Introduction to Ethology

Ethology

Introduction:

Animal behavior is a continuing source of awe and mystery that sparks the imagination of scientist and public alike. Man has always being interested in the behavior of animals that surrounds because of its own benefit and recreation and because of its own inherently inquisitive nature. The sense of wonder as always being as the root of scientific understanding.

Living conditions are by no means favorable everywhere on earth and every living being is somehow adopted for maintaining itself in suitable surroundings. The actions of animals are directed towards keeping themselves alive (i.e. individual survival) and reproduction (i.e. species survival).Animal behavior is the expression of an animal afford to adopt or adjust to different internal and external conditions and can be described as an animal's response to a stimulus.

Behavior can be observed right from the simplest single cell protozoa to the most intelligent and highly developed primates. Behavior can be evolved by natural selection and all animals behave for their own benefit and survival. In fact, animals feed, drink, fight and flee to survive; fleeing from danger, fighting for limited resources, caring for the young ones, health, conspecific and mate to live progeny. All these are important behavioral forms for species survival.

Animal Behavior

 

Definition:

It is not easy to define behavior in totally. A survey of relevant literature reveals that various author has taken different approaches in defining animal behavior. The more common approaches to the definition of animal behavior are as follows -

1) Observable and quantifiable events constitute behavior. It is a directional activity necessary for survival.

2) The totality of an animal's movements, sound emissions and body postures; also the externally noticeable changes such as color change, secretions of odorous substances that serve bilateral communication and can therefore, release other behaviors in the partner.

3) Behavior is the response of living matter to some form of stimulus.

4) Behavior includes all those processes by which on animal senses the external world and adopts itself to that environment.

5) Movement of whole animal because of some external stimulus is known as its behavior or activities of an animal’s effectors organs (muscles) are called behavior.

6) Behavior is always a combined result of the actions of many body organs.

7) Behavior includes all movements, gestures, postures, changes of color and vocalization displayed by an animal.

Ethology concept and Definition:

The term Ethology is derived from two Greek words. ‘Ethos’ meaning is habit or convention and ‘Logos’ meaning is study. The Ethology was coined by French zoologist Isidore Greoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1805-61). Konrad Zacharias Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen are regarded to be the founders of Ethology and for their work in this field of science; they shared a Nobel Prize in 1973. Ethologists are Zoologists; they are basically interested in the Biology of a species and their prime focus is the scientific and objective study of Animal Behavior as it occurs under natural conditions.

According to Lorenz (1950) "Ethology can be defined as the application of orthodox biological methods to the study of behavior." The orthodox biological methods referred to include the scientific method - A logical approach to research in all branches of biology.

According to Eisner and Wilson (1975) "Ethology is the study of whole patterns of Animal Behavior under natural conditions, in ways that emphasize the functions and evolutionary history of patterns."

According to the oxford Companion "Ethology is distinguished from the other approaches to the study of animal behavior in seeking to combine functional and casual types of explanation.”

The ethological approach seeks to explain Behavior in terms of hypothesis, which aims to show how natural selection has in past acted as a designing as an incepting the Evolution of Behavior.

 Such explanations account for the behavior in terms of functions. The alternate form of explanation concerns the way in which proximate casual mechanisms combine to control the Behavior of animals.

Ethology itself has come a long way in the past few decades, from a largely observational, descriptive science to a modern, quantitative science based on solid foundations of evolutionary biology and quantitative methodology. The aim of Ethology is to explain both phylogenetically and physiologically. The functional relationships of all factors involved in behavior. The touch stone for ethological hypothesis is the reliable prediction of the behavior of a living system in any given situation.

 Significance of the study of Animal Behaviour :

A knowledge and understanding of Animal Behavior has always been a practical matter for early trappers, hunters, traditional shepherds and Herdsman. In the modern context a number of reasons both theoretical and practical can be cited which make the study of Animal Behavior necessary (Lehner 1989).

Theoretical reasons for the study of Animal behavior include curiosity about the living world to gain a better understanding about relationship between animals and environment, inquisitiveness about the general principles common to all behaviors with a desire to better understand our own behavior and so on.

The practical significance of the study of animal behavior lies in the fact that today an inquiry into varied aspects of Animal Behavior has been instrumental in providing us new inside into some of the most crucial problems faced by the human society. Some of the more important contribution made by animal behavior studies as analyzed by Snowdown (2013) are outline as follows:

1) Environmental monitoring: - The behavior of animals often provides the first clues or early warning signs of environmental fun or degradation. For example: -

The environmental protection agency uses disruptions in summing behavior of Minnows as an index of possible pesticide pollution.

2) Pest Control: - Animal Behaviorists have described variables involved in insect reproduction and host plan location leading to the development of non-toxic Pheromones for insect pest control that avoid the need for toxic pesticides.

3) Habitat Preservations: - An understanding of foraging behavior in animals can lead to an understanding of forest regeneration. Knowledge of Honeybee foraging behavior can be applied to mechanisms of pollination which in turn is important for plant breeding and propagation.

4) Conservation of endangered species: - The conservation of endangered species requires that we know enough about natural behavior. In order to develop effective reserves and effective protection measures.

5) Captive Breeding: - Basic behavioral studies on reproductive behavior have led to improved captive breeding methods for Pygmy hog, golden lion tamarins and many other endangered species.

6) Animal Welfare: - Our society has placed increased emphasis on the welfare of research and exhibit animals. Animal Welfare without knowledge is impossible. Developments in animal welfare require constant input from animal behavior specialists.

7) Study of human behavior: - The methodology applied to study animal behavior has had a tremendous impact in psychology and the social sciences. The behavioral study of humans would be much diminished today without the influence of animal research.

8)  Appreciation of factors affecting from human behavior: - The comparative study of behavior over a wide range of species can provide insights into influences affecting human behavior. For example, the woolly spider monkey in Brazil displays no overt aggressive behavior  among group members. The richness of developmental processes in behavior including multiple sources and the consequences of experience are significant in understanding processes of human development.

9) Medical and other applications: - Research by animal behaviorist’s Animal sensory systems has led to practical applications for extending human sensory systems. Studies of chimpanzee’s using language analogues have led to new technology (computer keyboards using arbitrary symbols) that have been applied successfully to teaching language to disadvantaged human populations. Research on animals has developed many of the important concepts relating to coping with stress, for example studies of the importance of prediction and control on coping behavior.

10) Solving problems of human society: - Mary problems in human society are often related to the interaction of environment and behavior or genetics and behavior. The fields of socioecology and animal behavior deal with the issue of environment behavioral interactions both at an evolutionary level and a proximate level.

Branches of Ethology

Some of the important branches of Ethology are as follows –

1) Ecoethology: - Ecoethology is a comparatively new branch of Ethology in which the relationships between the behavior of a species and other living and non-living components of environment are investigated. Ecoethology can proceed in one of two ways: it can emphasize or focus either on a group of species or on a particular habitat.

 2) Ethophysiology: - Ethophysiology or behavioral Physiology deals with Physiological basis of behavior.

3) Neuro Ethology: - Neuroethology deals with the sensory process and the central nervous system that underline a particular behavior.

4) Ethoendocrinology: - Ethoendocrinology deals with the relations between hormones and behavior.

5) Ethogenetics: - Ethogenetics or behavioral genetics investigates the genetic basis of behavior, using simple concepts of single or multiple gene inheritants. Its goal is to prove empirically the relationship between genetic factor and their influence on behavior.

6) Phylogenetic Ethology: - The phylogeny of behavior traces the evolutionary origin and development of behavioral characteristics, and the ONTOGENY of Behavior study the development of behavior in a species.

7) Behavioral Embryology: - This branch of biology deals with the prenatal development of behavior patterns.

8) Human Ethology: - The goal of human Ethology is to study human behavior. It emphasizes phylogenetically transmitted and genetically determined regularities and variability of behavior.

9) Sociobiology: - Sociobiology stands between Ethology and population biology. Its central concern is to understand how and why animal social behavior has evolved. Sociobiology does not have discrete boundaries. It is interwoven with many disciplines, including physiology, Embryology and ultimately entropology, psychology and even history. E.O. Wilson is often regarded as the father of sociobiology.

10) Comparative Ethology: -Comparative Ethology makes the evolutionary explanation for many common behaviors to show that they all share a common ancestor a that performed those behaviors.

 

11) Cognitive Ethology: - Cognitive science is an of umbrella term for convergent approaches to the study of mind in linguistics, artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology and increasingly the neurosciences, Cognitive Ethology is that it is the marrige of cognitive sciences and Ethology.

12) DEEP Ethology: - Consideration of the causes and consequences of a behavioral pattern from the converging perspectives of developmental biology, ecology, evolutionary biology and Physiology.

13) Bioacoustics: - It is a field of Ethology that investigates the sound production of animals with the help of high quality recording equipment to understand their behavioral functions.

Behavior is studied by many people throughout the world and its fundamental principles are taught in almost all courses of biology and psychology in western countries, it is recently introduced subject in our country.

 

Scientists and their Books

i) Aristotle (372 BC):- Wrote first book on Animal Behavior named "Historia Animalium” meaning 'The history of Animals’.

ii) William Harvey: - First studied breeding, nesting and incubating behavior of birds.

iii) Gilbert White (1720-1793): - Scientifically studied Animal Behavior.

iv) Charles Darwin (1809-1882): - Regarded as the first man to make scientific study of Animal Behavior. He wrote a book “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals” (1872). This book is still considered a classic book because of its contribution in understanding the emotional expression and their development in animals and human beings.

v) John Romanes: - Wrote a book on ‘Animal Intelligence’ which is also considered a classic book of Animal Behavior.

vi) Charles O Whitman (1908): - Wrote a book named 'Animal Behavior’ based on the behavior of Pigeons and Ducks.

vii) Oskar Heinroth (1871-1945) :- Wrote a book "Ethology of Anatidae.”

viii) Konrad Lorenz is regarded as the founder father of Ethology. He wrote books named ‘King Solomon's Ring’ (1952), ‘Man Meets Dog’ (1954) and ‘On Aggression’ (1962).

ix) Niko Tinbergen wrote books named "Animal Behavior” a lifetime publications which helped many young readers to get a acquainted with the subject. His other backs are –

a) The Study of Instinct, 1951.

b) The Animal in its World, 1972.

c) Social Behavior in Animals, 1965.

These books are milestones in Ethology.

Approaches to Behavior study: -

Behavior is the result of -

(i) Interactions of the nervous system and the endocrine system with the muscle and other organs of the body.

(ii) The characteristics of the environment in which the animal lives. Some aspects of behavior are governed by the laws of genetics. Some aspects are flexible and may change as a result of learning.

Following Kinds of approaches have been found more fruitful in studying the behavior: -

    1)  Psychological Approach: -

The psychologists have learned a great deal about the behavior of a limited number of animals, largely under laboratory condition and emphasizing only learnt behavior. Their aim has been to learn something about man by studying other animals. Harry F Harlow has studied for some years the affectional development in primates rather than man. His studies are of significance to those to have the responsibility of rearing children and to than interested in primate’s behavior. Hardly, many psychologists has contributed to our knowledge of Animal Behavior under natural condition.

Behavioral psychologists have utilized very few species in their studies. The Rat, Pigeon, Dog, chimpanzee, chicken and man have been studied along with a few others. The extension of laboratory, Zoo or field study has been one of the major thrust of Behavioral study.

2) Neurophysiological approach: -

Behavior occurs when stimuli cause a reaction. The secret of this process lies in the nervous system. Physiologists can prove the secrets of the numerous systems with the help of electronic equipments, chemical analysis and advance physical techniques. Modern workers prefer to go to the field for interpretation of laboratory Data.

A technique for recording nerve impulse from free flying butter flies in a large cage has been developed. By coupling the results of electro physical work on tropical butterflies with field observation the relationships between neural activity and certain biochemical pattern can be shown.

Development of miniaturized electronic equipment has help to monitoring the fields of neural activity associated with specific behavior pattern in a variety of large animals.

3) Ethological Approach: -

The study of behavior is termed as Ethology. Since, it inception it has aroused wide spread interest and has following approaches –

i) To categorized behavior as learned or instinctive.

ii) To study it under normal condition as well as under controlled laboratory condition.

iii) To attempt to explain it in neurological junction and evolutionary term.

 

Ethology does not concern itself with learned behavior and has few ties with the psychological approach. It emphasizes to a much greater extent the branches of behavior which are a part of the genetic equipment of the species. Therefore, Ethologists are most likely to work with organisms which have a variety of fixed instinctive patterns; birds, fishes and insects rather than with rats and primates which are the subject of most psychological behavior studies.

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