Antipredator behaviors are important in a life of an individual to increase its survival by avoiding predators. To induce antipredator behaviors against predators, individuals need to be able to recognize the predators. This paper is going to explore the antipredator behaviors of Iberian green frog tadpoles (Pelophylax/Rana perezi). In 2007, Gonzalo et al.1 conducted two experiments to examine the ability of R. perezi tadpoles to learn predator recognition and to assess the risk associated with the predator. In many cases, predator recognitions involve learning in which individuals receive chemical cues from predators and/or alarm cues from captured conspecifics1. Gonzalo et al.1 hypothesized that R. perezi tadpoles can use chemical cues and/or alarm cues to learn predatory recognition, assess risk level and respond to it. Furthermore, according to Helfman’s threat-sensitive hypothesis2, individuals should react differently to varying degrees of predator risk so that they can have more times and energy to do other activities such as feeding. Predator cues and alarm cues together provide signals that the predator is eating the conspecifics, indicating that the predator is more dangerous than when only predator cues are present1. Therefore, Gonzalo et al.1 predicted that the tadpoles who received both predator and alarm cues would generate a greater fright reaction than those who received predator cues alone. In the first experiment, baseline activity of tadpoles was obtained on day 1. Two days after, the tadpoles from the control group were exposed only to the predator chemical cues (i.e., snake scent) whereas the experimental group was exposed to both the snake scent and the conspecific chemical alarm cues1. On day 5, tadpoles f... ... middle of paper ... ...ues (chemicals released by predators), alarm cues (chemicals released by eaten conspecifics) and disturbance cues (chemicals released by stressed conspecifics)1,3. Among these cues, predator and alarm cues together provide the most dangerous signal, inducing significant antipredator behaviors1,3. Predator and disturbance cues together signal a less dangerous threat, induce less antipredator behaviors3. By doing so, R. perezi tadpoles maximize their survival by devoting more times and energy to other more important activities such as feeding. Furthermore, alarm cues might be necessary for learning of R. perezi tadpoles to react to invasive predators and this learning can be memorized for up to 9 days3,4. This ability to acquire recognition of novel predators is also important for survival of R. perezi tadpoles when a new predator is introduced into the environment.
P6: ‘The animals behaviour and natural instinct changes in a marine park compared to in its natural habitat’ (para 3).
Fruteau C, Range F, Noe R. 2009 Infanticide risk and infant defence in multi-male free-ranging sooty mangabeys, Cercocebus atys. Behavioral Processes 83, 113-118
Animals can learn interesting and complex behaviors through the means of conditioning and other training methods. The two types of conditioning are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Conditioning incorporates both reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement will increase the likelihood or a behavior, where punishment, and extinction will decrease it. Lee and Belfiore stated that “reinforcement is one of the most misused and misunderstood terms in the analysis of behavior” (1997). Along with these types of conditioning are other factors that help one train an organism. Habituation, magazine training, shaping, and different schedules of reinforcement help one reach the desired behavior. All these factors are part of training an organism to reach a desired behavior.
Ever wonder how animals know so much? It’s simple. It’s all according to how they act and what they know. When an animal is born it has instincts. These instincts help the creature survive and cause them to behave certain ways. This is called Innate behaviors. Although, some things animals have been taught. Unlike Innate behaviors whereas it comes from the genes, other behaviors have to be learned. They are called Learned behaviors. Together, Innate and Learned behaviors can prove that animals are smarter then most people think.
According to Marcus et al. (1988), habituation and sensitization are behaviorally dissociated in three ways: the time of their onset, stimulus requirements, and their developmental timetables. To test this experimenters used two different series of experiments. In each of the experiments the magnitude of reflex responsiveness following tail stimuli was the dependent variable being measured. The first series of experiments tested dishabituation in adult aplysia by producing habituation of a stimulus, then administering a stimulus to the tail varying in intensity from a mild, tactile stimulus to a variety of electrical shocks. The manipulation of the time between habituation series and the next stimuli was the independent variable in this experiment. The various stimuli were administered at three different times following habituation: 90 seconds, 10 minutes, and 20 minutes. To analyze the time of onset of dishabituation, experimenters utilized two different conditions: dishabituation in which the Aplysia received tail stimulation following habituation to ...
Hermit crabs have been reported to be capable of habituation through previous research. If hermit crabs are capable of habituation, the retraction reflex should habituate to a tactile stimulus if the stimulus is not harmful to the animal. Furthermore, if the animal does habituate, the number of presentations of the stimulus required to elicit a response should increase (Hypothesis 1), the time to re-emerge from its shell after retraction should decrease (Hypothesis 2), and the magnitude in which it retracts should decrease (Hypothesis 3) as learning trials progress. Ten terrestrial hermit crabs (Coenobita clypeatus) each received strokes to its abdomen and the number of touches required for retraction, the magnitude of the retraction, and the time it took to re-emerge from its shell after retraction was recorded. The crabs that met the 40 consecutive touch criterion for habituation were Crabs 2, 11, and 14. Out of these three crabs, Crab 11 did not show any significant behavioral changes, while Crab 2 and 14 displayed a significant increase in number of touches, supporting Hypothesis 1. For Hypothesis 2, Crab 14 had a significant decrease in latency,
The scientific article, "Retention of Memory through Metamorphosis: Can a Moth Remember What It Learned As a Caterpillar?" attempts to answer five research questions. I will be covering the following three: "Do larvae learn aversive cues?" "Does aversive behavior persist across larval molts?" and "Does aversive behavior persist through metamorphosis?" No hypotheses were provided, but the experiments were successful in reaching conclusive results.
This experiment was initialized to find out the how lead can affect the mating behaviors of a
When the poison is sprayed at the predator, the predator will slowly lose all functions of it’s body and die within a couple of hours. The organism can detect a predator by using the light, a sensory detector, located in front of its head to check for shadows of possible predators. If this is the case, our organism will turn around and swim in the opposite direction. The organism appears as camouflage, so if the predator is close, it can try to hide. The organism also has sensory detectors on its body, which can sense a pressure change in the
Learning can be quantified through observable behaviour and is adaptive to a creature’s specific environment at an individual level rather than species level. Behaviour can be broken down into two main categories, respondent behaviour, which is impacted by events that preceded it and operant behaviour, which is behaviour that is influenced by events that follow it. Behaviour can be analysed using a three term contingency of ABC. A is the antecedent, which can increase or decrease a behaviour depending on what is desired, B is the observed behaviour and C is the consequence of that behaviour, certain consequences increase behaviour whilst some decrease it. There are many different ways we learn behaviour and many different types of conditioning. Operant conditioning influences operant behaviour and uses the principles of positive and negative reinforcement and punishment to strengthen desired behaviours whereas instrumental conditioning involves making a response that is instrumental, it is an activity that is voluntary which elicits a consequence. A third type of conditioning is classical conditioning, which can be defined as an association being made between one stimulus and another, resulting in a relationship. For the purpose of this essay, classical conditioning will be the focus.
The Axolotl, a crucially endangered neotenous species of mole salamander, has adapted to fit its environment so it can easily catch food and evade predators. The Axolotl’s habitat is the lake system of Xochimilco that is near Mexico City, Mexico. This shallow, fresh water lake complex has a temperature range of 6- 20°C and a pH of 7- 12. The complex also has the Axolotl’s primary food sources of mollusk, insect larvae, and other crustaceans. However, with the introduction of foreign species such as the Asian Carp and the African Tilapia, the Axolotl now has predators that may eat and threaten it, and it has competition for the animals it usually eats. Fortunately, the Axolotl has developed adaptations that aid it in catching food and evading predators. To help it catch food the Axolotl’s teeth are shaped like cones, so that its “vacuum” action of sucking in as much water in order to also eat food is aided by the shape of the teeth, which allow it to grip, rather than chew. To aid them in avoiding predators they are able to metamorphose so that they use their lungs more than their gill, which allows them to leave very toxic waters and the predators within. Another adaption that helps them deflect any predator is that they are able to regenerate body parts that have been lost, allowing them to stay as strong as possible. Axolotl’s have adaptations that aid their survival from predators in the lake complex Xochimilco that they reside in.
Around the 1950’s, C.S. Holling decided to look into the reasoning of why predators can control their numbers of their prey. For example, when prey densities tend to increase, the predators respond by changing their rate of consumption for them to satisfy their hunger. This concept is also known as a functional response, and Holling created a method to reflect this model. His model consisted of blind folding human participants (considered as predators) and having them search for sand paper disks (prey) scattered throughout a board, to observe the responses of the participants to the disks. The participants’ reactions reflected a predator’s rate of discovery and handling time (reactions) to the amount of prey in a certain area. The predator’s responses usually reflect a Type II functional response, yet there are about three functional responses a predator may portray: Type I, Type II, and Type III.
One factor that affects the development of herpetophobia is through observational learning. Because of observational learning is “ [fear is]
Lontra candensis, river otters, use their pheromones in a behavior commonly referred to as scent marking. River otters are semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals that live mainly in inland waterways, ponds, and lakes. They are most well-known for their playful antics, and they can be observed playing in their natural habitats throughout North America.1 Scent marking is a behavior that has been observed in several different animal species, particularly mammals, but for otters it is very strange. Otters are semi-aquatic, and aquatic animals usually do not partake in this behavior. There are many different hypotheses as to why otters demonstrate this behavior.
Their proficiency with their heightened sound and smell senses gives them an advanced system of recognizing whether prey or danger is approaching, determining if danger is imminent, or guiding them to their prey. To enhance their underwater visual capacity, a protective membrane covers their eye, and the iris of the eye achieves optimal night vision. They learn to avoid constant threatening situations by navigating new routes after a single encounter, which has prevented numerous attempts of their capture by human