Unit 14 Behaviour and Responses in Mammals
Key Unit Competence
To be able to explain the different forms of behaviour and responses and their importancein the survival of organisers.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, the learner will be able to:
• State the different types of behaviour.
• Recall that the nervous system is responsible for coordinating behaviour.
• Explain the different types of behaviour in terms of stimulus, receptor, nerves and effectors.
• Explain how the types of behaviour result from sequential responses.
• Apply knowledge of reflex actions to describe the components of a reflex arc and explain the
different reflex behaviours.
• Distinguish between simple reflex actions and a fixed action pattern.
• Give examples of imprinting and understand its significance.
• Explain the value of habituation.
• Define the terms: conditioning, habituation, survival, courtship behaviour and migration.
• Analyse the forms of conditioning.
• Analyse the contribution of innate behaviour and learned behaviour to an animal’s overall
behaviour and survival.
• Distinguish between classical and operant conditioning.
• Analyse the significance of latent learning.
• Relate learning and response to survival in the environment.
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages to organisms living in societies.
• Describe how birds and mammals maintain their territory.
• Explain the significance of behavioural rhythms.
• Distinguish between migration and dispersion.
• Discuss the advantages of bird migration.
• Appreciate the importance of animal welfare.
• Value the causes and effects of bird and other animal migration.
• show concern for the behaviour of animals in societies.
• acknowledge the need for a territory by some animals for their continued survival.• show concern for the importance of conditioned reflex in relation to survival.
INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY
1. At some point or another, almost everyone has watched a string of ants march across a
sidewalk or kitchen floor as the figure below indicates. Ant behavior such as this is pretty
fascinating.But why do ants crawl ?, or technically walk in a line?
2. Observe and analyse carefully the photo below that shows the newly hatched ducks follow
their mother everywhere it goes
a. What do you think about this phenomenon?
b. What is the most likely advantage to the phenomenon illustrated above?
14.1 INTRODUCTION
ACTIVITY 1
Watch videos of animals from the internet or on television. Try to observe their behaviours and
responses. Discuss and make an elaborative report on it. ue the following internet link: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=animal+behavious&sp=EgIwAQ%253D%253D
Behaviour can be defined more precisely as an internally directed system of adaptive activities
that facilitate survival and reproduction. A stimulus is an environmental change that directly
influences the activity of an organism. Behaviour is a result of sensory and motor integration
in an organism i.e., nervous system includes sensory cells that detect changes in environment.
Nerve cells transmit and integrate information, chemical messengers transmit information into
body and muscle cells translate information into action.
Orientation behaviours are coordinated movements (walking, flying, swimming, etc.) that
occur in response to an external stimulus. These behaviours have adaptive value for survival
by helping the organism to locate (or avoid) the source of a stimulus. The simplest behaviours
involve input from only a single sensory receptor whereas more advanced behaviours requirebilateral input from a pair of receptors.
14.2 TYPES OF BEHAVIOUR
Behavioural activities are divided into two groups: Innate and Learned
14.2.1 Innate Behaviour (Simple Response)
Innate behaviour, also known as inherited behaviour, is genetically programmed. Individuals
inherit a suite of behaviours just as they inherit physical traits such as body colour and wing
venation. In general, innate behaviours will always be:
1. Heritable — encoded in DNA and passed from generation to generation
2. Intrinsic — present in animals raised in isolation from others
3. Stereotypic — performed in the same way each time by each individual
4. Inflexible — not modified by development or experience
5. Consummate — fully developed or expressed at first performance
Since innate behaviour is encoded in DNA, it is subject to genetic change through mutation,
recombination, and natural selection. Just like physical traits, innate behaviours are phylogenetic
adaptations that have an evolutionary history.
In general, innate behaviours are viewed as “programmed” responses to external stimuli. Theyusually fit into one of the following categories:
A. Automatic Innate Behaviour
ACTIVITY 2
Take some moist soil with woodlice and place it on paper. Place earthworm near the light
source.
Note the activity of woodlice and earthworm.
Discuss how animals orient in both activities of taxis and kinesis.Also state and cite any such behaviour.
The most basic unit of innate behaviour is a simple reflex arc. This is a neural pathway that
may involve as few as two neurons: a sensory neuron detects a stimulus and is linked with
a motor neuron that sets off a response in an effector cell (such as a muscle or a gland cell).
More commonly, reflex arcs also include an association neuron spliced between the sensory and
motor neurons. The association neuron also synapses with other neurons to relay information
to the brain and other parts of the body.Examples of automatic innate behaviour are:
1. Reflex arc: When you touch a hot object, you quickly pull your hand away using the
withdrawal reflex (Figure 14.1). Reflex action is different from fixed action pattern
Firstly, reflex action is a simple motor action, stereotype and repeatable but fixed
action is complex motor act, involving a specific temporal sequence of component acts.
Secondly, reflex is elicited by a sensory stimulus and the strength of the motor action
being graded with intensity of the stimulus while fixed action pattern are generated
internally or elicited by a sensory stimulus. This stimulus acts as a trigger, causing release
of coordinated motor act. Action may be graded in intensity and it may be contingent
on the type of sensory stimulus but maintain its basic pattern. Most insects have
simple “startle” reflexes triggered by small disturbances as well as more comprehensive“escape” reflexes triggered by larger disturbances.
Figure 14.1: Showing the reflex action pattern
While Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) is a sequence of coordinated movements that are performed
together as a “unit” without interruption. Each FAP is triggered by a unique stimulus variously
known as a sign stimulus, a key stimulus, or a releaser. A praying mantis striking at prey is
a typical example. The releaser for this FAP is any movement by a small (prey-sized) object
within striking distance. Once initiated, the mantis cannot change direction in mid-strike or
abort the mission if the prey escapes. Other common examples of FAPs include courtship
displays, hunting or food gathering, nest-building activities, and attack or escape movements.
Unlike simple reflexes, FAPs may involve a whole-body response and often require a thresholdlevel of internal readiness (drive).
2. Fight-or-flight response: It mobilizes the body for greater activity. Your body is being
prepared to fight or run from danger (Figure 14.2). It is controlled by hormones and thenervous system.
3. Taxis: It is a movement directly toward (positive) or away from (negative) a stimulus.
A klinotaxis involves side-to-side motions of the head or body with successive
comparison of stimulus intensity as the animal moves forward. A tropotaxis requires
bilateral input from paired sensory receptors such that the signal is equalized in both
receptors. Stimulus intensity increases with movement toward the source and decreases
with movement away from the source. For example: Movement of cockroaches awayfrom a light source.
4. Kinesis: It is a change in the speed of movement (orthokinesis) or a change in the rate of
turning (klinokinesis) which is directly proportional to the intensity of a stimulus. Input
from only a single sensory receptor is necessary. A kinesis is non-directed orientation,that is, the animal exhibits a “random walk”.
Example: Locomotion of woodlice in relation to humidity.
With increased humidity there is an increase in the percentage
time that the woodlice will remain stationary.
B. Instinct Innate Behaviour
An instinct is a complex pattern of innate behaviour. Instinctive behaviour begins when the
animal recognizes a stimulus and continues until all parts of the behaviour have been performed.
Examples of instinctive behaviour include Courtship, Territoriality and Migration. We willdiscuss these in detail later.
ACTIVITY 3
Make a list of innate and learned behaviour seen in animals. Note the points related to bothbehavioural types. Make a report on the same.
14.2.2 Learning
Learning, or learned behaviour, takes place when behaviour changes through practice or
experience.
Learning allows an animal to adapt to change, an ability that is important for animals with
long life spans (Figure 14.3). In general, learned behaviours will always be:
1. Non-heritable — acquired only through observation or experience
2. Extrinsic — absent in animals raised in isolation from others
3. Permutable — pattern or sequence may change over time
4. Adaptable — capable of modification to suit the changing conditions5. Progressive — subject to improvement or refinement through practice
Figure 14.3: Learning behaviour: A trainer is teaching the actions to dogs.
A. Habituation
A simple form of learning in which an organism decreases or ceases its response to a stimulus
after repeated presentations. It is progressive decrease of the amplitude or frequency of a motorresponse to repeated sensory stimulation that is not caused by sensory receptor adaptation or
motor fatigue. Habituation provides an important mechanism for filtering sensory information, as
it allows filtering out irrelevant stimuli and thereby focusing on important stimuli, a prerequisite
for many cognitive tasks.Example: Horses or cows disregarding noisy cars and scare crow habituation to crows.
Figure 14.4: Crows have habituated to the scare crow
B. Imprinting
It is a form of learning in which an animal, at a specific critical time of its life, forms a social
attachment to another animal. During this brief interval, the animal acquires an indelible
memory of certain salient stimuli in its “home” environment (taste of the host plant, smell of
the nest site, etc.). This memory is retained throughout life and recalled later when needed.Example: Relation between mother and new born (Figure 14.5).
Figure 14.5: Ducklings showing the imprinting behaviour
Behavioural imprinting acts as an instinct for survival in newborns. The offspring must
immediately recognize its parent, because threatening events, such as the attack by a predator
or by other adults could occur just after hatching. Thus, imprinting is very reliable to induce
the formation of a strong social bond between offspring and parent, even if it is the wrong
one. Birds learn the characteristics of their siblings, which later on will influence their matingpreferences as adults.
14.3 CONDITIONING AND LATENT LEARNING
Learning that a particular stimulus or a particular response is linked to a reward or punishment
is called conditioning.14.3.1 Classical Conditioning
ACTIVITY 4
Discuss about the Pavlov’s experiment.
Write down the interpretation of the experiment in your exercise book.Cite some examples of classical conditioning.
It is a learning process in which an innate response to a potent stimulus comes to be elicited in
response to a previously neutral stimulus; this is achieved by repeated pairings of the neutral
stimulus with the potent stimulus. Eventually, the animal learns to respond to the stimulus
even in the absence of a reward or punishment. The scientist Ivan Pavlov conducted a famous
experiment on classical conditioning in which he trained a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell.Example: Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning experiment (Figure 14.6).
Figure 14.6: Pavlov’s experiment showing the classical conditioning
14.3.2 Operant Conditioning (Learning by Trial and Error)
An animal learns to associate one of its own behavioural acts with a positive or negative effect.
The animal tends to repeat the response if it is rewarded, but avoids the response if it is harmed.
For example, predators quickly learn to associate certain kinds of prey with painful experiences.
A coyote may learn the hard way not to attack a porcupine nose-first. Learning by trial and error
often reinforces behaviours that are important to survival. In this an animal receives a reward for
making a particular response. Motivation is an internal need that causes an animal to act, and
is necessary for learning to take place.
Examples: Learning to ride a bike or birds using different materials to build a nest untilit is just right (Figure 14.7).
Figure 14.7: Riding a bicycle showing operant
conditioning behaviour
14.3.3 Insight Learning
It is most complex type of learning in which an animal uses previous experience to respond
to a new situation. It involves the ability to analyze problems and to test possible solutions.
Insight is not technically a form of learning. Furthermore, insight may itself be based on trialand-
error experience with related problems.
Example: A chimpanzee was placed in a room with several boxes on the floor and a banana
hung high above its head. The chimp eventually “sized up” the situation and then stacked theboxes in order to reach the food (Figure 14.8).
Figure 14.8: Chimpanzee showing Insight learning behaviour.
14.3.4 Latent Learning
ACTIVITY 5
Collect information about the latent learning behaviour. Write down the points related to latent
learning.Discuss the significance of latent learning.
It is a form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response; it occurs without
any obvious reinforcement of the behaviour or associations that are learned. Latent learning
implies that learning can take place without any behavioural changes being immediately present.
This means that learning can be completely cognitive and not instilled through behavioural
modification alone. This cognitive emphasis on learning was important in the development of
cognitive psychology. Latent learning can be a form of observational learning (i.e., learning
through observing the behaviour of others), though it can also occur independently of anyobservation.
Example: A rat completes a maze several times, without an incentive. The rat learns the maze
very slowly (Figure 14.9). When food is placed at the end of the maze, the rat completes the
maze very quickly, demonstrating that latent learning had occurred and a cognitive map ofthe maze was informed.
Figure 14.9: Rats are showing latent learning behaviour
APPLICATION 14.1
1.Complete with approprite terms:
(i) .......... is a sequence of coordinated moments that are performed together as a unit.
(ii) Animal exhibiting a random walk is an example of animal showing ............... or
nondirected orientation.
(iii) Ducklings show ...................... behaviour.
(iv) .............. is a learning that a particular response in linked to a reward or punishment.
(v) ...................... learning involves previous experience to respond to a new situation.
(vi) Birds show ..................... behaviour while building nests with different materials until
it is right.
2.List the main components of a reflex arc
3. Name the type of behavior that produces a movement towards a directional light source4. How does innate behavior differ from learning?
14.4 SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Social behaviour is any action directed by an individual towards a member of its species.
It includes competitive behaviour such as fighting, threat and submission and co-operativeinteractions like parental care and mating. All mammals show social behaviour.
14.4.1 Social Communication
It is defined as the passage of information from one individual to another and usually results
in the modification of the recipient’s behaviour or physiological state. A social signal is a
behaviour which has evolved to convey information to a non-specific receiver with the object
of modifying its behaviour for the benefit of the signaller.
Types of social signal
1. Discrete
2. Graded
Examples: For discrete social signal: alarm call of a ground squirrel, a chemical signalling
oestrus or the territorial song of a gibbon.For graded signal: aggressive vocalizations and threats displays.
14.4.2 Altruism
When an individual expends energy or runs risks in helping another, its behaviour is termed as
altruistic. Altruistic behaviour lowers the fitness of the altruist, while increasing that of the recipient.
Three theories have been suggested in attempts to accommodate altruism within current
evolutionary theory.
1. Group selection: In this group of people who support and help one another may have
an advantage over the groups whose members are selfish. Major drawback is that it is not
a stable strategy because some selfish individuals in an altruistic group would inevitably
increase their own fitness at the expense of altruistic group members.
2. Kin selection: Proposed by Hamilton, the evolutionary strategy which favours the
reproductive success of an organism’s relatives, even at a cost to the organism’s own
survival and reproduction. Kin altruism is an altruistic behaviour whose evolution is driven
by kin selection. Kin selection is an instance of inclusive fitness, which combines the
number of offspring produced with the number an individual can produce by supporting
others, such as siblings.
Example: In humans, it depends how closely related they are to the recipient.
Vervet monkeys use allo-mothering, where related females such as older sisters or grandmothers
often care for young-ones, according to their relatedness.
14.4.3 Reciprocate (Reciprocal Altruism)
It is a behaviour whereby an organism acts in a manner that temporarily reduces its fitness
while increasing another organism’s fitness, with the expectation that the other organism willact in a similar manner at a later time.
Conditions for reciprocal altruism:
1. The behaviour must reduce a donor’s fitness relative to a selfish alternative;
2. The fitness of the recipient must be elevated relative to non-recipients;
3. The performance of the behaviour must not depend on the receipt of an immediate benefit;
Example: In primates, Vervet monkey shows that among unrelated individuals, grooming
induces higher chance of attending to each other’s calls for aid. However, Vervet monkeys alsodisplay grooming behaviours within group members, displaying alliances.
Advantages of living in social groups
1. Animals are more successful in finding food if they search as a group. Foraging in a
group makes it easier to capture a prey. Example: Dolphins are known to surround a
school of fish and to take turns darting into the centre to eat the fish that are trapped in
the middle. Many carnivores will band together when they try to capture large prey.
2. Animals live in social groups to get protection. Example: One baboon might not be able
to fight off a leopard; a troop of baboons often are able to do so.
3. More individuals cooperating together, some can serve as sentries looking for danger
while the other group members are eating or sleeping. Example: Prairie dogs normally
have some individuals acting as sentries, which makes it nearly impossible to sneak up
on a prairie dog town.
4. Many prey species travel in groups because their movements are highly coordinated.
Example: Schools of fish and flocks of shorebirds. This behaviour creates confusion for
the predator.
5. Some animals form social groups to make travel easier. Example: Canada geese and
other bird species typically fly in a V formation in order to reduce wind resistance.6. Some animals congregate in close proximity in cold weather in an effort to stay warm.
Disadvantages of living in social groups
1. Increased sickness and disease: Animals living in groups face higher risks of infection
than others.
2. Increased vulnerability to predators: Animals living in social groups get protection but
they also have difficulty seeking hide during attack.
3. Increased competition for food.4. Increased competition for mates.
14.5 COURTSHIPS, TERRITORIALITY AND DOMINANCE HIERARCHIES
14.5.1 Courtship
It is the behaviour that males and females of a species carry out before mating. It communicates
to each of the potential mates that the other is not a threat. It also reveals information to each
animal that the species, gender, and physical condition of the other are suitable for mating.Courtship allows one or both sexes to select a mate from several candidates.
Examples:
(a) Rabbits: Female usually secretes an airborne hormone scent, called pheromone. Once
the male detects this scent, courtship behaviour could begin. The male and female sniff
each other, possibly to make sure of each other’s sex and mating receptivity. One bunny
then dashes off with the other in hot pursuit. Once they stop playing hard to get, the
bunnies stomp their feet and may do a little “dance” by kicking their feet in the air as
they run.
(b) Ferrets: Courtship and mating in ferrets can be a bit noisy, prolonged and even ferocious
event. Ferrets respond to the length of daylight and their natural breeding season is from
March to August. When the female goes into estrus (heat) and is receptive, the male
grabs her by the back of the neck. The male continues to bite the nape of the neck and
the ferrets are pressed together. Mating occurs and may last for around one hour.14.5.2 Territoriality
ACTIVITY 6
Research about the animal that lives in territories.
Study how they maintain their territories.Write down the points about them in your exercise book.
Territoriality refers to the exclusive use of fixed space, which entails obtaining, defending, or
advertising occupancy of the space. Animals divide geographical area around them into four
broad regions:
1. Total range (entire area covered)
2. Home range (large area for all activities – feeding, sex and roaming is done)
3. Territory (small area within home ranges, driving away intruders and visited in days4. Core area (within territory but much smaller)
Sizes of Territories
This varies from species to species depending on body size, group size, and habitat and food
requirement. Size of territory depends on size and diet of animals.
Larger species have larger territories e.g., wildebeest, zebras. Predators have larger territories
than plant eaters. Territories are smaller when food is found in abundance and distribution is
not spread far. Territorial animals patrol their outer limits.
Functions of Territoriality
1. Well shaped aggregation of local population.
2. Well defined area for parental care.
3. Limitation of breeding population and control beyond carrying capacity.
4. Adequate food.
5. Reserve of unmated males and females for prompt replacement.
6. Reduction in rate of contracting parasites or diseases.
7. Helps intending against predators and share resources.
8. Collectively defence nests and young from predators.
9. Porters separate after breeding for short periods.
Example: Wolves maintain territories in which they hunt and live. These areas are aggressively
defended from other group members. The male cougar has a large territory that may overlap
with the territories of several females but is defended against other males. Responding to scentmarks, the inhabitants of the overlapping ranges also avoid each other, except for breeding.
Figure 14.10: Wolves showing the territoriality behaviour
How they Mark their Territory
• Scent marking: Scent marking, also known as territorial marking or spraying when this
involves urination, is a behaviour used by animals to identify their territory. Strong-smelling
substances are present in urine, faeces, or secreted from scent glands located on various
areas of the body. These scents contain pheromones or proteins that produce odours. These
odours not only for communication, but can also mark the presence of territory.
For example, leopards and jaguars mark their territory by rubbing themselves against
vegetation. New World monkeys use urine washing to communicate.
In Blue wildebeest scent markings are secreted from two glands, the pre-orbital gland and
a scent gland in the hoof.
• Visual: Ring-tailed lemurs hold their distinctive tails high in the air during territorial scent
marking. They also engage in “stink fights” with intruding males.
To mark the territory, visual sign-posts may be short-term or long-term. Short-term
communication includes colouration or behaviour of the animal, which can only be
communicated when the resident is present. But in case of long-term visual signals, faecal
matter is deposited on the vegetation or ground.
Some animals have prominent “badges” or visual displays to mark their territory with scent
marking or auditory signals.
The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) marks its territory with urine scent. When it is urinating
for marking purposes, it holds its extremely distinctive tail high in the air adding a visual
component to the advertisement; when it is urinating for eliminative purposes; its tail is
only slightly raised.
After leaving urination mark, some animals scrape or dig the ground nearby, thereby leaving
a visual advertisement of the territory. This includes domestic dogs.
• Auditory: Many animals use vocalizations to mark their territory. These are short-term
signals transmitted only when the animal is present, but can travel long distances and over
varied habitats.
Examples of wolves marking their territories to other packs through a combination of scent
marking and howling. Under certain conditions, wolf howls can be heard over areas of up
to 130 km2 (50 sq mi). When howling together, wolves harmonize rather than chorus on
the same note, thus creating the illusion of there being more wolves than there actually are.
Wolves from different geographic locations may howl in different fashions– the howls of
European wolves are much more protracted and melodious than those of North Americanwolves, whose howls are louder and have a stronger emphasis on the first syllable.
Ways to Defend their Territories
(a) Ritualized aggression: Animals use a range of behaviours to intimidate intruders and
defend their territories, but without engaging in fights which are expensive in terms
of energy and the risk of injury. This is ritualized aggression. Such defence frequently
involves a graded series of behaviours or displays that include threatening gestures such
as vocalizations, spreading of wings or gill covers, lifting and presentation of claws, head
bobbing, tail and body-beating, and finally, direct attack.Examples:
(i) Domestic cats (Felis catus) are very territorial and will defend this with ritualizedbody (Figure 14.11).
Figure 14.11: Two domestic cats posturing during ritualised aggression over a territory
(ii) Spider monkeys (genus Ateles) defend their territory by screams, barks, rattling or
dropping branches, and urinating and defecating on intruders below.
(iii) Male ring-tailed lemurs have scent glands on their wrists, chests, and in the genital
area. During encounters with rival males, they may perform ritualised aggression
by having a “stink fight”.
(b) Aggressive behaviour threatens other animals: Aggressive behaviour is used to intimidateanother animal of the same species (Figure 14.12).
Figure 14.12: Aggressive behaviour of dog
14.5.3 Dominance Hierarchies
It is defined as a form of animal social structure in which a linear or nearly linear ranking
exists, with each animal dominant over those below it and submissive to those above it in thehierarchy. It is present in mammals like baboons, wolves, etc.
Types of Dominance Hierarchies
Linear Hierarchy
This kind of dominance hierarchy can be depicted with the help of a hierarchy pyramid. Here,
individuals on a particular level use their power to dominate on other individuals that are in
lower order or level but at the same time, they tend to be submissive to individuals in orders
above them. Such individuals can be seen to get influenced by social interactions and they alsotend to have a much better access to food and other facilities.
Despotic Hierarchy
In this, one single individual is dominant on the rest of the group or clan. The orders and
instructions given by the pack leader or the troupe leader are followed submissively by the rest
of the group members. There is no fight for superiority between the followers.
Effects of Dominance Hierarchy
Individuals in higher order have a better and prior access to food. Individuals in the lower order
get the left over feed after the dominant individual has had its feed. This alpha position also
brings better mating opportunities thereby increasing the chances of reproductive success and
a healthier offspring. In case of species, where a single female mates with multiple males, themales naturally tend to be more aggressive to gain the dominant or alpha position.
An important aspect connected to dominance hierarchy is that of territorial advantage in favour
of dominant individuals. This territorial advantage is important from point of view of nesting
place, mating locations and ample supply of food.
In case of weakening or death of a dominant individual, the alpha position is assumed by
one of the individuals of the immediate next order to the alpha position after a reasonable
tussle between competing individuals. Once the dominant individual is selected, the aggression
gradually subsides and the rest of the members turn submissive.
Examples: Pack Animals
Animals that move around in packs such as wolves, wild dogs, hyenas, etc. Wolves or wild
dogs that are in dominant position have a habit of marking their territories or dens by spraying
their urine at prominent locations around their territory. This is an instant signal for other pack
members that this territory is off limits for them. Similarly, such marking helps keep prey animals
away from the dominant individual’s territory. It is easy to identify the dominant male when
the pack is defending itself from a rival pack. At such times, the dominant male is usually the
one with long puckered up ears and a straight vertical tail. Amongst the hyenas however, thealpha position is always assumed by females.
APPLICATION 14.2
1.Complete with appropriate terms:
(i) Animals living in groups face ................ risk of infection.
(ii) Courtship and mating in ferrets is ................, ................ and ................ .
(iii) Territorial marking is also known ................ .
(iv) Aggressive behaviour ................ other animals.
(v) ................ hierarchy involves one single individual dominance.
2. What are the main distinctions between classical conditioning and operant conditioning
3.Explain briefly the difference between the way a dog may solve a detour problem and theway a chimpanzee usually solves the same type of problem
14.6 BEHAVIOURAL RHYTHMS AND BIOLOGICAL CLOCKS
ACTIVITY 7
Observe all the activities which are regulated by biological clocks.
You may watch downloaded videos of animals exhibiting such behaviour.Write down and discuss them in your exercise book.\
14.6.1 Behavioural Rhythms
They are periodic biological fluctuation in an organism that corresponds to, and is in response
to, periodic environmental change. These rhythms are the repeating patterns of biochemical,
physiological, and behavioural processes. They are found in most living things, including plants,
animals and many microorganisms.
These rhythms allow animals of different species to share the same food sources without
direct competition because some animals are active only during hours of darkness (i.e., they
are nocturnal) while others are active only during the day (diurnal). The advantage to having
a built-in method of responding to light and darkness, rather than relying on actual changes in
light as a cue, is that, in effect, the organism is prevented from “sleeping late” and missing the
optimal time of day for foraging.
Most common biological rhythm is the circadian rhythm (circa- about plus dian- day). The
circadian rhythm is a rest-activity cycle that is centered on light, meaning when a preset amount
of light occurs, an animal will be active; and at another time the animal will rest. Humans are
active when there is a lot of light, which is usually during the day and rest when there is less
light, usually at night. These circadian rhythms control the core human body temperature,
sleep-wake cycle and secretion of hormones.
Hibernation and migration are the examples of biological rhythms.
Examples: Ground squirrels gather rations and pack on fat reserves in the fall in preparation
for cold winters spent underground.
Moose reproductive cycles match the birth of fawns in the spring to the rich emergence of
forage at that time.
Human core body temperature cycles with a low during the middle of their sleep cycle andhighs around lunch time and early evening.
14.6.2 Biological Clocks
Biological Clocks are self-sustaining oscillators which will continue to a period of free-running
cycling even in the absence of external cues. Biological Clocks exhibit a high degree of inheritance,
independence of temperature and social conditions, strong resistance to pharmacological andchemical disruption, may even be expressed at the level of single cells.
When an animal that functions according to such a clock is rapidly translocated to a geographic
point where the environmental cycle is no longer synchronous with the animal’s cycle, the clock
continues for a time to function synchronously with the original environmental cycle. Humans
similarly transported over great distances often experience fatigue and lowered efficiency forseveral days, a phenomenon known as “jet lag,” or jet syndrome (Figure 14.13).
Figure 14.13: Biological clocks of human being
14.7 ANIMAL MIGRATION
ACTIVITY 8
Research about the migratory birds.Using the following internet link: https://www.google.
com/search?as_st=y&tbm=isch&hl=en&as_q=animal+migration&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq
=&imgsz=&imgar=&imgc=&imgcolor=&imgtype=&cr=&as_sitesearch=&safe=images&as_
filetype=&tbs=sur%3Afmc
Note the activities for which migratory birds do migrate.Write down the advantages of the migration.
It is termed as periodic movements of animals away from and back to their place of origin. It is
done annually. Animals migrate to other places with more suitable conditions of temperature,
food, more favourable living or breeding places and hibernation.Example: African antelopes migrate seasonally to avoid drought. Fur seals and many whales
make ocean voyages of thousands of miles to their breeding grounds, the former coming ashore
on islands. Little brown bat live on trees in warm weather, but in cold weather they migrate tocaves for warmer conditions.
14.7.1 Causes of Migration
• External pressures like temperature, drought, food shortage.
For example, most of the mule deer of Yellow stone Park, migrate between summer and
winter pastures, but those living near hot springs, where grazing is available all year, do not.
• Physiological and environmental changes.
Example: Birds migrate due to cycle of enlargement of the reproductive organs in spring
and their reduction in fall. Variation in day length is the chief external stimulus for this
cycle: light received by the eye affects production of a hormone by the anterior pituitarygland, which stimulates growth of the reproductive organs.
14.7.2 Advantages of Migration
• Animals remain in favourable conditions e.g., avoid cold/extremes.
• Parents and offspring grow larger and therefore have a high survival rate, they leave more
offspring.
• The population has a constant supply of food.
• Migration may lead to the colonization of a new area.
• Reduces diseases as the disease doesn’t always have a host in the area.
• Reduces effect of predation habitats that have abundant food sources year-round also attract
a greater number of predators that can threaten the nests.
• Birds that migrate to different habitats can avoid that onslaught of predators, giving their
young-ones a better chance of reaching maturity.
• Because many different populations often meet at the “breeding grounds”, migrationincreases genetic diversity as they often breed with individuals from a different population.
14.7.3 Effects of Migration
• Migration increases diversity in the gene pool of the population.
• Migration increases competition for resources, habitat and breeding places.
• Migratory animals acting as vectors for disease, nutrients and energy, and other materials
such as seeds across habitat or ecosystem boundaries.
Migration and Dispersal are different from each other. Migration is the movement of large
number of species from one place to another like bird migration. While dispersal is the spreading
of individuals away from others, often parents or siblings, which are left behind in originalareas, for example: mammals move away from their social groups.
APPLICATION 14.3
1.Complete with appropriate terms
(i) Migration increases ....................... in the gene pool.
(ii) ....................... are self-sustaining oscillators.
iii) ......................., and ....................... are examples of biological rhythms.
2. How is the territory of, for example, a bird usually established and maintained?
3. Robins have individual territories during the autumn and early winter, but from early in the
new year pairs of birds begin to share the same territory, which they maintain throughout
the spring and summer
a) Describe and explain the advantages of territorial behavior, with reference to the behavior
of the robin throughout the year
b) The territories are usually defended by song and displays, which often involve exhibiting
the red breast as much as possible to any intruding robin. Fighting is sometimes involved,
especially when the territory is being established. Suggest why robins usually defend theirterritories by song and display rather than fighting
14.8 SUMMARY
Activities that facilitate survival and reproduction.
• Genetically programmed behaviours like physical traits such as body colour and wing
venation.
• The most basic unit of innate behaviour is a simple reflex arc.
• Animal recognizes a stimulus and continues until all parts of the behaviour have been
performed.
• Courtship behaviour: Males and females of a species carry out this behaviour before
mating.
• Territoriality: Exclusive use of fixed space, which entails obtaining, defending, or
advertising occupancy of the space. Mark territories using pheromones, visual and
auditory signals.
• Ritualized aggression: To intimidate intruders and defend their territories, but without
engaging in fights which are expensive in terms of energy and the risk of injury.
• Dominance hierarchy: Linear or nearly linear ranking exists, with each animal dominant
over those below it and submissive to those above it in the hierarchy.
• Biological Rhythms are the repeating patterns of biochemical, physiological, and
behavioural processes.
• Migration is movements of animals away from and back to their place of origin.
• Behaviour changes occur through practice or experience relates to learning.
• Habituation is a form of learning in which an organism decreases or ceases to respond to
a stimulus after repeated presentations.
• Imprinting is a permanent attachment.
• Conditioning is a particular stimulus or a particular response linked to a reward or
punishment.
• Latent learning is a form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response.
• Social Behaviour is the action directed by an individual towards a member of its species.
It includes competitive behaviour such as fighting, threat and submission and co-operative
interactions like parental care and mating.
• Group selection: People who support and help one another may have an advantage over
groups whose members are selfish.
• Kin selection: Favours the reproductive success of an organism’s relatives, even at a cost
to the organism’s own survival and reproduction.14.9 GLOSSARY
• Behaviour can be defined more precisely as an internally directed system of adaptive
activities that facilitate survival and reproduction.
• Biological clocks are periodic biological fluctuation in an organism that corresponds to,
and is in response to, periodic environmental change.
• Conditioning is a particular stimulus or a particular response is linked to a reward or
punishment.
• Habituation is progressive decrease of the amplitude or frequency of a motor response to
repated sensory stimulation that is not caused by sensory receptor adaptation or motor
fatigue.
• Kinesis is a change in the speed of movement (orthokinesis) or a change in the rate of
turning (klinokinesis) which is directly proportional to the intensity of a stimulus.
• Reciprocate is a behaviour whereby an organism acts in a manner that temporarily reduces
its fitness while increasing another organism’s fitness, with the expectation that the other
organism will act in a similar manner at a later time.
• Reflex action is different from fixed action pattern. Firstly, reflex action is a simple motor
action, stereotype and repeatable but fixed action is complex motor act, involving a
specific temporal sequence of component acts.
• Taxis is a movement directly toward (positive) or away from (negative) a stimulus.
END UNIT ASSESSMENT 14
I. State whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F)
1. Behaviour is precisely an external response directed internally.
2. Riding a bicycle is an innate behavioural activity.
3. In classical condition, animal learns to respond to the stimulus even in the absence
of a reward or punishment.
4. Innate behaviour is also known as inherited behaviour.
5. Kinesis is no change in the speed of movement in presence of a stimulus.
6. Animals hibernate for food and breeding.
7. Touching something hot and pulling your hand back is a learned behaviour.
8. To mark their territories, animals use pheromones.9. Latent learning is a form of learning which is immediately expressed.
II. Multiple Choice Questions
1. A trainer is teaching actions to dogs. It is
(a) learning (b) imprinting
(c) kinesis (d) courtship
2. What happens in a situation of fear?
(a) heart rate decreases (b) blood pressure decreases
(c) secretion of non-adrenaline (d) heart rate increases
3. Which behaviour activity is done before mating?
(a) learning (b) habituation
(c) courtship (d) imprinting
4. Territorial behaviour of animal provides:
(a) shelter (b) food
(c) breeding (d) all of the above
5. Periodic movement of animals from one place to another is called
(a) migration (b) imprinting
(c) conditioning (d) taxis
6. Which is an example of imprinting behaviour?
(a) secretion of saliva (b) riding bicycle
(c) newborn baby and mother (d) sacrificing life for others
7. In which behaviour are scent markings and visual signalling observed?
(a) courtship (b) territorial
(c) migration (d) habituation
8. Which of the following belongs to altruism?
(a) Hamilton’s rule (b) Pavlov’s experiment
(c) reflex arc (d) biological clock
9. Habituation behaviour is
(a) period before mating
(b) periodic movement from one place to other
(c) structure in which a linear or nearly linear ranking exists(d) organism decreases or ceases to respond to a stimulus after repeated presentations
III. Long Answer Type Questions
1. Explain the different types of behaviour giving examples.
2. State the role of nervous system in coordinating behaviour.
3. Explain how the types of behaviour result from sequential responses.
4. Explain different reflex behaviours describing the components of a reflex arc.
5. Differentiate between simple reflex actions and a fixed action pattern.
6. Describe giving examples the forms of conditioning.
7. Explain the following stating their significance.
(a) imprinting
(b) conditioning
(c) habituation
(d) survival
(e) courtship
(f) behaviour
(g) migration
8. Analyse and appreciate the importance of animal welfare. Also state behaviour of
animals in society. Why do animals make territories?
9. Discuss the causes and effects of bird and other animal migration.
10. Differentiate the following:
(a) classical and operant conditioning
(b) migration and dispersion
11. Analyse the significance of latent learning. Relate learning and response to survival
in the environment.
12. Explain the role of behavioural rhythms.
13. We all behave differently on different issues prevailing. What responses can effect a
mental state of a diseased person? Surround your answer with logistics from AIDS
patients. Also, advise on what treatment and behavioural response could generatepliable recovery for such patients.