BMEN 515 Lecture Notes - Courtship Display, Fosb, Tree Squirrel

• School: University of Calgary
• Department: Biomedical Engineering
• Course: BMEN 515
• Professor: William Huddleston

Document Summary

Culture: set of behaviours shared by members of a population, transmitted through learning. Ethology: the study of animal behaviour from an evolutionary perspective: addresses behaviour patters, how and when to perform them, proximate mechanisms that underlie behaviour: neuronal, hormonal, anatomical, ultimate causes of behaviour: selection pressure that shaped evolution. Most behaviours result from interactions btwn inherited anatomical and physiological mechanisms and the ability to modify behaviour as a result of experience. Many animals" behaviour is unlearned and highly stereotypic stereotypic behaviour tells biologists little about genes and experience in development. Animal may fail to perform behaviour if the environmental conditions needed to stimulate it are absent; may perform behaviour if they imitate the same teacher. Genes do not encode behaviours; gene products (enzymes) set in motion a series of gene-environment interactions that underlie development of proximate mechanisms that enable individuals to make certain behavioural responses. Experiments help distinguish btwn genetic and environmental influences.