior
Modified by experience
Habituation : decreased response to repeated stimulus
Imprinting : critical period learning (Lorenz’s geese)
Cognition and Problem Solving
Higher-level mental processes
Example: crows using tools
Innate Behavior
Genetically fixed, automatic
Example: Fixed Action Pattern (FAP): goose rolling egg
Communication
Pheromones
Chemical signals (mating, alarm)
Example: ants leave pheromone trails
Courtship displays
Ensure species recognition
Example: fruit fly courtship ritual
Forms of communication
Visual, auditory, chemical, tactile
Honeybee “waggle dance”
Indicates food location and distance
Proximate vs. Ultimate Causes
Proximate
Focus: mechanisms — physiology, genetics, stimuli
Example: Frog calls triggered by neural pathways
Ultimate
Evolutionary explanation — survival and reproduction
Example: Bird song improves mating success
Tinbergen’s Four Questions
Mechanism, Development, Function, Evolution
Each explains different levels of behavior
Mating Systems and Parental Care
Mating systems
Monogamy, polygamy (polygyny and polyandry)
Influenced by needs of offspring
Parental Investment Theory
Higher investment leads to higher selectivity
Sexual Selection
Intrasexual selection is male-male competition
Intersexual selection is female choice
Behavioral Ecology
Social Behavior
Dominance hierarchies
Reduce conflict and establish order
Territoriality
Defending resources
Example: birds singing to defend territory
Agonistic behavior
Competition: threats, combat, ritualized displays
Cooperation
Pack hunting, group defense
Fitness and Optimality
Hamilton’s Rule
rB > C explains altruism
Optimal Foraging
Energy gain vs. cost
Example: shore crabs choosing best-sized mussels
Inclusive fitness
Success of own genes through relatives
Human Behavior
Cultural evolution
Behaviors passed through learning
Biological influences
Underlying evolutionary tendencies
Dual inheritance theory
Genes + culture shape behavior
Example: variation in parenting strategies across cultures
The Biosphere and Ecology Basics
Climate and Physical Ecology
Climate = long-term weather patterns
Factors shaping climate
Hadley cells and atmospheric circulation
Ocean currents
Solar radiation intensity
Seasonality
Large-scale patterns
Latitudinal variation in sunlight
Rain shadows near mountains
Microclimate and Local Factors
Microclimate = small-scale environmental variation
Shaded forest floor vs. open field
Influences
Wind patterns
Vegetation cover
Soil moisture
Organisms adapt behaviorally and physiologically
Example: lizards basking for thermoregulation
The Biosphere
Global ecosystem
All life + abiotic factors
Interactions across scales
Organisms to populations to communities to ecosystems to biosphere
Influenced by climate, geology, human activity
Example: CO₂ rise affects entire biosphere
Biomes and Species Distribution
Aquatic Biomes
Cover most of Earth
Zonation
Photic vs. aphotic
Benthic vs. pelagic
Types
Estuaries
Coral reefs
Rivers and streams
Oceanic pelagic zone
Wetlands
Abyssal zone
Lakes
Factors Affecting Species Distribution
Biotic factors
Predation, competition, disease
Abiotic factors
Temperature, water availability, salinity, sunlight
Dispersal limitations
Barriers prevent movement
Example: invasive species spread when barriers removed
Terrestrial Biomes
Determined by climate patterns
Temperature, precipitation
Major biomes
Temperate grasslands, coniferous forests
Tundra
Tropical forests, deserts, savannas
Vertical layering in forests
Canopy to understory to forest floor