pysch 2tt 3 lecture 1 (chapter 3)

8/3/2019 PYSCH 2tt 3 Lecture 1 (Chapter 3)

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Psychology 2TT3Animal Behaviour

1

Instructor:Dr. Brett Beston ([email protected])


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Outline for Part 1 Introduction

Course plan Why do we study animal behaviour?


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Psychology Questions

We dont always know how people will behave orwhat they think. We need to do research.

For example, answer True or False to thesequestions:


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Animal Behaviour

ObjectivesBy the end of this course the students will be able to:

Understand the importance of animal behaviour

research

Discuss the two mechanisms that changebehaviour over time

Describe the mechanisms that control andgenerate behaviour in most animals

Apply scientific thinking for analyzing novelproblems in animal behaviour


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Animal Behaviour

Objectives (cont.)

Detail the major components of behaviour, which are

shared by most animal species. Explain human behaviour based on concepts and

examples studied in the course.

Interpret graphs and know how to draw graphs from

data.


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Dugatkin


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7

Psychologys Contribution to

Principles of Animal Behaviour

Shepard Siegel

B. Geoff Galef

Reuven Dukas


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Animal Behaviour GroupSigal Balshine (Psychology)

Ana Campos (Biology)Mertice Clark (Psychology)

Martin Daly (Psychology)

Denys DeCatanzaro (Psychology)

Reuven Dukas (Psychology)

David Earn (Mathematics)

Paul Faure (Psychology)

Paul Higgs (Physics)

Bennett Galef (Psychology)

Grant McClelland (Biology)

Jim Quinn (Biology)

David Rollo (Biology)

Shepard Siegel (Psychology)

Jonathon Stone (Biology)

Margo Wilson (Psychology)

http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/

psychology/animal/index.html


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Logic of course plan

We will focus on major concepts that youneed to understand


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EvaluationEvaluation breakdo n

Term tests Test 1 (Feb 8th) 25%

Test 2 (Mar 7th 30%

Final examination 45%

lectures 1 to 4

lectures 5 to 9


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The 2TT3 website has only

partial lecture notes

You are responsible forall the material

covered in the lectures

You should take your own notes in lectures

Attending lectures is necessary forsucceeding in the course


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Helicon Therapeutics Our Mission:

To discover drugs for treating

disorders of memorywww.helicontherapeutics.com

Interview with Tim Tully

Flies receive tingle in feet and notice a chemical scent.Purpose is to see how well flies recognize tingle withchemical. "Classical Conditioning"

Involves elevator and two tubes, flies avoid the shocking whenfly learns through practice repeatidly10 training sessions in odor shock training,it will not lastthere has to be a spacing sessionif you wait over 24 hrs, then there will be no learning.Fruit Fly eggs get extra kreb gene? and red eye colour gene....helps convert short term to long term memorythe fruit flies born they for long term memory even after 1 training session, equivalent to photographic memorySwitch is set for kreb gene between fully off or on...Fruit flies can not cram

Human and Fruit flies share the same mechanism in which memory and plasticity in the brain


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Uses of animal-behaviour

research

Entertainment (pets, zoos, safaris, natureprogrammes on TV)

Model systems for human applications

Protection of rare, endangered animals

Control of pests and damage-reduction

Birds and AirplanesF-15 Eagle collided with storks, sucked into engine, each stork hit plane with 15 tons of force


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Collisions between wildlife and aircraft haveresulted in the loss of over 400 aircraft since1950, and over 100 human lives since 1995.

Collisions between aircraft and birds cost theaviation industry over $1.2 billion per year.

In Canada, over 800 bird strike incidents are

reported each year.Ex. Hudson


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Wildlife vs. aircraftPassengers saved after plane ditches in New York's

Hudson River (January 19, 2009) They found that 2 canada gees struck theengine and disabledit.


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Bird-airplane collision

Most airports employ control teams that doresearch on and run programs for reducingbird collision.

Falcons arepredator birdsthey helpget rid ofmigrating birds


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Research in Israel has reduced bird-aircraftcollisions and damage by ~85%, saved human

and bird life and over US$ 40 million per year.

www.birds.org.il

Twice a year, 500 million birds crossing through the landAs a result, every ind. that joins the israel armed forces haveto study a college course on bird migratory pattern course


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Chapter 3

ProximateFactors

Lee Alan Dugatkin


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Scientific approaches in animal

behaviour research

From a scientific approach, explain why

songbirds sing?Many approaches: relationships, neurologically, etcmay be to warn of predator, hunger, intruder,

black headed something...sings song if intruder if female is alone and malesflies back


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Function (why) vs. mechanism (how)

=Ultimate vs. proximate mechanisms

= Adaptive significance vs.

! machinery (genetics, physiology, neurobiology,endocrinology)

Scientific approaches

what is the goal what is necc. in the animal to produce this song

wat is it good for what are the immediate causes

what is it good for


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Example

Plumage color in male housefinches

Why is there such large

plumage variation (among males &between males & females)?

What is the adaptive

significance of red plumage?

How is the red colorationgenerated?

F

M

M

Males tend to be more colourful


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Proximate mechanisms

How is the red colorationgenerated?

The red colorationcomes from carotenoid

pigments ingested in

food

Choosing to eat morecarotenoid-rich food

results in more red

plumage

But why is there a

positive relationship

between father and son

plumage scores?Finches are red because of the diet they eat

if a father has lesscolour, than his sonhas less colour as welltherefore, there must be

some transferabletrait


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Ultimate mechanisms

What is the adaptive significance of redplumage?

Positive correlation between male matingsuccess and red-color intensity


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Ultimate mechanisms


Positive correlation between male matingsuccess and red-color intensity

1.0 0.6 0.27

12.1 20.2 27.80

SHAM:Artificially colour by dyeto feathers of malesBRIGHTENED:Artificially brighten thefeathers

LIGHTENED: no colour

measure female responsein return to colour of male

females are attracred tobrightened

shows us why males seekcaratanoid foods to ger a mate

what does the female gain from choosing male with colour


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Ultimate mechanisms


Recovery from Infection Feeding young

Males with less colouration visit less often than males with more colouration and feed the young

Males with more colouration are able to fight off or recover from infection, red score recovers the fastest and lessdisease, passsed onto offspring so offspring survival is optimal

Why do female choose males with colour?


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Why is there such large

plumage variation? Males but not females actively seek carotenoid-rich food

Males who can afford seeking color instead ofenergy are probably of better quality

Females estimate male quality based on thered colour

(Note that the answer involves both proximate

and ultimate mechanisms)

indicates health, quality, security, etc.females use colour of plumage as an indicator of quality of male


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Other Examples of Proximal

CausationHoromone changes describe behavioural

modifications

Hormones


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modifications

ex. testorterone in males


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modifications

Parental Care

males with lower

testosterone levels spend

more time with youngcastrated males clearly show that they are willing to spend timewith pups.


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modifications

MemoryStress affects

our ability to

remember

detailsgluco corticords: stresshormones, interferespatial memory

water maze test in diff.conditionsi.e shocks to induce stress

corticoid peaks at 30 mins, greatest effect onbehaviour, careful levels peak at 30 mins.2 mins, should have no effect4 hours, should have no effect as well as corticallevels have decreased


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modifications

TIme that rat spent in watermaze, orange is time inopposite quadrants, green istime in target

platform is around the edgeand recognized by rat

After 30 min of shock,they go across the mazewildlyLeast amount of time in targetquadrant, no diff in any otherquadrant

block effect of corticoidhormones?

metrapron??


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CausationNeurological examples of Proximal Causation

Spatial learning inhoneybeesforaging environment learning to find food and travelback to nest and give off signals to others to find thesource of food.


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Neurological examples of

Proximal Causation The ability to remember and retrieve information from the

environment is critical for many aspects of animal behaviour

Spatial learning in insects is often associated with a cluster ofsmall neurons called Mushroom bodies

structure analogous to humanhypothalamus

important in memory formation, size is important in formation of memories


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Neurological examples of

Proximal Causation

Nursing bees Foraging bees

Foragers have larger (14.8%) mushroom bodies than

do nursing bees

The development of mushroom bodies can beaccelerated by forcing juvenile bees to begin foraging

honey bees take on diff. behaviour depending on ageyoung = nursing, around nestolder = foraging

pysch 2tt 3 lecture 1 (chapter 3)

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