Behaviour and Evolution

• Animals can learn from previous experiences and therefore adapt and respond to changing conditions.
  • e.g. avoiding predators and harmful foods.
  • finding suitable foods.
  • finding a suitable mate.

• After repeated responses to a non-beneficial or non-harmful stimuli an animal will learn not to respond to it.
• They can therefore spend their time and energy more efficiently.
  • e.g. young can focus on learning rather than being frightened by loud noises.

• An inherited, immediate response (reflex action) to a stimulus.
• The response is automatic and reinforced by repetition.
  • e.g. sneezing
  • phototaxis in earthworms
  • sea anemones waving their tentacles in response to a prey's chemicals.

• A process in which learning causes a reflex action to happen in response to a different stimulus.
  • e.g. Pavlov's dogs learn to salivate after the ringing of a bell.

• A process in which an animal changes its behaviour as a result of experiencing rewards or unpleasant consequences.
  • 'trial and error'
  • e.g. Skinner's Box

• A device that offers small invertebrates two or more contrasting environments.
• The different conditions provide a stimulus to which the invertebrates respond.

• Studied innate behaviour in Herring Gulls.
  • Chicks know how to peck a red spot on their mother's beak to get food.
  • Tinbergen gave new born chicks a piece of cardboard with coloured spots.
  • He found that they instinctively pecked the red one the most.

• Studied imprinting in Geese.
  • Group 1 hatched by mother and imprinted on her.
  • Group 2 hatched with incubator and imprinted on Lorenz.

• Ardipithecus ramidus.
• 4.4 million years ago.
• Mixture of human and ape features.

• Australopithecus afarensis.
• 3.2 million years ago.
• More humanlike than Ardi.

• Homo erectus. 
• 1.6 million years ago
• More humanlike that Lucy.
• Discovered by Leakey in 1984.

• Mitochondria contains small piece of DNA inherited from the mother.
• Has a high mutation rate.
• The more different two samples are, the further back that they share a common ancestor.
• Everyone can be traced back to Mitochondrial Eve.

Studied social behaviour in apes.

• Fossey discovered that gorillas had complex family relationships.
• Goodall recorded chimpanzee behaviour and found that they make and use tools to help them obtain food.

Their studies proved that apes:

• Work together to find food.
• Protect each other.
• Have social ranks to prevent fights.
• Groom each other to form special bonds.