Talk:Ethology

From Academic Kids

Hmm, not much practical information on Ethology, and that while it's potentially one of the most exciting[1] sciences in existence.

One of the more notable things is that Ethology doesn't just use Empiricism and theory of science, like most sciences, but it actually occaisionally goes all the way back to Epistemology to resolve problems with differences in perception between observer and observed.

[1] Exciting in the sense that in field research, it's said to help if you're a good runner.

Kim Bruning 15:06, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Reverted

I removed these edits by User:Bobble, User:Wikiconcarne, and User:Wikiwikifresh (all of who are pretty clearly the same person). There seems to be actual information in here, although not much of use as far as I can tell. I don't have time to go through it right now, so I'll look at it later or you decide. --128.218.169.187 19:47, 10 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Myontonia in Tennessee Fainting Goats

Roland Estaris Animal Behavior

When most people think of goats, they think of high jumpers and strong climbers. In the case of the Tennessee fainting goat, the goat is medium sized compared to its relatives and neither jumps high nor can climb very strongly. These goats might seem like they are hurting themselves every time they fall over, but their muscles actually become stronger because of fainting. Tennessee fainting goats are fascinating creatures that use a defense mechanism that developed because of a combination of recessive genes. Tennessee Fainting goats (Capra hircus) are often called stiff-leg, nervous, wooden-leg, and scare goat. This type of goat originated in Tennessee due to a genetic defect that caused these goats to develop myotonia congenita. Myotonia congenita is a condition that is caused by a combination of recessive genes. These goats do not actually faint, and myotonia has nothing to do with the goat’s central nervous system. This condition only affects the goat’s external muscles, which makes the goat’s external leg muscles to become stiff. Stiffness in the external muscles can lead younger goats to fall over while older goats learn to lock their legs and still stand. Although these goats might fall over and seem to pass out, myotonia will not harm any internal organs. The goats remain conscious during the whole experience and will regain mobility to its legs within ten to fifteen seconds after it has fallen down. The effects of myotonia can also vary due to the intensity of how frighten the goat becomes when it is scared. The goat is more likely to fall down when the level of fright becomes higher. The Tennessee fainting goat also uses fainting as a defense mechanism by pretending to be dead. Because of the myotonia, the Tennessee fainting goat’s muscles have more overall muscle mass than its other relatives. Tennessee fainting goats become very full and wide because of the increase muscle mass. This goat is sometimes called meat goats because of the better quality of meat they produce since their muscle contract more often and increase striated muscle because of myotonia. Other than increasing muscle mass, myotonia serves a purpose to shepherds as well. Although sometimes fainting does not work to the goat’s advantage, Shepherds keep fainting goats within their flock of sheep to allow the sheep to get away while the fainting goat is sacrificed. When wolves attack the herd, the fainting goat becomes startled and falls down. The wolf will go after the goat that is immobile rather than expending energy to chase the sheep. Other than falling over when scared, the Tennessee fainting goats can also be distinguished from other goats by their bulgy eyes and long erected ears. Tennessee fainting goats have high reproductive rates and are in heat most of the year, which make them excellent animal to breed. They are also docile creatures are less prone to escape as oppose to other goats. They make excellent pets and make a good dinner because of their quality of meat.

[[1] (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jimknapp/goats.html)][[2] (http://faintinggoatheaven.com.hosting.domaindirect.com/fainterbreedinfo/breedinfo.html)][[3] (http://www.animalfact.com/article1006.htm)]

[[4] (http://www.faintinggoat.com/learnab.htm)] --Wikiwikifresh 23:45, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Animal Sexuality

Brooke Vreeland

Biology Undergraduate

Loyola University, New Orleans

Animal behavior can be defined in many ways. One definition defines animal behavior as, “what an animal does and how it does it, which encompasses the nonmotor components of behavior as well as an animal’s observable actions” (Campbell, et al. 1999). One aspect of animal behavior that will be addressed here is sexuality. It is important to note that when studying animal behavior, one should always keep in mind the proximate and ultimate causes (how and why behavior exists).

Although sexual intercourse seems to be a single act, there are many behaviors leading up to the point. There are few animals (such as humans) that enjoy copulation simply for pleasure. For many animals, intercourse is a means of reproduction that can have profound effects on future generations of that animal’s species. Many behaviors revolving around sexuality involve the selection of the best mate possible. By doing this, an animal is essentially passing down the best genes to his or her offspring, causing the offspring to be able to compete and survive amongst their peers. Natural selection is extremely evident in the Animal Kingdom, in which the fight every day leads to the survival of the fittest, and possibly, one’s own genes surviving for many generations.

One important behavior leading to sexual intercourse is the selection of a mate. Particularly true for humans, facial symmetry (as well as body symmetry) is associated with attractiveness. Often, symmetry is associated with health, such as in the brush-legged wolf spider, where females rarely choose males with asymmetrical tufts. It turns out that these males do tend to be smaller and in poorer condition. Several theories define how females tend to choose mates, generally stating the same idea, that males with ornamentation of certain types are signs of material benefits, health, and good genes. Some females even go so far as to deny copulation until a “gift” has been presented to her liking, such as the black-tipped hangingfly, who will only allow the act to proceed when an edible present is available.

Another important behavior that can occur before or after copulation is mate guarding. Mate guarding is “a strategy in which a male attempts to prevent other males from gaining access to a potential or actual mate” (Alcock 2001). Two strategies of mate guarding include sealing the female’s genital closed after copulation and basically staying with the female to ward off other males whose sperm could later be used to fertilize the eggs. These acts lead to the notions of monogamy and polygamy. Although it is hard to believe, monogamy is not natural to mammals. The benefits of monogamy include ensuring that a male’s sperm is used and helping to rear offspring. On the other hand, polygamy ensures that a male’s sperm is spread around enough to potentially produce numerous offspring to subsequent generations. In essence, humans have a fairly simple system of sexuality compared to our fellow animals. After finding a partner, we live an easy sexual life, so the next time you see a movie about a teenage virgin in agony, think twice about what it would be like to be a member of a wild species!

WORKS CITED

Alcock, John. Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach. 7th Ed. 2001. Sinauer Associates, Inc.

Campbell, Neil A., Jane B. Reece, and Lawrence G. Mitchell. Biology. 5th Ed. 1999. Benjamin/Cummings.

Male Brooding in the Syngnathidae and Its Effects on Sexual Behavior

Ignacio Zabaleta

Biology Undergraduate

Loyola University, New Orleans

In the animal world, the amount of energy that a given sex puts into the care of its offspring dictates the level at which it is able to decide on which partner is suitable for mating. The luxury of having the opposite sex audition for an opportunity to mate is earned through the responsibility of caring for the ensuing offspring. In the majority of terrestrial animals, the way that the reproductive social structure works is that males compete with each other in order to gain an opportunity to copulate with a female, who is the one that chooses the worthy sex partner. Once a sexual relationship is attained and the deed is done, the male usually then leaves the female to go off in search of another sexual encounter. The male need not worry about his progeny because while the male is out, prowling for a new mate, the female stays behind to care for the young.

When it comes to marine life, however, the roles between males and females become blurred. There is far more concern of the males for their offspring. Some species of fish guard the area where their eggs are kept. Some species of male fish even go as far as brooding the eggs in their own mouths. Nonetheless, no fish shows their determination for patriarchal care for their young as much as the seahorse, or class Syngnathidae. “During mating, the female transfers eggs into or onto specialized egg-brooding structures that are located on either the male's abdomen or its tail, where they are osmoregulated, aerated, and nourished by specially adapted structures.” ([[5] (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12894945&dopt=Abstract)]) This physical and energetic commitment seriously warps any semblance of the idea of the sexual roles of males and females to the point of near perversion. As it may be concluded from this strange fact, because of this increased attention to offspring on the males behalf over the amount of energy expenditure that the females donate to their young, there must be a resulting role reversal in terms of the social interactions for sexual partner selection. In fact, for the most part, there is. As the role of parental care is switched from the female to male, so is the mating competition changed from male-male to female-female. This means that in this reversed situation, the females must compete against one another for an attempt to transfer her eggs into the male. Here the male is the determining factor in which female’s eggs get fertilized. Accompanying this new set of rules is the change in sexual dimorphism. “True to predictions…several species are sex-role reversed (e.g., Nerophis ophidion, Stigmatopora nigra, Syngnathus typhle), with females that are more vividly colored and striped than males.” ([[6] (http://seahorse.fisheries.ubc.ca/pubs/Wilson_etal2003-malebrooding.pdf)]) The pouches of different seahorse species differ in complexity, showing a range of energy investment. Within this range, as the level of brood pouch complexity, or energy investment, increases, so does the frequency of sex role reversals.

--Wikiconcarne 23:20, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)