Behavior animal

 

In order to survive, an animal must be able to respond to changing conditions in its environment. In other words, it must adapt. Animals’ responses include simple reflexes based on instinct and learning, as well as more complex patterned behavior, such as the division of labor among communities of some insects and the hierarchical system of dominance of such mammal groups as wolves. Mating and feeding are the most important activities, and behavior rituals related to these activities often develop.

A rat placed in a Skinner box (A) will quickly learn how to get what it needs from its surroundings. It learns that if it waits (B) for the stimulus—the flashing light—then presses the lever (C), food drops out of the chute, and it can eat (D).

Instinct and learning

All animals are born with a range of inborn behavior patterns. The knowledge of how to do certain things, called instinct, is passed from parent to offspring genetically. This form of inherited behavior helps an animal survive in its environment.
In addition to instinct, animals are able to learn ways of coping with their environment and can thus modify their behavior to deal with problems that they have encountered before. Some scientists who study animal behavior consider this ability to learn to be a measure of an animal’s intelligence.

The role of sense organs

In addition to instinct, learning is closely associated with responses that result when sense organs are stimulated. Most animals are aware of and respond to changes in light, gravity, temperature, and noise, but they do so in different ways.

Parental behavior

Animals have many different ways of rearing young. In some ducks, for example, the male deserts the female to mate with others in that season. In sticklebacks and other types of fish, however, the female leaves after spawning, and the male protects the eggs and cares for the young until they become independent. But among many birds and some mammals both parents care for the young, which may be unable to feed themselves or maintain an adequate body temperature for several weeks after birth.

Feeding

The life styles of all animals are organized chiefly around their method of obtaining food. Some parasites (animals that live in or on the bodies of other animals), for example, modify the behavior of their host to ensure that they will go on to the next stage of their life cycle. For example, some fish parasites cause their hosts to swim closer to the surface of the water than those free from parasites. This makes it more likely that the fish will be eaten by birds, which then become the hosts for the next stage of the parasites life cycle.

Social behavior

Some animals are solitary all the time, and others are solitary most of the time but come together for certain activities, such as migration. A species of locust has a solitary phase, when its coloring is green. But when environmental conditions are favorable, the insects change : olor to black and russet and become part of a migratory swarm. Some birds, such as the Eurasian robin, will attack any member of their own species that comes near their territory, but will join a flock that migrates as winter approaches.