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35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Behavior
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Individually, an action carried out by muscles or glands under control of the nervous system in response to a stimulus; collectively, the sum of an animal’s responses to external and internal stimuli.
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Behavioral ecology
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The study of the evolution of and ecological basis for animal behavior.
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Fixed action pattern
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In animal behavior, a sequence of unlearned acts that is essentially unchangeable and, once initiated, usually carried to completion.
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Sign stimulus
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An external sensory cue that triggers a fixed action pattern by an animal.
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Migration
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A regular, long-distance change in location.
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Signal
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In animal behavior, transmission of a stimulus from one animal to another. The term is also used in the context of communication in other kinds of organisms and in cell-to-cell communication in all multicellular organisms.
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Communication
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In animal behavior, a process involving transmission of, reception of, and response to signals. The term is also used in connection with other organisms, as well as individual cells of multicellular organisms.
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Pheromones
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In animals and fungi, a small molecule released into the environ- ment that functions in communication between members of the same species. In animals, it acts much like a hormone in influencing physiology and behavior.
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Innate behavior
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Animal behavior that is devel- opmentally fixed and under strong genetic control. Innate behavior is exhibited in virtually the same form by all individuals in
a population despite internal and external environmental differences during development and throughout their lifetimes. |
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Cross-fostering study
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A behavioral study in which the young of one species are placed in the care of adults from another species.
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Twin study
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A behavioral study in which re- searchers compare the behavior of identical twins raised apart with that of identical twins raised in the same household.
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Learning
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The modification of behavior based on specific experiences.
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Imprinting
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In animal behavior, the formation at a specific stage in life of a long-lasting behavioral response to a specific individual or object. See also genomic imprinting.
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Sensitive period
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A limited phase in an animal’s development when learning of particular behaviors can take place; also called a
critical period. |
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Spatial learning
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The establishment of a memory that reflects the environment’s spatial structure.
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Cognitive map
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A neural representation of the abstract spatial relationships between objects in an animal’s surroundings.
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Associative learning
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The acquired ability to as- sociate one environmental feature (such as a color) with another (such as danger).
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Cognition
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The process of knowing that may in- clude awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgment.
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Problem solving
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The cognitive activity of devis- ing a method to proceed from one state to an- other in the face of real or apparent obstacles.
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Social learning
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Modification of behavior through the observation of other individuals.
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Culture
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A system of information transfer through social learning or teaching that influences the behavior of individuals in a population.
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Foraging
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The seeking and obtaining of food.
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Optimal foraging model
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The basis for analyz- ing behavior as a compromise between feeding costs and feeding benefits.
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Promiscuous
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Referring to a type of relationship in which mating occurs with no strong pair- bonds or lasting relationships.
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Monogamous
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Referring to a type of relationship in which one male mates with just one female.
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Polygamous
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Referring to a type of relationship in which an individual of one sex mates with several of the other.
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Mate-choice copying
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Behavior in which indi- viduals in a population copy the mate choice of others, apparently as a result of social learning.
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Game theory
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An approach to evaluating alterna- tive strategies in situations where the outcome of a particular strategy depends on the strategies used by other individuals.
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Altruism
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Selflessness; behavior that reduces an individual’s fitness while increasing the fitness of another individual.
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Inclusive fitness
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The total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes by producing its own offspring and by providing aid that enables other close relatives to increase production of their offspring.
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Coefficient of relatedness
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The fraction of genes that, on average, are shared by two individuals.
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Hamilton’s rule
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The principle that for natural selection to favor an altruistic act, the benefit
to the recipient, devalued by the coefficient of relatedness, must exceed the cost to the altruist. |
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Kin selection
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Natural selection that favors altruistic behavior by enhancing the
reproductive success of relatives. |
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Reciprocal altruism
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Altruistic behavior between unrelated individuals, whereby the altruistic individual benefits in the future when the beneficiary reciprocates.
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Sociobiology
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The study of social behavior based on evolutionary theory.
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