BIO153H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 51: Spiny Lobster, Behavioral Ecology, Dewlap
Document Summary
Behaviour is a response/ action to a stimulus. Behavioural ecology examines the ecological and evolutionary basis of the behaviour of the organisms in response to a particular stimuli from the environment. Behavioural ecologists ask questions and test hypotheses at two fundamental levels : proximate and ultimate. Most behavioural studies start by observing what animals do as a response to a specific problem or situation. As the research progresses, the investigators use experimental approaches to explore the proximate and ultimate causes of behavior. Proximate (or mechanistic) causation: explains how actions occur in terms of the neurological, hormonal, and skeletal- muscular mechanisms work. Ultimate (or evolutionary) causation: explains why actions occur based on their evolutionary consequences and history. Spiny lobsters have receptors in their brains that detect changes in earth"s magnetic field, and they navigate by using information on how the orientation and strength of the field changes as they move.
