Introduction to Ecology

Animal Behavior

• Behavior is everything an animal does and how it does it.
  • Innate Behavior
    • Some behaviors are inherited actions that are performed effectively the first time without being taught. These types of behaviors are called innate behaviors.
      • Instinct: A species-specific innate behavior shared by all normal members of that species.
      • Fixed action pattern: A fixed, unchangeable sequence of innate actions triggered by a specific stimulus and carried out to completion.

• • Learned behavior: When behaviors are modified by experience, it is called learning.
    • Habituation: Decrease or stop a response to a repetitive harmless stimulus.

• • • Operant Conditioning: Learning in which behavior is shaped by rewards and punishments.

• • • Classical conditioning: Learning by association between two stimuli, where a neutral stimulus comes to trigger a response.

• • • Insight learning (Cognitive behavior): reasoning, solving problems, or making decisions (without trial and error).

• • • Imprinting: Learning something and do it permanently.

• • Feeding Behavior (Foraging Behavior): The optimal hypothesis is the idea that animals tend to behave in a way that maximizes food gathering, while minimizing effort and exposure to predators.

• • Migrating Behaviors: Moving long distances seasonally in groups for reproducing and increase their survival chances.

• • Ecological Behaviors (Competitive Behavior):
    • Aggressive (agonistic) behavior: Behavior involving threats, displays, chasing, or fighting between individuals, usually over resources such as food, mates, or territory.

• • • Territorial Behavior: The defense of a specific area against other individuals using aggression, vocal calls, visual displays, or chemical signals (scent marking).

• • • Dominance Hierarchies: A social ranking system within a group in which individuals are ranked from most dominant (alpha) to least dominant, often established through aggressive interactions or displays.

• • Social behavior can be defined as any kind of interaction between two or more animals, usually of the same species..
    • Cooperation or Social groups have evolved in the animal kingdom because there are benefits to living in a group. These benefits can include protection from predators and more success in foraging. Like lions hunting in a group.

• • • Altruism: A behavior in which an individual reduces its own fitness to increase the fitness of another individual.

• • Biological Rhythms: Sleep – Wake Cycle.
    • Circadian rhythm: Daily (24-hour) cycle controlling sleep–wake and activity patterns.
    • Circatidal rhythm: Rhythm linked to ocean tides, controlling feeding and movement in marine animals.
    • Circalunar rhythm: Rhythm linked to the moon cycle, controlling reproduction and spawning.
    • Circannual rhythm: Yearly (seasonal) rhythm controlling migration, hibernation, and breeding.

• • Communication Behaviors:
    • Pheromones: Chemical signals released by an organism and detected by members of the same species, used to communicate information such as mating readiness, territory, alarm, or identity.

• • • Auditory communication: Communication using sounds such as calls, songs, barks, chirps, or hoots to convey information like warning, mating, territory, or social bonding. 

• • Courting and nurturing behaviors
    • Courting Behavior: A set of ritualized behaviors used to attract a mate and ensure species recognition and reproductive readiness.

• • • Nurturing behavior: Behaviors by parents that protect, feed, and care for their offspring to increase their survival.

• • Mimicry: An adaptation in which one species resembles another species (usually harmful or unpalatable) in order to avoid predation.

Introduction to Ecology:

Ecology: is the study of the interactions among living things and between living things and their surroundings.

Some ⇒ People ⇒ Can ⇒ Eat ⇒ Beef ⇒ Burger.

Species ⇒ Population ⇒ Community ⇒ Ecosystem ⇒ Biome ⇒ Biosphere

• Species (Individual):
  • One organism, a single living thing.
• population:
  • A group of interbreeding organisms (species).
  • Living in the same area.
  • They share the same gene pool.
• Community:
  • all type of organisms living in the same area; populations that live together.
  • Biotic (living) only.
• Ecosystem:
  • All the organisms (populations) living in the same area (community)
  • With their nonliving environment
  • Biotic (living) and Abiotic (nonliving).
• Biome:
  • Can be terrestrial or aquatic.
    • Terrestrial (Land) biomes are determined by:
      • Latitude (how far north or south of the Equator a place is).
      • Climate: (Long-term average of weather in a region):
        • Precipitation (Rain).
        • Temperature.
    • Aquatic biomes are determined by:
      • Salinity (the amount of dissolved salts in water).
        • Freshwater Biomes
        • Brackish Biomes.
        • Marine Biomes.
        • Hypersaline Biomes.
• Biosphere:
  • All regions on planet Earth with living organisms in it.

• Factors that influence ecosystems: Biotic and Abiotic.