Social Interactions

Animal Behavior

 Observable coordinated responses to

stimuli
 Originates with genes that direct the
formation of tissues and organs of the
animal body
 Spider Responds to Prey

Mama spiders don’t teach their offspring (instinctive

Nervous System

 Detects processes and integrates

information about stimuli

 Commands muscles and glands to

make suitable responses
Suitable Response?

How much of human

behavior is innate or
learned?
 Starling Nest Decoration

 Starlings line nest

with wild carrot
 Experiments have
shown this
behavior
minimizes mites

Figure 46.2  Experimental Control nests

Page 826 nests
Genes and Behavior

 Some variations in behavior have a

genetic basis
 Arnold showed that garter snakes’ taste
for slugs has genetic basis
 Hybrid snakes showed behavior
intermediate between parental types
Hormones and Bird Song

 Sex hormones produced during

development prime male birds to sing

 As adults, males will sing only when

days are long and levels of the
hormone melatonin are low
Goldfinch's Respond to Longer Days

Winter (short day)

Summer (long day)
Instinctive Behavior

 Performed without having been learned

 Usually triggered by simple sign stimuli

 Response is a stereotyped motor program,

a fixed-action pattern
Example of Instinctive Behavior

Knee-jerk
Learned Behavior

 Responses change with experience

 Some categories of learned behavior
Imprinting Spatial learning
Insight learning Habituation
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
imprinting

  Encyclopædia Britannica Article Page  1  of  1 

 in psychobiology, a form of learning in which a very

young animal fixes its attention on the first object
with which it has visual, auditory, or tactile
experience and thereafter follows that object. In
nature the object is almost invariably a parent; in
experiments, other animals and inanimate objects
have been used. Imprinting has been intensively
studied only in birds.
Imprinting

 Time-dependent learning

 Triggered by exposure to a sign

stimulus during a sensitive period

 Young geese imprint on a moving

object and treat it as “mother”
Lorenz and Imprinting

Young geese will follow

larger animate
objects to which
they imprint “Mom”.
Classical Conditioning

 First demonstrated by Pavlov

 An autonomic response becomes

associated with a novel stimulus

 Salivation became associated with

sound of bell that accompanied feeding
Pavlov’s Lab
Operant Conditioning
 A voluntary action becomes associated
with its consequences
 A toad may attempt to eat a wasp with a
black and gold pattern and be stung
 Thereafter, the toad will be conditioned to
avoid eating similar insects
 "A person does not act upon the
world, the world acts upon him." -
B. F. Skinner
 B.F. Skinner is credited with the
development of the field of operant
learning (conditioning).
 “Operant conditioning (along with
classical conditioning) is one of the two
major forms of learning. It involves the
use of either rewards or punishments in
order
to increase or decrease
the frequency of a behavior.” 
http://ftp.ccccd.edu/lipscomb/16_week_course/operant_conditioning_lab.htm
Operant Learning, Human
Infant
The Skinner Box
Habituation

 An individual learns not to respond to

a stimulus that has neither good nor
bad consequences
 Pigeons in cities learn that people are
no threat and do not flee from them
Habituation in Prairie Dogs
 “When prairie dog towns are located near trails used
by humans, giving alarm calls every time a person
walks by is a waste of time and energy for the group.
Habituation to humans is an important adaptation in
this context.” www.animalbehavioronline.com/habituation.html
http://
Spatial Learning
 Through experience with an
environment, an organism creates a
mental map
 Some blue jays remember the
location of dozens of places where
they have stored food
Spatial Learning

Spatial and Acoustical

Special Education Classes
Insight Learning
 An animal solves a problem without
trial-and-error attempts at a solution
 Captive chimpanzees show insight
learning when they solve a novel
problem, as when they stack boxes to
reach food that is out of reach
Chimp Learning
Bird Song: Instinct + Learning
 Bird comes prewired to listen to
certain acoustical cues; instinctively
pays attention to particular sounds
 Which dialect the bird sings depends
on what song it hears; it learns the
details of the song from others around
it
Lyre Bird

Youtube Video

 Lyre Bird - Imitating Sounds -

David Attenborough
Human Instinct + Learning
 Pronouns in pidgins
 “Pidgins arise in certain contact situations as a
conventionalized means of communication between groups
of adult speakers of different vernacular languages
(Thomason 1997). Pidgins have a diversity of structural
forms often including some unusual or marked structures
from their source languages, as well as recurring
universal properties, such as the preponderance
of analytic syntax, CV syllable structure, and
generic lexical semantics (Thomason and
Kaufmann 1988, Foley 1988, Holm 1989, Bakker
1994). In particular, there is a vast prevalence of free
pronouns in pidgins. Why should this be? “

Pidgin Genesis in Optimality Theory1

Joan Bresnan
Selection for Behavior

 Some variation in behavior has a genetic

basis
 Some behavior promotes reproductive
success (is adaptive)
 Genes that encode adaptive behavior will
increase in population
How Do Rabbits Avoid
Predators?
Adaptive Behavior

 Behavior that promotes propagation

of an individual’s genes

 Its frequency will be maintained or

increase in successive generations
Selfish and Altruistic Behavior
 Selfish behavior promotes an
individual’s genes at the expense of
others
 Altruistic behavior helps others at the
expense of the altruist; may be
adaptive under certain circumstances
Altruism, Adaptive? When?
Selfish Ravens
 Some ravens that find carcasses call
and alert others
 Are their calls altruistic? No
 Callers are birds without territories
 Calling brings in others to help caller
get food in a pair’s territory
Communication Signals

 Intraspecific signals will evolve only if

they benefit both signaler and receiver
 Variety of signal modalities
Pheromones Tactile signals
Visual signals
Acoustical signals
Pheromones

 Chemical signals that diffuse through

air or water

 May bring about behavioral change in

receiver or cause physiological
change (priming pheromones)
Pheromone Baiting
 Menstrual cycle synchronization
might be reality
By Kristen M. Neufeld
Collegian Staff Writer

 “While there is no evidence conclusive

enough to prove the theory, some
scientists believe that women who live in
close quarters or who spend a lot of time
together develop menstrual synchrony,
which means they tend to menstruate
around the same time of the month.”

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2002/10/10-08-02tdc/10-08-02dscihealth-03.asp
Acoustical Signals

 Sounds used in communication

 Used to attract mates, secure

territory, warn off rivals
 May also be used to communicate
danger, keep groups together
Howler Monkey and Macaw
Visual Displays
 Important in courtship and in
aggression
 Baring of teeth by baboon
communicates threat
 Play bow in wolves solicits play behavior
 Flashing of fireflies attracts mates
Visual Displays
Tactile Display
 Signaler and receiver communicate
by touch
 Honeybee dance language

Food close Food distant Figure 46.10 

Page 833
Signal Variation
 Some signals never vary
 Others can be varied to convey
information about the signaler
 Composite signals combine information
encoded in more than one cue; more
potential for variation and information
Signal Variation within the
Vermillion Household

Deno Prince
Fluffy

Bert Vivian
Blue jay’s Alert Call
Ritualized Displays
 Common behavior patterns are
exaggerated and simplified
 Body parts may be enhanced or colored
in way that enhances the display
 Ritualization is often important in
courtship displays
Egret Courtship Display
http://www.helsaple.com/images/Photos/Nature/Birds/Great%20Egret/Feather_display_1.jpg

Elements
of song and
dance
 Dances, Ritualized Displays

Fire Dance
Rumba
Waltz
Illegitimate Signals
 An illegitimate receiver intercepts a
signal meant for individuals of
another species
 Termite smells pheromone of invading
ant and attacks it
 An illegitimate signaler mimics signals
 Predatory fireflies mimic females of prey
species
Firefly Mimicry

Some species of
fireflies mimic the
signals
of other species
thus attracting
Their prey!
Duck Hunters
Worm Grunting Video

 http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/pla
yer/popup/?
rn=3906861&cl=13028343&ch=4226
722&src=news

 Assignment: Planet Earth

Sexual Selection (STOPPED)

 Reproductive success is measured in

number of offspring produced
 Reproductive success can be enhanced
by increasing the number of matings or
the quality of mates
Harem Societies
Male Reproductive Strategy

 Produce energetically inexpensive

sperm
 Often provide no parental care
 Often maximize reproductive success
by mating with as many females as
possible
Artic Hare
Female Reproductive Strategy
 Produce large, energetically
expensive eggs
 Often provide parental care
 Often increase reproductive success
by increasing the quality of their
mates
Choosy Females

 Female choice can dictate rules of male

competition and shape male behavior

 Selects for males that appeal to females

 Male sage grouse display in leks

 Male hangingflies offer nuptial gifts

Male Contests
 Females of some species cluster in
groups
 Males of such species may fight one
another for access to harems
 Selects for large males that can
defeat other males in contests
Elephant Seals
Elephants Seals Defends
Territory
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=fQI5KUfM2xc
 David Attenborough - BBC Wildlife
Bighorn Sheep Go Head To
Head
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ULRtdk-3Yh4

 National Geographic
Parenting Behavior
 Enhancing the survival of offspring
can increase parents’ reproductive
success
 Parental behavior comes at a cost;
drains time and effort that could be
spent producing additional offspring
Parenting

or
Benefits of Social Living

 Improved detection of predators; many

eyes
 Improved repulsion of predators
 Musk oxen

 Sawflies
Musk Oxen (Stopped here)
Selfish Herd
 A group held together by self-interest
 Other members of the group form a
living shield against predators
 Individuals may compete for the
safest spots; positions in the center
of the group
Who’s Dominant?
Dominance Hierarchy
 Some individuals accept subordinate
status to others
 Dominant members have higher
reproductive success than subordinates
 Subordinates may do better over long
term than if they were on their own
Alpha Wolf
Costs of Social Living

 Increased competition for food, mates,

and other limiting resources
 Increased vulnerability to disease and
parasitism
 Risk of exploitation by other group
members
Altruistic Behavior

 Nonbreeding helpers are found in

mammals, birds, and insects
 Altruists apparently sacrifice their
reproductive success to help others
 How are genes for altruism perpetuated?
Grandmother Grandchild

Indirect Selection ?
Theory of Indirect Selection
 Proposed by William Hamilton
 Genes associated with caring for
relatives may be favored by selection
 Altruists pass on genes indirectly by
helping relatives who have copies of
those genes to survive and reproduce
Social Insects

 Workers in colonies of social insects are

sterile
 These colonies are extended families

 Workers pass on their genes indirectly by

helping relatives reproduce
Termites

 Workers and soldiers are sterile

 A single queen and one or more kings

are the parents of the entire colony
Termites
Honeybees
 Workers are sterile females
 A single queen is the mother of all
members of the colony
 At certain times of the year, the
colony produces drones--fertile males
that leave the colony and mate
Naked Mole-Rats

 Only mammals known to have a sterile

worker caste
 Single queen reproduces with one to
three males
 DNA evidence shows clan members are
all closely related
Naked Mole Rat
Naked Mole Rat “Queen”

VERY PREGNANT. The breeding female 'queen‘ in an insect-like

colony of naked mole-rats frequently produces litters
of 20 pups at a time, and one had more than 900 in her 12-year lifetim
Limited Resources are Shared

Pups in a naked mole-rat's litter may outnumber available

mammary glands, but pups learn to share and the nursing
mother's needs are tended to by helpers in the subterranean
colonies.
Naked Mole Rat
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=V_UDTzG-6Qo

 BBC: The Life Of Mammals Ep4

Considering Human Behavior

 Some human behavior may be adaptive

or may have been adaptive in the past
 Testing hypotheses about human
behavior can help us understand how
they arose
Sans People of South Africa

Hunter-bands
Trans cultural Ritualized
Behavior

Ritualized warfare?
Is Football Adaptive?
Cons
 Too expensive
 Too dangerous
 Takes away from academics
 Barbaric
 Silly game for children
Is Football Adaptive?
Pros
It’s fun
Keeps kids off the streets
Results in many physically fit males
Males learn how to play as a “team”
Males learn to overcome pain
Males learn to follow the command of an older
experience leader
Result: a cohort of young
Potential warriors which is beneficial to
society
Redirected Behavior
 Certain behaviors that are normally
directed toward relatives may
sometimes be directed toward
nonrelatives
 In this case, the redirected behavior
is nonadaptive
Human Adoption
 Evolutionary theorists predict that
people would be more likely to adopt
related children than nonrelatives
 Studies have shown that in traditional
societies this is true
 Adoption of nonrelatives may be an
example of redirected behavior
Moral Questions
 A behavior that is adaptive may or
may not be desirable or moral
 Some behaviors that were adaptive in
small groups, such as adoption, may
no longer be adaptive in large
societies
 A nonadaptive behavior may be
socially desirable
Social Interactions