Exploring Animal Behavior in Laboratory and Field: An Hypothesis-testing Approach to the Development, Causation, Function, and Evolution of Animal Behavior

493 Pages·2002·23.02 MB·English

by  Bonnie J. Ploger

EXPLORING ANIMAL BEHAVIOR IN
LABORATORY AND FIELD
An Hypothesis-Testing Approach to the Development, Causation, Function, and
Evolution of Animal Behavior
ANIMAL
BEHAVIOR
SOCIETY
Endorsed by the Animal Behavior Society
EXPLORING ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
IN LAB ORATORY AND F IELD
An Hypothesis-Testing Approach to the Development,
Causation, Function, and Evolution of Animal Behavior
by
Edited
Bonnie J. Ploger
Hamline University, USA
Ken Yasukawa
Beloit College, USA
ACADEMIC PRESS
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ON THE COVER: An adult great egret (Ardea alba) in breeding condition preens its feathers. Preening not only removes feather lice but also
repairs small tears in feathers that interfere with their aerodynamic properties. Preening and other types of grooming behavior are useful for learn-
ing to describe behavior (chapter 1) because such behavior is frequent, easy to see, and consists of repeatable elements that are often fairly easy to
sketch and describe. In a variety of birds, including egrets, some courtship displays probably evolved from preening movements. Possible evolu-
tionary sequences of such displays can be explored by mapping the displays of related species onto a phylogenetic tree (chapter 35). Photograph
by Bonnie Ploger.
Given a choice of large and small nuts of various nutritive values and differing shell thickness, this female Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus caro-
linensis) seems to be thwarting the experiment by taking two different types of nut simultaneously! Her attempt ultimately failed because, unlike
some ground squirrels such as chipmunks, gray squirrels do not have cheek pouches sufficiently large to carry multiple nuts of the sizes shown.
Squirrels are excellent subjects for studying the economics of foraging (chapter 19).While foraging, squirrels are vulnerable to predators, but may
reduce such risks by responding to alarm calls given by conspecifics or even other species that have detected predators (chapter 26). Photograph
by Bonnie Ploger.
This male strawberry poison frog (Dendrobates pumilio) was photographed while climbing onto its display perch. Males display by giving loud
clicking calls while perching conspicuously on slighdy elevated sites near the ground that they may defend for a week or more. After attracting a
female, a male cares for the fertilized eggs until they hatch and the female returns to carry each tadpole to a separate, tiny pool formed by leaves
of bromeliad plants. The vocal displays of frogs and toads provide good opportunities for investigating variation in male courtship in the field
(chapter 30). Tadpoles make interesting subjects for investigations of behavioral thermoregulation (chapter 6), aggregation and kin recognition
(chapter 17). Photograph by Bonnie Ploger.
In many fish, it is the male that builds the nest, as this male dwarf gourami (Colisa lalia) is doing by blowing bubbles to form a foamy mass in
the duckweeds at the surface of the water. With its thread-like pelvic fins extended forward, this male is also displaying to attract females and
defend his nest from rival males. Male characteristics such as size, color and behavior can influence the outcome of territorial disputes between
males, and male ability to attract females. In many common aquarium fish, these characteristics are easily manipulated to study mate choice (chap-
ter 31). Photograph by Emory Matts.
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02 03 04 05 06 07 EB 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Contributors ix
Preface xiii
Introduction 01
PART 1 DESCRIBING BEHAVIOR 09
1. Learning to Describe and Quantify Animal Behavior 11
Bonnie J. Ploger
2. Developing Operational Definitions and Measuring Interobserver Reliability
Using House Crickets (Acheta domesticus) 31
Terry Glover
PART2 CAUSATION 41
3. Courtship, Mating, and Sex Pheromones in the Mealworm Beetle (Tenebrio
molitor) 43
Enrique Font and Ester Desfilis
4. Courtship and Mate Attraction in Parasitic Wasps 59
Robert W. Matthews and Janice R. Matthews
5. Chemoreception in Lizards 73
C. O'Neil Krekorian
6. Behavioral Thermoregulation in Field Populations
of Amphibian Larvae 79
Howard H. Whiteman and Nancy L. Buschhaus
7. Temperature Dependence of the Electric Organ Discharge in
Weakly Electric Fish 85
Giinther K. H. Zupanc, Jonathan R. Banks, Gerhard Engler, and Robert C. Beason
V
wi Exploring Animal Behavior in Laboratory and Field
8. Observing and Analyzing Human Nonverbal Communication 95
Penny L. Bernstein
9. Foraging Behavior of Ants, or Picnics: An Ant's-Eye View 113
Sylvia L. Halkin
10. Hummingbird Foraging Patterns: Experiments Using
Artificial Flowers 127
Alastair Inman
11. Honey Bee Foraging Behavior 133
Monica Raveret Richter and Jasmin M. Keramaty
12. Individual Constancy to Color by Foraging Honey Bees 147
Peggy S. M. Hill and Harrington Wells
PART3 DEVELOPMENT 157
13. Dog Training Laboratory: Applied Animal Behavior 159
Lynn L. Gillie and George H. Waring
14. Paternal Care and Its Effect on Maternal Behavior and Pup Survival and
Development in Prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster) 167
Betty McGuire
15. The Effect of Prenatal Visual Stimulation on the Imprinting Responses
of Domestic Chicks: An Examination of Sensitive Periods During
Development 177
Wendy L. Hill
16. Development of Thermoregulation in Altricial Rodents 187
Gail R. Michener and T. Dic Charge
17. Aggregation and Kin Recognition in African Clawed Frogs
(Xenopus laevis) 199
Kathryn L. Anderson and Bonnie J. Ploger
PART 4 ADAPTATION AND EVOLUTION 211
Section I Foraging 213
18. Diving Birds: A Field Study of Benthic and Piscivorous Foragers 215
Jennifer J. Templeton and D. James Mountjoy
19. Found A Peanut: Foraging Decisions by Squirrels 221
Sylvia L. Halkin
20. Economic Decisions and Foraging Trade-offs in Chickadees 231
Ronald L. Mumme
21. Seed Selection by Foraging Birds 239
Monica Raveret Richter, Judith A. Halstead, and Kierstin Savastano
22. Competitive Behavior of Birds at Feeders 247
Alison M. Mostrom
Contents vmm
Section II Avoiding Predators 257
23. Vigilance and the Group-size Effect: Observing Behavior in Humans 259
Joanna E. Scheib, Lisa E. Cody, Nicola S. Clayton, and Robert D. Montgomerie
24. The Function of "Chat" Calls in Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos):
Vocal Defense of Nestlings 279
Cheryl A. Logan
25. Diving and Skating in Whirligig Beetles: Alternative Antipredator
Responses 287
Alastair Inman and Anne Houtman
26. The Response of Tree Squirrels to Conspecific and Heterospecific
Alarm Calls 295
Anne Houtman
Section III Agonistic Behavior 301
27. Competition for Breeding Resources by Burying Beeries 303
Michelle Pellissier Scott
28. Learning to be Winners and Losers: Agonistic Behavior in Crayfish 309
Elizabeth M. Jakob and Chad D. Hoe.tier
Section IV Courtship and Parental Care 319
29. Costs and Benefits of Maternal Care in Earwigs 321
Ronald L. Mumme, James O. Palmer, and Susan M. Rankin
30. Vocal Behavior and Mating Tactics of the Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer):
A Field Exercise in Animal Behavior 327
Don C. Forester
31. The Role of Multiple Male Characters in Mate Choice by Female Guppies
(Poecilia reticulata) 341
Dan d. Albrecht
32. Investigating Human Mate Choice Using the Want Ads 351
Mary Crowe
Section V Games 357
33. Demonstrating Strategies for Solving the Prisoner's Dilemma 359
Kathleen N. Morgan
34. Using Empirical Games to Teach Animal Behavior 379
Philip K. Stoddard
Section Vl Evolution 387
35. The Evolution of Behavior: A Phylogenetic Approach 389
Ken Yasukawa
vggmi| Exploring Animal Behavior in Laboratory and Field
Appendices
A. Guidelines for the Treatment of Animals in Behavioural Research
and Teaching 399
The Animal Behavior Society and the Association for the Study
of Animal Behaviour
B. Ethical Use of Human Subjects 411
American Psychological Association
C. Introduction to Statistics 415
Bonnie J. Ploger and Ken Yasukawa
Glossary 447
Index 463
CONTRIBUTORS
Daniel J. Albrecht, Department of Biology; Rocky Mountain College,
1511 Poly Drive, Billings, Montana, 59101
Kathryn L. Anderson, Princeton High School, 807 South 8 ~h Avenue,
Princeton, MN 55371, USA
Jonathan R. Banks, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester,
3.614 Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
Robert C. Beason, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at
Monroe, 700 University Avenue, Monroe, LA 71209, USA
Penny L. Bernstein, Biological Sciences, Kent State University Stark
Campus, 6000 Frank Avenue, Canton, OH 44720, USA
Nancy L. Buschhaus, Department of Biological Sciences, University of
Tennessee at Martin, Martin, TN 38238, USA
T. Die Charge, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge,
Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada
Nicola S. Clayton, Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge,
Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
Lisa E. Cody, Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California,
Davis, CA 95616, USA
Mary Crowe, Department of Biology, Coastal Carolina University, P. O.
Box 261954, Conway, SC 29528, USA
Ester Desfilis, Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biologla Evolutiva,
Universidad de Valencia, Apdo. 2085, 4607 l~Valencia, Spain
Gerhard Engler, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester,
3.614 Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
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