Animal Behavior: How and Why Animals Do the Things They Do

1251 Pages·2014·14.01 MB·English

by  Ken Yasukawa

Animal Behavior
How and Why Animals Do the Things They Do
Volume 1: History, Causation, and Development
KenYasukawaandZuleymaTang-Mart´ınez,Editors
Copyright2014byKenYasukawa
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval
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photocopying,recording,orotherwise,exceptfortheinclusionofbriefquotationsina
review,withoutpriorpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Animalbehavior:howandwhyanimalsdothethingstheydo/KenYasukawa,editor.
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN 978–0–313–39870–4 (hard copy : alk. paper) — ISBN 978–0–313–39871–1
(ebook) 1. Animalbehavior. I.Yasukawa,Ken,1949–
QL751.A6498 2013
591.5—dc23 2013012228
ISBN:978–0–313–39870–4
EISBN:978–0–313–39871–1
18 17 16 15 14 1 2 3 4 5
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Contents
Preface v
1. This IsHow WeDo It: The ScientificStudy of Animal Behavior 1
KenYasukawa
2. In theBeginning: AHistory of Animal Behavior 33
LeeC. Drickamer
3. BeingDirect: Can Pigeons Plan Ahead? 79
Brett M.Gibson
4. SocialLearning, Tradition,and Culture: Data andDebate 115
Bennett G. Galef
5. BehavioralGenetics: BeyondNature and Nurture 151
BronwynH.Bleakley andAnne Danielson-François
6. Neural Systems,Behavior, and Evolution:Integrating Proximate
andUltimate Analyses ofBehavior 185
LauraSmale
7. Hormonesand Animal Behavior 217
MatthewJ. Fuxjager, SarahJane Alger,and Catherine A. Marler
iv CONTENTS
8. Epigeneticsand Animal Behavior 263
DavidCrews
9. BehavioralDevelopment andOntogeneticAdaptation 289
JeffreyR. Alberts and ChristopherHarshaw
10. TheIndividual in Context:A Social NetworkApproach tothe
Studyof Behavior 325
DavidJ. White, AndrewP. King,and Meredith J.West
11. ATime forEvery Purpose:BiologicalClocks and Animal
Behavior 351
MeganHastings Hagenauerand Sean P. Bradley
12. GettingThere: Animal Orientation,Navigation,and Migration 387
JamesL. Gould
Glossary 413
About the Editors and Contributors 435
About the Editorial Board 439
Index 441
Preface
Most people are interested in the behavior of animals, but the scientists who
studyanimalbehavior,exemplifiedbytheauthorsofthevolumesofthisbook,
use time-honored methods of hypothesis testing in their attempts to under-
stand why and how animals do the things they do. As stated in many of the
chapters in this book, the scientific study of animal behavior owes a tremen-
dous debt to Niko Tinbergen, who turned his boyhood naturalist’s curiosity
about the world of animals into a career that was both highly productive and
extremely influential. This bookisdedicated to Tinbergen.
Tinbergenproposedhisfamousfourquestionsinhis1963paper“OnAims
andMethodsinEthology”(ZeitschriftfürTierpsychologie,20,410–433).Tin-
bergennotedthatafullunderstandingofbehaviormustincludeboth“proxi-
mate” and “ultimate” explanations. “How” questions are answered by
proximate explanations of the developmental history and mechanisms that
control behavior. “Why” questions are answered byultimate explanations for
the adaptive value and evolutionary history of behavior. Taken together, this
approachhasproducedatremendousamountofresearchandlotsofanswers,
butalsoevenmorequestions.Thechaptersinthisbookhavebeenwrittento
demonstratethedynamicnatureofthescientificstudyofanimalbehavior.We
hopethatyouwillfindeachchapteraninformativeandenjoyableglimpseinto
thecurious mindsof behavioralscientists.
As behavioral scientists, we have been inspired and influenced by many
whocamebeforeus.ToparaphraseSirIsaacNewton,wehaveseenalittlefur-
ther bystandingon theshoulders of giants. Butwehave also benefitted from
vi PREFACE
many contemporaries, some of whom have recently passed away much too
soon. We could name many of them, but a few who stand out to us are Val
Nolan, Devra Kleiman, Penny Bernstein, Al Dufty, and Chris Evans. We
should note that Chris died while writing a chapter for Volume 3, and we
are therefore proud that one of his last contributions to animal behavior will
appear in this book. We also dedicate this book to Val, Devra, Penny, Al,
and Chris,our friends andcolleagues.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Eachchapteriswrittenbyactiveresearcherswhoareexpertsinthesubjects
they cover. Because science tends to read like a foreign language, we have
included some special features to help you understand what our contributors
are telling you. First, our contributors try to explain why they are interested
intheirtopicsandhowtheygoaboutaskingandansweringthequestionsthey
consider. Second, the technical terms (vocabulary) are listed in bold italics
andaredefinedintheglossaryattheendofeachvolume.Finally,eachchapter
also includes a list of the references cited within it. If you are interested, you
cantrytoreadsomeoftheseresearchpapers.Somecanbefoundusingacom-
putersearch—Google Scholar is one way tofind someof them.Another way
is to use the name of the author to search for the author’s website—many
authors providePDF copies of their papers on their websites. One lastway is
to visit a university library and ask to do a computer search using their elec-
tronic data bases. You will probably need to get special permission to do so,
however.
1
This Is How We Do It: The Scientific Study
of Animal Behavior
Ken Yasukawa
INTRODUCTION
Interestinanimalbehaviorisatanall-timehigh.Animalbehavioristhesubjectof
documentaries(e.g.,MarchofthePenguins),animatedchildren’sadventures(e.g.,
FindingNemo),TVshows(e.g.,DogWhisperer),TVseries(e.g.,SharkWeek),and
entirecablenetworks(e.g.,AnimalPlanet).Butwheredoestheinformationcome
from? Informationaboutthebehaviorofanimals comesfromscientificstudy,
andthefieldofanimal behavior isnowwellestablished.InthischapterIwill
brieflydescribethethreemajormethods(observations,experiments,andmodel-
ing)thatresearchersusetostudyanimalbehavior,andIwillorganizeitaround
theprocessbywhichresearchisdesigned.Mygoalisageneralintroductionwith
someexamplesandsuggestionsforfurtherreadingratherthananexhaustivedis-
cussionwithendlessreferences.Iwritethischapterinhonorofmyrolemodel,
NikoTinbergen,whoestablishedtheframeworkforthestudyofanimalbehavior
(seeChapter2).Figure1.1showssomeoftheanimalshestudied.
WHO DOES RESEARCH IN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR?
Animal behaviorists are a diverse lot. They range in age from elementary
school children (Blackawton et al., 2010) to retirees (several chapters in this
book). Those with advanced degrees come primarily from biology,
2 ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Figure1.1. DrawingsofsomeoftheanimalsstudiedbyNikoTinbergen.(Redrawnby
EmmersonFuller)
psychology, and anthropology, but disciplines such as mathematics, physics,
sociology, economics, and philosophy are also represented. And they reside
throughouttheworld,althoughNorthAmerica,Europe,andAustraliaaredis-
proportionatelyrepresented.
FUNDING FOR RESEARCH
Some research projects require few financial resources. My doctoral thesis
study of red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), for example, required
travel to my study site, a few items of equipment (a telescope, which I bor-
rowed; binoculars; a stop watch; and a clipboard), and a few supplies (data
sheets, pencils, coffee, and Snickers bars). In contrast, however, before most
animal behaviorists can conduct their research projects, they must secure
fundingtopayfortravel,housing,personnel,equipment,supplies,andanimal
care. Authors published in a single recent issueof Animal Behaviour,a highly
respected, international journal, acknowledge funding from a variety of
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT: THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOR 3
governmental and nongovernmental sources, including the National Science
Foundation and National Institutes of Health (USA), Natural Science and
Engineering Research Council (Canada), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y
Technología de México, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research
Council,andNaturalEnvironmentResearchCouncil(UK),NorthernIreland
EnvironmentAgency,CentreNationaldelaRechercheScientifique(France),
Fundação para a Ciência e a Technologia (Portugal), Max-Planck-Institut
für Verhaltensphysiologie (Germany), Austrian Science Fund, Hungarian
National Science Foundation, Swedish Research Council, Swedish Envi-
ronmentalProtectionAgency,AcademyofFinland,NetherlandsOrganisation
for Scientific Research, Swiss National Science Foundation, Commission
of the European Communities, Agency for Innovation by Science and Tech-
nology(Lithuania),IsraelScienceFoundation,NationalResearchFoundation
(South Africa), Australian Research Council, New Zealand Marsden Fund,
Fujian Province Nature and Science Project (China), National Geographic
Society,Volkswagenstiftung, Birds Australia, Canadian Society of Ornitholo-
gists, and the Leverhulme Trust. This listing of funding sources also empha-
sizes the worldwide reach of animal behavior and the variety of foundations
and government agencies that supportanimal behaviorresearch.
This financial support was absolutely necessary, but funding is extremely
competitive—most research proposals are not funded. Professional animal
behaviorists constantly deal with thestress ofsecuring funding.
HOW DO ANIMAL BEHAVIORISTS GET STARTED?
Everyjourneymuststartwiththefirststep,butthatstepcanbeverydiffi-
cult. Paul Martin and Patrick Bateson (2007) suggest that the first step is to
aska questionabout behavior. Anythingfrom avery general “What doesthis
animal do?”to anarrow and morehypothetical “Do females prefer conspicu-
ous male behavior?” will do. In many cases, research tends to generate more
and more specific questions, and the questions emerge from earlier observa-
tions,questions, andpotential answers.
Hereisanexample.Earlyobservationsofthebehaviorofmystudyspecies,
the red-winged blackbird, showed that males defend territories (i.e., they try
to keep other males out of small portions of nesting habitat). So, an initial
question might be, “How do male red-winged blackbirds defend their
territories?”
Withthefirststeptaken,anextstepwouldbetogathermoreinformation.
Typically, this next step involves doing some background reading or making