BIOL331 Lecture Notes - Courtship Display, Fosb, Tree Squirrel
25 Nov 2012
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Culture: set of behaviours shared by members of a population, transmitted through learning. When generations do not overlap, parental guidance is not factor is acquisition of behaviour. Stereotypic: performed almost exactly the same way each time (ex spider spinning web: stereotypic behaviour is often species-specific: individuals of given species perform it in same way. Ethology: the study of animal behaviour from an evolutionary perspective: addresses behaviour patters, how and when to perform them, proximate mechanisms that underlie behaviour: neuronal, hormonal, anatomical, ultimate causes of behaviour: selection pressure that shaped evolution. Most behaviours result from interactions btwn inherited anatomical and physiological mechanisms and the ability to modify behaviour as a result of experience. Many animals" behaviour is unlearned and highly stereotypic. Stereotypic behaviour tells biologists little about genes and experience in development. Animal may fail to perform behaviour if the environmental conditions needed to stimulate it are absent; may perform behaviour if they imitate the same teacher.
