Earth Science: Ethology – Instinctive behavior Instinctive actions, or fixed action patterns, are similar to reflexes, rigid and irreversible but with a greater range and complexity. Examples are the nesting behavior of birds and the stockpiling behavior seen in hamsters. In contrast to unconditioned reflexes the innate stimulus threshold, which triggers a stimulus of instinctive … Read more
Earth Science: Biology – Ethology Behavioral science is a branch of biology that studies the behavior of living organisms. Such behavior may include body posture, vocal sounds, changes in color, and the release of scent pheromones. Complex behavioral patterns can often be divided into macro (e.g., reproduction) and micro (e.g., courtship displays) behavioral categories. Earth … Read more
Earth Science: Biology – Ethology Ethology is the study of animal or human behavior. A relatively new branch of biology, the field of ethology first had to concern itself with developing methods to attain objective and reproducible results. The foremost questions for ethologists today include determining which forms of behavior are genetically determined, or inborn, … Read more
