CHAPTER 11Behaviours for survival

BEHAVIOUR IN ANIMALS The study of animal behaviour is called

ethology Some behaviour is innate- this means it

is ‘in built’ ie you are born knowing how to do it

Other behaviours are learned ie by observing others

Rhythmic behaviour happens at regular intervals. Feeding is an example of this.

‘The biological clock’ is often referred to as an explanation for these patterns

COMMUNICATION BEHAVIOURS Important components of communication

are: Stimulus for communication Sender Receiver The kind of signal How the signal is sent The behaviour of the receiver The setting in which the signal is sent

Communication may be through touch, posture, sound, visual display, and chemical signals

EXAMPLES OF COMMUNICATION Bees perform a ‘waggle dance’ at the

hive to tell the other bees where the food is

Whales ‘sing’ underwater- this has a role in locating other whales as well as courtship implications

Dogs use ‘chemical communication’ by releasing pheromones- hormones that signal that they are ‘on heat’

SOCIAL & TERRITORIAL INTERACTIONS It is often safer for an organism to be part

of a group than alone. Groups often have an ‘organisation system’

or ‘social hierarchy’ with leaders and subordinates

Territorial behaviour refers to animals defending their habitat from other potential competitors

Competition may occur between organisms for space or food

Cooperation occurs when it is of benefit to all animals involved (eg hunting in packs)

Pg 362 Questions 5, 6, 8 Pg 369 Question 2

LEARNED BEHAVIOURS Conditioning- conditioning results when

an association is made between two events. In Pavlov’s experiments dogs were conditioned to salivate when a bell was rung

Classical conditioning- the reward follows the stimulus

Operant conditioning- the reward follows the response

Habituation- ‘getting used to’ an environment. Eg not hearing traffic when you live near a busy road

Insight- using reason to solve a problem. Ie using life experiences to deal with a new situation

Imprinting- the formation of an attachment to something shortly after birth (eg ducks)

PLANT BEHAVIOUR Tropism- a growth response to a

stimulus Can be positive (grow in direction of

stimulus) or negative (grow in opposite direction)

Phototropism- response to light Geotropism- response to gravity Thigmotropism- response to touch

HOW DOES THE GROWTH RESPONSE OCCUR?Phototropisms: Auxin is a plant hormone responsible for

growth If light is evenly distributed, auxin is

evenly distributed and the plant will grown straight

If light is to one side, auxin will become more concentrated on the side without sunlight, causing greater growth on that side.

Geotropisms: See picture pg 364 Auxin accumulates on the lower side of

the shoot- this causes elongation of the cells on this side. Shoot grows upwards (negative geotropism)

Roots grow downwards (positive geotropism)

TIMING OF FLOWERING Photoperiod refers to the relative time of

day and night When plants respond to this it is called

photoperiodism Some plants only flower when the day

length is shorter, others when the day length is longer

Pg 362 Questions 5, 6, 8

Pg 369 Question 2

Pg 367 Questions 9-13

Pg 369 Question 3

Pg 370 Question 4

Pg 372 Questions’s 8,10 (these would be a good test/exam

questions!!)