BIO 465W

individual variation in traits for a population, individual traits are heritable, trials have differences in survivorship and reproduction

- Genetic Drift
- Variability in the environment
- Pleiotropy
- Linkage disequilibrium

chance event results in a change in allele frequency; makes a trait seem way more adaptive than it is

a single gene having multiple effects on an individuals phenotype

alleles at 2 or more loci are not independent of one another

Costs are the negative, benefits are positive

Evolutionary history and adaptiveness; What is the function of the behavior & how it evolved?
- evolutionary: function & genetics

Mechanistic and developmental; What mechanism causes that behavior?
- immediate: env. & physiological

traits require genetics & environment
- learning to adjust
- can be relatively permanent change
- very few behaviors are solely one cause
- environmental effects are social or external factors or parental effects
- proteins made to make hormones, enzymes, & structural variations influencing behavior

comparing DNA sequences

compare expressions of genes

genome changes not changing the sequence; histone modifications & methylation

genetic variation -> RNAs & proteins -> behavior

behavioral interaction -> neural transduction -> response

organism across its entire lifespan

- bees with differential expressions of genetic code in old & young bees
- social environment impacts gene expression -> impacts behavior
- Queen bees become queen bees due to larva feeding on "royal jelly" from workers' glands causing a histone modification

highly conserved protein in social behavior; location is important for where receptors are and where they bind

repeated sequences on a genome

ability of animals to develop normally, despite deficient rearing conditions

phenotypic changes made to cope with adverse early life conditions can negatively impact future fitness

phenotypic adjustments during development to match conditions later in life can positively affect future fitness; env. or social pressure put on parents, or maternal adaptations being beneficial for the offspring

phenotype of an individuals is determined by the phenotype of the parent

ability of individual genotypes to produce behavioral phenotypes depending on the environment

develops one way or another, no in-between

phenotypic variation where individuals don't change after initial change

no restriction to early life history; shifting polyphenism to alter success

consistent differences in behavior in a population

non-recombining regions of a genome; linked genes inherited as a unit or chromosomal inversions; innate

Ability of the brain to change their experience, both structurally and chemically; repeat experiences makes paths stronger

small probes receiving synaptic inputs
more spines = more connections

storing behavior and remembering where the storage is

stores spatial memories

social interactions between parent and offspring during early life stage helps offspring learn phenotypic behavior of the parent
i.e. prairie dog calls & bird songs

ability to store mental representations of physical and social environments to motivate and solve
IDing, remembering past interactions, tool use, cache retrieval

ability to recognize numbers useful for estimating and processing objects and events

effective component of an action or object that elicits a fixed action pattern

innate behaviors such as a sequence of unlearned acts that is essentially unchangeable and usually carried to completion

ignoring external information in favor of what is necessary to survive

receiver part of the brain for sensory information

study of the interactions between brain, hormones, and behavior

messenger produced by a cell to effect the function of another cell
does not cause behavior but can decrease or increase the probability a behavior will occur depending on the context of the environment or social interaction
Indirectly effect behavior, but can be effected by behavior
Long-distance response

chemical messenger acts across neural synapse

- only effects cells with appropriate receptors
- concentration of hormones in blood
- rate of hormone release
- number and location of receptors
- receptor sensitivity

come from proteins from post-translational modifications

pregnancy and mating hormones

carb metabolism and stress response hormones

metabolism, mating, and aggression hormones in males

made from testosterone: metabolism, female sex behavior, and aggression hormones in females

- Hormones have a latency of reaction and released pulsatile, so take repeated measures
- Biologically effective amounts are difficult to measure, so optimize assay
- Environment effects hormone levels, so carefully design experiments

gamma counter to measure levels of hormones in blood

difference of color change to measure hormones

regulation of phenotype for developing animals; organizing lasting effects

physiological processes activated at a cellular level after organization

thrown out of homeostasis

significant disruption of homeostasis where the response is to get back to normal

neuroendocrine mechanisms
what parts of the brain and what hormones are being

constant and prolonged stressors
causes hypertension, fatigue, and rapid aging

increases during incubation period; decreases after hatching

one side exhibits male characters and the other side exhibits female characters

1. Individual variation in traits within a population
2. Individuals' traits are, at least in part, heritable
3. Traits confer differences in survivorship and reproduction

1. They are result of genetic
2. Reflect phylogenetic
3. Selection works in environments in which conditions cary
4. They are a byproduct of selection

focused on the role of evolutionary history in influencing behavioral variation and fitness consequences of that behavioral variation

Environment and Physiological

focused on the underlying mechanistic and developmental features that give rise to behavioral variation

Function and Genetics

Proximate (Immediate)
1. What mechanism (env. and physiological) causes the behavior?
2. How does the behavior develop?

Ultimate (Evolutionary)
3. What is the function of the behavior?
4. How did the behavior evolve?

Transcription -> Translation -> Hormones, Enzymes, and Structures

genetic variation -> RNAs and proteins -> Brain/CNS -> Behavior

behavioral interaction -> neural transduction -> response/modification of genome -> changes in brain and behavior

changes in neurotransmitters and number of synapses between neurons

i.e. mice experience a viral infection during pregnancy give birth to healthy offspring that experience anciety like and repetitive anti-social behaviors, but those mice that were fed a bacteria to effect microbiota community were more exploratory and less prone to repitition and more social.