CHAPTER 3

6hrs.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
MARIA ZABEL L. SABENIANO

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 BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY

 The study of evolutionary basis for

animal behavior due to ecological
pressures.
 Behavioral ecology is a scientific
field of study that looks at how
behavior is controlled and how it
contributes to survival and
reproductive success.
 The goal of behavioral ecology is to
understand how a plant or animal’s
behavior is adapted to its
environment.
 What is Behavior?
 what an animal does and how it
does it. 2
 An action carried out by muscles
 ETHOLOGY

The study of animal behavior.

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 Genetic Variation and the
Evolution of Behavior

Behavioral ecologists distinguish between proximate and

ultimate causes of behavior. Behavioral differences between closely
related species, such as meadow and prairie voles, are common.
Significant differences in behavior can be also found within a species
but are often less obvious. When behavioral variation between
populations of a species corresponds to variation in environmental
conditions, it may be evidence of past evolution.

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Meadow
 BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
 Behavior is eveything an animal does
and how it does it.
 To study behavior, two basic questions
are asked.
1. PROXIMATE QUESTIONS are
often considered “How” questions.
• “environmental stimuli, trigger event,
genetic, physiological, and anatomical
mechanisms”
2. ULTIMATE QUESTIONS are often
considered “Why” questions
 “asks the evolutionary significance of a
behavior and how it interferred fitness”
 Causes of Behavior
1. Proximate Cause- The trigger for the
behavior
 BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
 Causes of Behavior
1. Proximate Cause- The trigger
for the behavior
2. Ultimate Cause- The
evolutionary reason behind the
behavior
 Proximate causes of behavior focus
on:
 Environmental stimuli that
trigger a behavior (nurture).
 Genetic and sensory motor
mechanisms underlying a
behavior (nature).
 Ultimate causes of behavior focus
 ALTRAUISM
ALTRAUISTIC BEHAVIOR

• Reconstructing the evolutionary basis

of a behavior requires an
understanding of a behavior’s genetic
basis and of the selective advantage
conferred by the behavior.
• Typically, we assume that behaviors
are selfish; that is, they benefit the
individual at the expenses of others,
specifically competitors.
• In discussing selflessness, we will use
the term altruism to describe a  ALTRAUISTIC BEHAVIOR occurs in
behavior that reduces an animal’s honeybee societies, in which the
individual fitness but increases the workers are sterile. The workers
themselves never reproduce, but they
fitness of other individuals in the
labor on behalf of a single fertile queen.
population. Furthermore, the workers sting intruders,
• Altruism - behavior that decreases the a behavior that helps defend the hive but
individual fitness of the practitioner results in the death of those workers.
 Animal Communication

 Communication It comes
from Latin word
communicare “to share”.
 Animal Communication is
the transfer of information
from one or a group of
animals (sender or senders)
to one or more other
animals (receiver or
receivers) which affects
either the current or future
behavior.
 Forms of Animal Communication
VISUAL (SEEING)

 Fruit fly courtship constitutes a

stimulus-response chain, in which
the response to each stimulus is
itself the stimulus for the next
behavior.
 In the first step, male identifies a
female of the same species and then
orients his body towards her.
 Forms of Animal Communication
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATION (SMELLING)

 The male’s sense of smell

or olfactory system, detects
chemical system released
into the air by the female.
 This is an example of
chemical communication,
the transmission and
reception of signals in the
form of specific molecules.
Skunks use their signature smell to Cats rub against objects to mark them
deter predators with their scent
 Forms of Animal Communication
AUDITORY COMMUNICATION (HEARING)

 In the third stage of courtship, the male

extends and vibrate his wing,
producing a specific courtship song.
 This singing, an example of auditory
communication, informs the female
that the male is of the same species.
 Only if all of these forms of
communications are successful will a
female allow the male to attempt
copulation.
 The male’s sense of smell or olfactory
system, detects chemical system
released into the air by the female.
 Forms of Animal Communication
ELECTRO-COMMUNICATION

 Electrocommunication is the
communication method used by
weakly electric fishes.
 Weakly electric fishes are a group of
animals that utilize a communicating
channel that is “invisible” to most other
animals: electric signaling.
 Electric fish generate electric organ
discharges (EODs) from an electric
organ and sense these discharges via
sensory cells termed eletroreceptors.
 Amazingly, electrocommunication
evolved independently in two groups
of fishes. EODs are used in the same
ways as signals in other modalities and
are similarly influenced by natural and
 Forms of Animal Communication
TACTILE COMMUNICATION (TOUCH)

 Having recognized the female, the

male approaches and taps the female
with foreleg.
 This touching or tactile communication
alerts the female to the male’s
presence.
 In the process, chemicals are on her
abdomen are transferred to the male,
providing further chemical
confirmation of her species identity.
 Forms of Animal Communication
SEISMIC COMMUNICATION

 Seismic communication,
sometimes called vibrational
communication, describes the
conveying of information
through seismic vibrations of the
substrate.
Functions of Animal Communication

 Communication during contests

 Mating rituals
 Ownership/Territorial
 Food-related signals
 Alarm Calls
 Meta-communication
 Foraging Behavior
 Foraging behavior is a complex
and important subject that has
received considerable attention.
 Because adequate nutrition is
essential to an animal’s survival
and reproductive success, we
should expect natural selection to
refine behaviors that enhance the
efficiency of feeding.
 Food-obtaining behavior, or
foraging, includes not only eating
but also any activities an animal Communication among
uses to search for, recognize and honeybees promotes foraging efficiency.

capture food items.

 Types of Foraging Behavior

 Solitary Foraging is when

animals find. Capture and
consume their prey alone.

 Group Foraging is when

animals find capture and
consume prey in the presence of
other individuals.
Classification of Foraging Behavior

 Herbivores- are animals that

consume living plants tissue.
 Carnivores- consume the
tissue of living animals
 Omnivores- eat a mixture of
plants and animals
 Detritovores- consumed
dead organic matter
 Mating Behavior and Mate Choice

 Just as foraging is crucial for

individual survival, mating behavior
and mate choice play a major role in
determining reproductive success.
 These behaviors include seeking or
attracting mates, choosing among
potential mates, competition for
mates, and caring for offspring.
 Although we tend to think of mating
simply as the union of male and
female, the mating relationship
between males and females varies
greatly from species to species,
defining number of distinct mating
systems.
 Sexual Selection

 The degree of sexual dimorphism

within a species results from sexual
selection, a form of natural selection
in which differences in reproductive
success among individuals are a
consequence of differences in
mating success. Male Female
 The sexual selection can take the
form of intersexual selection, in
which numbers of one sex choose
mates on the basis of characteristics
of the other sex, such as courtship
songs, or intrasexual selection,
Parrots regurgitating food to attract mate
which involves competition between
members of one sex for mates.
 Mating Systems and Sexual
Dimorphism
 Mating systems vary with regard to
both the lengths and number of
relationships.
 In many animal species, mating is
promiscuous, with no strong pair-
bonds.
 In species in which the mates remain
together for a longer period, the
relationship may be monogamous
(one male mating with one female) or
polygamous (an individual of one sex
mating with several of the other).
 Polygamous relationships most often
involve a single male and many
 Mating Systems and Sexual
Dimorphism
 The extent to which males and females
differ in appearance, a characteristic
known as sexual dimorphism,
typically varies the type of mating
system.
 Among monogamous species, males
and females are often so much alike
morphologically that they may be
difficult or impossible to distinguish
based on external characteristics.
 In contrast, polygynous species are
generally dimorphic, with males being
In monogamous species, such as these wester gulls,
showier and often larger than females. males and females are difficult to distinguish using
external characteristics only.
 Polyandrous species are also
dimorphic, but the females are
 Mating Systems and Sexual
Dimorphism

 The extent to which males and females

differ in appearance, a characteristic
known as sexual dimorphism,
typically varies the type of mating
system.
 Among monogamous species, males
and females are often so much alike
morphologically that they may be
difficult or impossible to distinguish
based on external characteristics.
In monogamous species, such as these wester gulls,
males and females ae difficult to distinguish using
external characteristics only.
 Mating Systems and Sexual
Dimorphism
 In contrast, polygynous  Polyandrous species are also
species are generally dimorphic, but the females are
dimorphic, with males being generally more ornamented and
showier and often larger than larger than the males.
females.

In polygamous species, such as elk, the male In polyandrous species, such as these
is often highly ornamented. Wilson’s phalaropes, females are generally
more ornamented than males
List down 5 organisms on how animal
communicate.
Visual auditory Tactile Chemical

1 1 1 1

2 2 2 2

3 3 3 3

4 4 4 4

5 5 5 5
THANK
YOU!

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