Responding to the Environment

Life on Earth

Target – Classify behaviours

I can classify behaviours as innate or learned. I can suggest the survival value of the behaviour to the speciesI can define innate and learned behaviour. I can suggest some survival values of different behavioursI can define innate and learned behaviour.

The ways that animals respond to the environment is called their behaviour.

The ways that animals respond to their environment always has some survival value – it makes the animal more likely to survive.

Simple animals show simple responses to stimuli from the environment.

There are two different ways that animals behave –

Innate behaviour is ‘built in’ behaviour. The animal is born with these behaviours, which are instinctive and not fully under the animal’s control

Learned behaviour is behaviour that is picked up from others. This may be from parents or from social groups in animals such as elephants or apes.

Animal Stimulus Response Survival Innate /

benefit learned

Worms tapping

Worms heat

Woodlice moisture

Sharks blood

Stick – movement

Insects

Jellyfish touch

Copy and complete the following table-

Add two examples of any animal behaviours

Target – Investigate responses

I can describe an experiment to find out how mealworms react to a stimulus. I can explain how the experiment is kept fair and reliable.

I can describe an experiment to find out how mealworms react to a stimulus.

I can take part in a group experiment on mealworm responses.

An experiment to investigate responses in woodlice

5 meal worms were placed into a choice chamber through the central hole.

They were left for 15 minutes, and the number in each sector counted

Dark

moist

light

moist

dark

dry

Light

dry

Dark conditions were created by …

The mealworms were put in through the central hole because …

The mealworms were left for 15 minutes to ….

To check the reliability of the results we should ….

Recording – Investigating mealworm responsesDiagram of choice chamber, Record the

numbers in each half after 15 & 30 min.

Conclusions –

The mealworms preferred to be in conditions that were …………

The survival advantage that this gives is that it would ………..

This is an example of innate / learned behaviour

Target – Design behaviour experiment

I can design a choice chamber experiment which is fair and reliable. I can suggest sources of error and improvements

I can design a choice chamber experiment which is fair and reliable.

I can design a choice chamber experiment which is fair and reliable with some help.

This is an assessed piece of work.

You need to generate a formal report of the experiment.

The formal write up depends on you describing how you made your experiment fair. This involves you thinking about what variables were kept the same.The write up also depends on you making your results reliable.

Aim – A clear statement of what you are trying to find out

Method – a step-by-step list of instructions for how to set up the experiment. Explain the importance of the choices you made. You may choose to include labelled diagrams.

Results – observations or number data which you collect at the end of the experiment. You need to choose the most appropriate format(s); table, bar graph, line graph.

Conclusion – a sentence or two to explain what your results mean. This should relate back to the aim – what you were trying to find out

Sources of error – a sentence or two about anything you can identify which may have affected your results. If you think that something may have affected your results, what would you do differently if you had to repeat the expeeriment?

How does moisture affect mealworm behaviour?

Rhythmic behaviour

A rhythmic behaviour is one which is repeated over a period of time.

Rhythmic behaviours involve –

Repeated behaviours over periods of time

A biological clock

An external trigger

A rhythmic behaviour may be over a short (e.g. daily) or long (e.g. annual) period.

Daily – nocturnal animals come out at night and are inactive during the day

Tidal – shore crabs feed in the intertidal zone, so are only active when the tide is out

Annual – Hibernation is a response which conserves energy during a time of the year when food (therefore energy) is short. Migration is an annual journey where different activities take place in different locations at different times of year.

The trigger stimulus is the environmental factor(s) that the animal uses to tell the time.

Bears prepare for hibernation as the days get colder and day length shorter.

Birds come into breeding season as the day length increases.

Nocturnal animals become active as daylight decreases.

Koola and Grinder

The biological clock is a function of the brain that keeps track of the rhythmic cycles. It is relatively short term.

Captured bears, moved to a zoo in another country, still get lethargic when they should be hibernating back home.

Shore crabs kept in aquariums will still show activity on a 6 hour tidal cycle – though there is no tide.

Humans have a problem with jet lag. Even though the external stimuli tell you what time of day it is, your body thinks different!

Target – Exemplify migration

I can explain the survival value of each stage of the migration of salmon and geese.

I can describe the migration of salmon and geese in terms of where and when they migrate.

I can describe parts of the migration cycle of salmon and geese. .

Migration case studies –

?What does it do where?

?Why does it need different places?

?What are the trigger stimuli for the different parts of the journey?

Atlantic salmon

Barnacle geese

Grey whales (homework)

Animal – Atlantic salmon

From To Time of year Trigger stimulus Why it goes there

Outward journey – total distance _____________

Return journey – total distance _____________

From To Time of year Trigger stimulus Why it goes there

Animal – Barnacle goose

From To Time of year Trigger stimulus Why it goes there

Outward journey – total distance _____________

Return journey – total distance _____________

From To Time of year Trigger stimulus Why it goes there

Animal – Grey whale

From To Time of year Trigger stimulus Why it goes there

Outward journey – total distance _____________

Return journey – total distance _____________

From To Time of year Trigger stimulus Why it goes there

Migration (Natural History museum)

geese

salmon

Grey whale

The following sites give you starting points for your searches on migration -

Migration (BBC Nature)

Target – conceptualise habituation

I can give a definition of habituation. I can recognise and give examples. I can explain why habituation is an advantage to animals

I can give a definition of habituation. I can recognise examples. I can explain why habituation is an advantage to animals

I can give a definition of habituation. I can recognise examples.

This rat is your teacher for today.

What is (s)he telling you?

Habituation involves an innate response to what the animal sees as a possible threat.

If the stimulus is repeated, the animal learns that the stimulus is not causing any real danger. It therefore modifies its behaviour so that it reacts less to the stimulus.

“The bird table sits on the window. If you turn the light on, the birds used to fly away. Now they ignore it.”

Farmers can buy compressed air ‘bangers’ to scare away the birds. This only works for a few days, then they don’t seem to bother.

‘Sentry’ gophers sit at the entrance of a burrow and give an alarm call if animals approach.

If they live near humans, they never seem to make the gopher scared.

When whales were being hunted, they would change course to avoid the sound of ship engines. Sightseeing boats can now stay within metres of whales.

The most delicate parts of a snail are its eyes, which are on the end of stalks. If these are touched, it pulls the stalks in, in case it is a bird trying to eat it.

In a shower of rain, it would be pulling its stalks in all the time – but it seems to ignore the touches after the first few raindrops.

Recording – Habituation

•Write a definition of the term ‘habituation’.•Describe three examples of habituation which were discussed in class.•Come up with one example of habituation concerning humans.•Explain why habituation is an advantage to animals.

Habituation in Daphnia

Daphnia is a tiny freshwater animal about 1mm long. You can buy it in pet shops where it is sold as live fish food.

•Place a few Daphnia into a measuring cylinder.(They congregate near the top to get oxygen.)

•Now simulate a big, bad fish coming along.•Observe the Daphnia response.•Over the course of a few minutes, repeat the stimulus.•Each time, observe the Daphnia’s response.•Score the response as –+ = more than the previous time= = same as the previous time- = less than the previous time

Trial –123456789

10

Response score –

Results -

Conclusions –

As the stimulus was repeated, the Daphnia reacted ……This meant that they wasted less …… by avoiding unnecessary …… .

If the experiment was repeated the following day, I would expect …

Habituation is often a short term modification of behaviour. While habituation definitely saves the animal energy, it would not be sensible if the daphnia always assumed that the stimulus was not a predator. It is the fact that a regularly repeated stimulus has caused no harm that makes it temporarily ignore the stimulus.