Studying Animal Behavior with Ethograms
Order ID 53563633773 Type Essay Writer Level Masters Style APA Sources/References 4 Perfect Number of Pages to Order 5-10 Pages Description/Paper Instructions
Studying Animal Behavior with Ethograms
Lab: Studying Animal Behavior with Ethograms
Preliminary Information
The study of animal behavior starts with a description of behavior. Before a sociobiologist (a scientist specializing in animal behavior), can study how behavior develops, or what causes it, or how it affects an animal’s ability to survive and reproduce, s/he must identify and thoroughly describe the postures, movements, sounds, etc. that constitute the behavior.
Studying Animal Behavior with Ethograms
Describing behavior can be difficult, so sociobiologists use a standard technique called an ethogram. An ethogram is an inventory of the behaviors of a species, with the behaviors carefully described and organized into categories. This organized structure enables biologists to discover how each behavior helps the animal to survive, to mate, and to reproduce. Ethograms also allow sociobiologists to speculate about the evolution of behavior because similar behaviors can be compared among species in an evolutionary lineage. Finally, ethograms are important when planning habitats for captive animals and are useful in evaluating the effects of a particular habitat on the animals mental and physical health.
Methods
Ethogram (categories of behavior) Choose an animal you can comfortably observe for at least 30 minutes (you can break this up into shorter intervals, as long as total time is 30 minutes). The animal can be a pet or one you see frequently outdoors. Your first observation will last 15 minutes and you will use this time to identify and describe categories of behavior (for example, walking, sleeping, and eating, etc.) exhibited by your animal. The descriptions should be detailed enough to allow someone else to identify your categories unambiguously. List and describe the behaviors below. Note – start this observation when your animal is NOT sleeping!
Common name of animal _____________________________________________________________________________
Scientific Name _____________________________________________________________________________________
Category of behavior Description Example: resting. Example: animal is inactive but awake.
Hypothesis: Which behavior will occupy the majority of the animal’s time? Write your hypothesis here:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Time Budget
- Write the categories of behavior you identified across the top row of the Time Budget Data Table (next page).
- Observe your animal for another 15 minutes.
- At 30 second intervals, check off the behavior exhibited by the animal. Note: add behavior categories as needed.
- Sum the number of check marks under each behavior and record as Total Occurrences.
- Calculate the percent time spent in each behavior. Divide the total occurrences by the total number of time intervals. In the example, the number of time intervals is 6. For your data, there will be 30 time intervals.
Example.
Common name: Goldfish Scientific Name: Carassius auratus
Behavior Time resting eating swimming chasing being chased 0 x 0.5 x 1 x 1.5 x 2 x 2.5 x Total Occurrences (sum check marks)
3 2 1 Percent of time: (total/6) x 100
3/6 x100 = 50% 2/6 x 100 = 33% 1/6 x 100 = 17%
Data analysis – Construct a bar graph of the percentage of time spent in each behavior, called a “Time Budget”, on the included graph paper. Refer to the example below.
Example. Time Budget for Goldfish, Carassius auratus.
Being chased Resting Swimming
Time Budget Data Table
Common name: ___________________________ Scientific Name: ______________________________________
Time Behavior ——————- 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14 14.5 Total Occurrences (sum check marks)
Percent of time: (total/30) x 100
Time Budget Bar Graph (remember to label both axes and give the graph a Title)
Discussion Questions
- Did your observations support your hypothesis? Explain and support with data.
- What type(s) of communication did you observe your animals using? Reference your book or lecture notes and provide an example.
- Write at least one new question you have about the animal’s behavior.
- Do you think your time budget ethogram accurately describes the typical behavior of the animal throughout the day? Throughout the year? Explain.
Studying Animal Behavior with Ethograms
RUBRIC
QUALITY OF RESPONSE NO RESPONSE POOR / UNSATISFACTORY SATISFACTORY GOOD EXCELLENT Content (worth a maximum of 50% of the total points) Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. 20 points out of 50: The essay illustrates poor understanding of the relevant material by failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and/or incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology; and elements of the response are lacking. 30 points out of 50: The essay illustrates a rudimentary understanding of the relevant material by mentioning but not full explaining the relevant content; identifying some of the key concepts/ideas though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them; using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and/or incorporating some key claims/points but failing to explain the reasoning behind them or doing so inaccurately. Elements of the required response may also be lacking. 40 points out of 50: The essay illustrates solid understanding of the relevant material by correctly addressing most of the relevant content; identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology; explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and/or where necessary or useful, substantiating some points with accurate examples. The answer is complete. 50 points: The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the relevant material by thoroughly and correctly addressing the relevant content; identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims and substantiating, as necessary/useful, points with several accurate and illuminating examples. No aspects of the required answer are missing. Use of Sources (worth a maximum of 20% of the total points). 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