BIOL 103 Chapter Notes - Chapter 51: Fixed Action Pattern, Waggle Dance, Circadian Clock
4 May 2016
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The first two questions ask about proximal causation: how a behaviour occurs or is modified. The second two ask about ultimate causation: why a behaviour occurs in the context of natural selection. Behavioural ecology: the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behaviour. Tinbergen kept fish tanks with 3 spined sticklebacks. Male sticklebacks with red bellies attack other males that invade the nesting territory. He noticed that they behaved aggressively if a red truck passed in front of the tank, showing that the red colour provokes the attack. Fixed action pattern: a sequence of unlearned acts directly linked to a simple stimulus. It is the regular, long-distance change in location prompted by environmental cues. Some migrating animals track their position relative to the sun. They can adjust for changes in the sun"s position through their circadian clock. Some animals can sense their position relative to the earth"s magnetic field.
