What is ethology? This is a science that studies animal behavior. In order to study a particular species, it is necessary to observe it in a natural setting. However, in order to learn the principles underlying the observed behavior, external intervention is sometimes necessary. Ethology helps explain the complex interactions between naturally encoded innate behavior and the environment.
The origin of ethology as a science
At the beginning of the 20th century, animal behavior was studied mainly through laboratory experiments. This empirical approach has led to many great discoveries, such as the law of effect and behaviorism. Ethology became a respectable discipline several decades later, when European behaviorists (ethologists) Dr. Conrad Lorenz and Nico Tinbergen presented to humanity such fateful discoveries as imprinting, critical periods of development, triggers of behavior, fixed complexes of actions, behavioral disks and the concept of crowding out behavior.
Lorenz and Tinbergen, along with bee behavior fan Carl von Frisch, shared the Nobel Prize in 1973 for their contributions to the study of animal behavior. Although some details of their theories were subsequently discussed and changed, the fundamental principles remained the same. Behaviorism and ethology are two different ways of studying animal behavior; one is limited mainly to laboratory research (behaviorism), and the other is based on field research (animal ethology). Research results from both sciences provide a clearer picture of animal behavior.
The question of what is ethology was dealt with by such prominent scientists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as Charles Darwin, O. Whitman, Wallace Craig and others. Behavioral science is a term that also describes the scientific and objective study of animal behavior, but this usually refers to the study of prepared behavioral reactions in a laboratory setting and without much emphasis on evolutionary adaptability. Many naturalists have studied aspects of animal behavior throughout human history.
Science ethology
What is ethology? This is a subsection of biology that studies the behavior of animals or humans. Typically, ethologists observe animals in their natural habitat; they study typical behaviors and conditions that influence this behavior. Typical behaviors are habits characteristic of members of a particular kind. More complex than the reflex, it is a kind of innate trigger, triggered by the action of certain stimuli.
Understanding the ethology or behavior of animals can be an important element in animal training. Studying natural patterns of behavior in different species or breeds allows the trainer to choose those representatives who are better suited to perform the required tasks. It also allows the trainer to properly stimulate natural behavior and prevent unwanted behavior.
Ethologists usually try to answer four basic questions about behaviors:
- What is the reason and incentive for this model of behavior.
- What structures and functions of the animal are involved in behavior.
- How and why the behavior of the animal changes with its development.
- How behavior affects the fitness and adaptation of the animal.
The concept of ethology
Animal ethology as a concept has existed since 1762, when it was defined in France as a study of animal behavior. In this sense, it carries the same meaning as the Greek word ethos, from which the modern term of ethology is derived. However, the independent meaning of the word ethology is associated with the term "ethics" and is used in Anglo-Saxon literature as a "science of character." The founder of modern ethology is the doctor and zoologist Konrad Lorenz. Through the systematic application of biological research methods, he analyzed the behavior of animals.
The first modern ethology textbook on the study of instinct was written in 1951 by Nikolaas Tinbergen. The observations of a number of the founders of ethology as a science, including Spaulding (1873), Darwin (1872), Whitman (1898), Altum (1868), and Craig (1918) arouse scientific interest in animal behavior. To what is ethology, as well as the subject of its study, began to pay increased attention. This science began to be considered an independent branch of zoology as early as 1910. In the modern sense, ethology is engaged in the scientific study of animal behavior, as well as some aspects of human behavior. The term “animal psychology” is still sometimes used, but purely in a historical context.
Various animal behaviors: training
Ethology studies various models of animal behavior, which are then classified and compared with the behavior models of other species, especially closely related ones. It is important that animals are monitored in their natural or near-natural habitat. Additional captive observations are also often necessary.
Although training is considered very important in animal behavior, one of the main tasks of ethology is the study of congenital patterns of behavior that are characteristic of all representatives of one species. After exploring these patterns, you can begin to review the behavioral changes caused by learning. This is important because not every change in the form or effectiveness of one pattern of behavior during an individual's life includes learning as a form of gaining experience.
Animal Behavior Examples
The behavior of animals includes a wide variety of actions. You can give an example: an elephant watering a zebra near a reservoir. Why is he doing this? Is it a game or a goodwill gesture? In fact, spraying a zebra is not a friendly gesture at all. The elephant is just trying to keep the zebras away from the watering hole. There are a lot of examples of animal behavior, for example, when a dog sits on a command, or a cat trying to catch a mouse. The behavior of animals includes all methods of interaction with each other and the environment.
Maturing Instincts and Genetics
Already in 1760, professor in Hamburg Herman Samuel Reymarus discovered the concept of “ripening instincts” to the world and pointed out the difference between inborn and acquired skills. Inborn skills, such as finding food or understanding the dance language of bees, have been present since birth. In order to adapt successfully, the animal must have at its disposal environmental information. This information can be embedded in the chromosomes or stored in memory, that is, it can be innate or acquired. In complex behaviors, an interaction often occurs between both elements.
The study of the genetic basis of behavior is an important component of ethology. For example, crossing two types of ducks, which differ in courtship forms during the mating season, can give rise to hybrids with completely different behaviors during this period, different from the parent, but present in the behavior of common supposed ancestors of this species. However, it is still not clear which physiological causes are responsible for these differences.
Nature versus parenting: evolution of animal behavior
Ethology, the science of animal behavior, as a rule, focuses on behavior in natural conditions and considers behavior as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. If animal behavior is controlled by genes, they can evolve through natural selection. The main behaviors are determined by genes, the rest by life experience in a particular environment. The question of whether behavior is controlled mainly by genes or the environment is often the subject of debate. Behavioral habits are determined by both nature (genes) and upbringing (environment).
In dogs, for example, the tendency to behave in a certain way in relation to other dogs may be controlled by genes. However, normal behavior cannot develop in an environment where there are no other dogs. A puppy that has grown up in isolation may be afraid of other dogs or act aggressively towards them. In the natural environment, types of behavior also develop, as they clearly increase the fitness of animals that adhere to them. For example, when wolves hunt together, in a pack the ability to catch prey is greatly increased. Thus, the wolf has more chances to survive and pass on its genes to the next generation.
Causes of behavior include all irritants that influence behavior, whether external (food or predators) or internal (hormones or changes in the nervous system). The purpose of a particular behavioral reaction is to directly influence the behavior of another animal, for example, attracting a mating partner. The development of behavior is associated with phenomena or influences by which behavior changes during the life of the animal. The evolution of behavior is related to the origins of behavior and how they change with the change of generations.