Clicker. Methods 2 and Behavioral Genetics. Invasive methods. Methods and tools: design of an animal behavior study

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1 Methods 2 and Behavioral Genetics Clicker The clicker numbers to the left are not yet registered Invasive methods Methods and tools: design of an animal behavior study invasive: often involves capture and marking capture success depends on method/trap used mark recapture Sherman Useful for capture of small birds and bats Tomahawk Hav-a-hart Mist-nets

2 Methods: monitoring animal movements Invasive techniques: VHF radio telemetry useful over large distances (kilometers) GPS collars Design of an animal behavior study: legal & ethical concerns in both lab & field work affect as few animals as possible detect and reduce animal stress & pain weigh the potential gain in knowledge against the consequences to the individual animals and populations consider different Umwelts States vs. Events Systematic Observation of Behavior Jeanne Altmann Established observational sampling methods & the types of questions they best answer Her classic paper has been cited over 3000 times! Altmann, J Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. Behaviour, 49, Generally behaviors can be divided into 2 categories States: Events: Depending on the type of behavior different methods of observation are better

3 States vs. Events Generally behaviors can be divided into 2 categories States: ongoing behavior that you could time with a stopwatch ie. resting, walking, feeding Events: an instantaneous occurrence ie. Lunge, bite, peck Depending on the type of behavior different methods of observation are better Systematic Observation of Behavior Ad libitum sampling observer attempts to record as much information as he/ she can non-systematic some behaviors and classes of animals are more conspicuous than others, therefore potential bias use caution in interpreting observed differences cannot draw comparisons between studies Systematic Observation of Behavior Zero-one sampling record whether, in a given time period, an animal exhibited a behavior or not sometimes used to calculate time budgets generally used for states, not events not ideal for getting accurate measures of time spent in an activity, or frequency of exhibiting a behavior e.g. zero-one sampling of behavior by lion cub 12:01 12:02 12:03 12:04 nurse groom play sleep Systematic Observation of Behavior Scan sampling periodic records of what each animal present in the group is doing allows observer to get information about state of entire group, including associations great for states, bad for events e.g. scan at hyena den CHIP CASH MACA s-0638 CHIP lying by Den CASH wanders by Den MACA wanders 1m - Den

4 Systematic Observation of Behavior MRPH ADON SEIN LDV FFL DUB BOA CHIP DING VGS Critical Incident sampling record every occurrence of some critical behaviors a.k.a. all-occurrence sampling works well if observability is good and behaviors do not occur too frequently to record can work for both states and events e.g. hyena notes 0700 LDV approach 2m MRPH, t-1 (food) LDV, backs off 0702 MIG paste 6m MRPH 0704 LDV approach 3m MRPH, t-3 LDV, submissive posture Systematic Observation of Behavior NW Talek L (GPS: E, N) ART & ALUM feed on wildebeest calf Focal animal sampling record everything one animal does, and everything others do to it, for some pre-determined period of time obtain excellent data on one individual per sampling survey, however, may miss valuable data on other animals works well for states and events allows calculation of frequencies/rates of behaviors ****START FAS: ART**** 1836 ART stands & looks ART feeds 1837 ART feeds 1838 same 1839 same 1840 same 1841 ART t-1 ALUM, giggles submissive posture 1842 ART feeds 1843 same 1844 same same *****END FAS: ART****

5 The scan sampling method of behavioral observahon is best used for: Sources of Error in the study of animal behavior a) behavioral events b) when there is only one individual c) behavioral states d) it s never a good method You are interested in studying the mahng behavior of American bison, parhcularly whether dominant males get disproporhonately more mahng opportunihes than lower-ranking males. A collaborator of yours has already established the social rankings of all the bulls in a large group and marked them with unique ear tags that you can read by using binoculars. Mahng events are relahvely rare, but when they do occur, they are readily observable. Addihonally, members of a bison group stay close together at all hmes. To most efficiently address your research queshon, which observahonal sampling method should you employ? A. scan sampling B. crihcal incident sampling C. Ad libitum sampling D. focal animal sampling E. all of the above are equally efficient means to answer your queshon You have been hired as a research assistant to study the foraging behavior of lesser yellowlegs (a shorebird). You have been provided with a $3400 pair of binoculars and have been given ample training in how best to use this equipment. You are also well versed, and prachced, in observahonal sampling methods. You have been instructed to perform zero-one sampling for one hour on 10 different adult individuals, recording the occurrence of foraging behaviors, each of which you are familiar with. You did not parhcipate in generahng hypotheses for the current study. You are very excited about this research opportunity and, in your eagerness, you begin collechng data very early in the morning when it is shll dark outside. When you begin work, which source of observahonal error is most influenhal on your data collechon? a. error of recording d. error of apprehending b. computahonal error e. observer bias c. observer error

6 Methods in Behavioral Research Methods in Behavioral Research One question One hypothesis One prediction Predicted results Method- explain your choice, is your response variable a state or an event? Behavioral Genetics Behavioral variation is associated with genetic variation Phenotype Observed traits of an individual Genotype All the alleles of an individual Behavior is a result of: 1. Genotype (G) 2. Environment (E) 3. Gene-environment interactions (GEI)

7 At what level of analysis is the following question: What is the genetic basis for sterile workers in eusocial insect colonies? A. Mechanism B. Ontogeny C. Function D. Phylogeny Mendelian Traits