Animal Behavior Ethogram Version

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University of Louisville *

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104

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Anthropology

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Dec 6, 2023

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Animal Behavior Lab 25 points Ethology is the study of animal behavior, a branch of biology that was established in the 1970’s to better understand the behavior of different animals and how behavior evolves. Behavior is studied from four different perspectives known as Tinbergen’s Questions: (1) What is eliciting/causing the behavior in that moment? (2) What are the genetic or developmental underpinnings of the behavior? (3) What is the function or adaptive value of the behavior? (4) How did the behavior evolve?  For example, there are many ways to ask and investigate why a male songbird sings or why monarch butterflies migrate. Behavior is defined as the change in activity of an animal in response to a stimulus; thus, behavior is predicated on the ability to move (the entire body and/or parts of the body). And like an animal’s genetics and morphology, its behavior can influence its survival and reproductive success (fitness). Behavior will be influenced by a species environment and ecology, which is why different animals display a variety of different behaviors. Some behaviors may be advantageous for one species but disadvantageous for another. As discussed in the natural selection lab, behavior that is beneficial to individuals will persist, but a behavior that is harmful will decrease in frequency.  For example, big cats, like the Sumatran tiger and the African lion, are closely genetically related, relatively speaking, but the Sumatran tiger is mostly solitary (except during breeding and females raising young) while lions are highly social and live in prides. o Think about the differences in these two big cats’ environments that may lead to one species being solitary and the other social. Why is being social beneficial/advantageous to lions but not to tigers?  Niche : the role an organism plays in a community. A species’ niche encompasses both the physical and environmental conditions it requires and how it interacts with both its physical environment and other species. Why do ethologists and behavioral ecologists study animal behavior? Studying the behavior of other animals: - Aids in the fight to conserve endangered species - Provides insights to help mitigate human-wildlife conflict - Provide information on climate change (ie. where populations are moving, when hibernation begins/ends, when migration begins, etc.) - Allows for development of technology based on certain animals’ behaviors (ie. echolocation, camouflage, toxin removal etc.) - Helps shed light on the evolution of behavioral traits - Increases our knowledge and understanding of different human behaviors

Experimental Activity 1. Choose one of the following animals to watch and study on campus. If you find a different species once you’re out there, that you recognize , that you would be more interested in observing you can modify things and choose that species. a. American Robin b. European Starling c. Gray Squirrel 2. Before looking for your animal, create a research question and hypothesis based on the animal you chose to study. a. What behavior do you expect your focal species to spend the most amount of time engaged in? b. Use Web of Science to find an article to support why you expect your focal species to spend the majority of their time engaged in a specific behavior and cite it. i. If naked mole rats are highly social animals, and I watch live footage of a naked mole rat colony and calculate time percentages for their behaviors, then naked mole rats will spend the majority of their time engaged in social behaviors such as grooming others, feeding others, playing with others and other social tactile behaviors. ii. I expect naked mole rats to spend the majority of their time engaged in social behaviors because they are eusocial animals (the only eusocial mammal), and in the wild they spend the majority of their time socializing with other adults or grooming or feeding juveniles (Sherman et al., 1992) 1. Sherman, P. W., Jarvis, J. U., & Braude, S. H. (1992). Naked mole rats. Scientific American , 267 (2): 72-79.

 What is your research question? (2 pts)  What is your hypothesis? Remember to use “if [explanation], and [methods], then [prediction]” format. Support hypothesis with evidence from the literature. (2 pts) 3. Before leaving to search for your animal of choice, begin creating your ethogram with behaviors you predict you will observe in a small bird or squirrel. 4. Find your animal on campus (all should be very easy to find), observe them for 5 minutes, and create an ethogram using the Ethogram Construction handout. If your specific bird/squirrel flies or climbs out of sight, find another. You can look up ethograms online to find explanation of behaviors. Copy your ethogram below from the other file (7 pts) 5. After creating an ethogram, watch the animal for another 5 minutes and use the observation chart provided in the Ethogram Construction handout to record your data. Again, if the animal you’re observing leaves find another. 6. Using the data from your observation, create a time budget using the table on the Ethogram Construction handout. Copy it below from the other file. Post-Experiment Questions : 1. Do your results support or reject your hypothesis? Explain. (4 pts) 2. What claim can you make based on your results? (2 pts) 3. Discuss how the behaviors you recorded, and the time budgets you calculated are linked to evolution (8 pts) a. How does the time budget, behaviors recorded, etc. benefit your animal? b. Consider how natural selection may have shaped these behaviors and time budgets.

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Animal Behavior Ethogram Version

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