GLOSSARY
ACTIVE SEARCH When an herbivore or
predator moves around its environment looking for food, this is an active search.
This contrasts with PASSIVE SEARCH.
AGGRESSIVE MIMICRY Mimicking a resource, such as food, shelter, or mating signals
in order to lure prey. Some predatory fish have appendages which mimic worms;
by moving their lure, they can bring their prey within reach. Bolas spiders
mimic the sex pheromone of their moth prey, using this scent to attract their
meal.
ALTERNATIVE MATING TACTICS
APPROACH-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT When an animal experiences conflicting drives, such
as a desire to approach an unfamiliar object (exploratory behavior) while at
the same time being fearful of the object (avoidance behavior), it may display
an irrelevant behavior, such as grooming.
ARTIFICIAL SELECTION Human intervention in a breeding system to manipulate the
phenotype of the progeny. The domestic dog is an excellent example of a species
which has been subjected to artificial selection for behavioral traits.
ASYMMETRICAL RELATIONSHIPS
BAIT SHYNESS Learned avoidance of a unpalatable or poisonous food item. This
term comes from the behavior of rats, which can easily learn to avoid potential
poisons by not taking foods which have previously made them ill. They may also
learn to avoid poisons by observing illness/death of other rats, although this
finding is more controversial. Bait shyness makes killing rats with poison a
difficult task.
CLASSICAL ETHOLOGY Early ethologists focused on four central questions when
they studied behavior: Survival value, Causation, Ontogeny, and Evolution.
CONDITIONING (AND OPERANT CONDITIONING)
COST OF MEIOSIS Only half your genes are passed to the next generation after
meiosis. Over generations, your genetic legacy is reduced by 50% each generation.
CROSS FOSTERING Cross-fostering is an experimental technique in which members
from two different populations are placed in the other one. This is used to
determine whether certain behaviors are genetic or learned, or both.
CRYPTIC FEMALE CHOICE
CUCKOO
DANCE LANGUAGE IN BEES Movements by incoming foraging honey bees which communicate
the distance and direction of food resources. Nearby food is communicated by
a circular dance, while food which is more distance elicits and figure-eight
shaped dance.
DECEIT
DELAYED COMPETITION
DIETARY SPECIALIZATION
DISPLACEMENT BEHAVIOR Displacement behaviors are behaivors that seem irrelevant
in the context of a situation and are used to dissipate energy. These behaviors
include self directed behaviors and redirected behaviors and can be used to
determine the level of anxiety in captive animal populations.
EGOCENTRIC INFORMATION Information innate to the organism (doesnt need
to rely on sensory perception) that directs behavior. For example, in migration,
direction and distance information and usually known without any environmental
clues.
EUSOCIALITY Three conditions need to be met for a colony to be eusocial: 1.)
overlapping generations (parents and offspring) are present, 2.) reproductive
skew (generally the parents having most or all of the offspring) and 3.) cooperative
brood care.
EXTRAPAIR COPULATIONS
EXTRAPAIR PATERNITY
FISHERS SEX RATIO THEORY Populations tend to have 50:50 sex ratios. If
skew towards either sex is present, then individuals producing broods opposite
to the population-level skew will be favored. Over time this will cause the
population to evolve back to 50:50
FIXED ACTION PATTERN
FORCED COPULATION
GAZE FOLLOWING
GENDER
GEOCENTRIC INFORMATION
GIVING UP TIME MODELS
HABITUATION When a stimulus is repeatedly presented to a species the response
will gradually diminish or lessen. The animal can learn that the stimulus is
neither noxious nor rewarding and will disregard the stimulus.
HANDICAP PRINCIPLE This is when selection favors a certain phenotype, but it
is very costly to produce so not all animals can obtain the desirable phenotype.
It can be a handicap because females prefer the brighter
and stronger males, but only a few can produce these traits.
HAPLODIPLOIDY
HAPLOID MALE
HB^2 = VG/VP
HERITABILITY
HOME RANGE The area in which an animal carries out its normal activities. May
encompass feeding, shelter, and mating areas. Is not defended--a defended area
is a TERRITORY.
HYDRAULIC MODELS OF DRIVE
IDEAL FREE DISTRIBUTION
INBRED LINES
INBREEDING AVOIDANCE
INFANTICIDE
INNATE RELEASING MECHANISM
INSIGHT LEARNING
KIN RECOGNITION Recognition of individuals who are closely related through phenotype
matching, or other forms of learning. MHC recognition plays an important role
in many animals. Kin recognition is important in avoiding inbreeding or conflict
with closely related invidiuals, and can facilite behavior meant to aid kin.
KINESIS
LEK
LOCAL MATE COMPETITION
MAGNETIC FIELD PERCEPTION
MARGINAL VALUE THEOREM The time when it is most beneficial for the animal to
leave the patch is when food received falls below the average rate of return
for the environment.
MATE GUARDING
MHC Major histocompatibility loci. In the vertebrate lineage of animals, the
MHC genes provide the information for making antibodies to foreign organisms
that may attempt to invade the animal. MHC is also responsible for labelling
the cells of an animal for self-recognition, so an animal won't be attacked
by its own immune system
MODES OF COMMUNICATION (SEE CHART ON WEB SITE)
MONOGAMY
NOISE REDUCTION
NUPTIAL GIFTS
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
OPTIMAL OUTBREEDING
OPTIMALITY
PARENT-OFFSPRING CONFLICT
PARENTAL CARE
PASSIVE SEARCH
PATCHY DISTRIBUTION (OF FOOD)
PHEROMONAL DOMINANCE
PHYLOGENETIC BASIS FOR BEHAVIOR
POLYANDRY
POLYGYNY
PREDATOR SATURATION
PROMISCUITY
QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI (QTL)
RECIPROCAL ALTRUISM
REDIRECTED BEHAVIOR
REDUNDANCY
RITUALIZATION simplification exaggeration repetition stereotypy
SCATTER HOARDING when an animal hides
food items throughout its home range.
SATELLITE MALES
SEARCH IMAGE A mental image of desired prey that assists animals in detecting
their food. Very important in detecting cryptic prey. Search image improves
with experience.
SELF-DIRECTED BEHAVIOR (SBD)
SELFISH TEAMWORK When two or more individuals (not necessarily related) work
together to attain a goal that could not be reached working alone. When the
goal is met, the animals compete for the reward. The same animal does not always
win this competition.
SEQUENTIAL COMPARISONS (IN ORIENTATION)
SIBLICIDE When one sib kills another. Most important context is when parents
have produced excess, or insurance, offspring and siblicide is a mechanism for
reducing offspring to match the available resources.
SIGN STIMULUS The effective part of an action or object that triggers a highly
stereotyped innate behavior (or fixed action pattern) by means of a hypothetical
neural pathway called the innate releasing mechanism. For example, when an egg
rolls out of a birds nest (this is the sign stimulus).
SIMULTANEOUS COMPARISONS (IN ORIENTATION)
SINGLE GENE MUTATIONS
SIT AND WAIT PREDATION Also referred to as PASSIVE SEARCH. A sit and wait predator
chooses a location where its prey are likely to pass. It then simply waits for
the appropriate moment, when a prey animal is near, and strikes. Examples of
sit and wait predators include
SPERM COMPETITION Viable sperm from more than one male are present in the females
genital tract at the same time. These sperm compete to reach and penetrate the
egg. Sperm competition can lead to phenomena like larger testes (to produce
more sperm) or better swimming ability of the sperm.
STEREOTYPY This is the sameness of behaviors. Every time the behavior is performed
it is enacted in the exact same way with all the same movements and actions.
It is one of the four components of ritualization.
STRATEGY The overall plan an animal has for solving a problem, such as finding
food, obtaining cooperation from another animal, or finding a mate. A strategy
normally includes more than one TACTIC. In the prisoner's dilemma game, for
example, TIT-FOR-TAT is a strategy, while cooperation and defection are TACTICS,
both of which may be used as part of the TIT-FOR-TAT strategy.
SUN AND STAR COMPASSES
SUPERNORMAL STIMULUS
TACTIC Behavioral acts chosen by an animal when it is attempting to achieve
a goal. The plan for implementing tactics is a STRATEGY.
TAXIS
TERRITORY An area, with associated resources, that an animal or group of animals
defends.
TRIAL AND ERROR LEARNING
VP = VG + VE Phenotypic variance equals the genetic variance plus the environmental
variance
Glossary
copyright ©2001, 2003 Michael D. Breed, all rights reserved
www.animalbehavioronline.com