After doing some preliminary research, I was very surprised to find how broad of a subject animal behavior truly is. There are many different topics to focus on, and there's a lot more to animal behavior than how an animal acts physically (which was my prior understanding). The research changed my view on the topic of animal behavior and made me more aware of how diverse of a topic it is, and how many different subjects there are for me to focus on.
I wonder if and how the study of animal behavior has directly benefitted humans. And how we as humans behave according to our eyesight and other sensory structures.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Week 1 Post 2
Animal Behavior: Sensory and Eyesight
Animal behavior is a very diverse topic. The way animals find food, reproduce, travel/migrate, communicate, etc. are all influenced by their behavior. The way an animal behaves can be very reliant on the sensory structures of the animal; the eyes, ears, and even skin. In "What Functions of Living Systems Underlie Behavior?", Michael D. Breed talks about how an animal's eyesight can actually affect its behavior. Most animals have either monochromatic vision or trichromatic vision. Monochromatic vision is the ability to see in black and white, while trichromatic vision is the ability to see the three primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) and their mixtures. Whether an animal has monochromatic eyesight or trichromatic can affect their behavior. Having monochromatic eyesight gives the animal more sensitivity of light, as they can only see something as dark and light instead of in color. This also makes them reliant on shapes and movements, while trichromatic animals rely on an indication by color. For example, bulls are actually color blind, so when a large red cloth is waved in front of them, they are actually threatened by the sporadic movements of the cloth itself, not its color. The same goes for many trichromatic predatory animals; when they see a brightly colored amphibian (frogs, salamanders, etc.) or snake, they correlate the bright colors with danger and death.
The article "What Functions of Living Systems Underlie Behavior?" showed the relationship between animals' sensory structures and the way they behave by showing that the type of eyesight an animal has directly correlates with the way they react in different situations. Animal behavior can be connected with many other variables such as stress, hormones, and diet as well; it is a very diverse and complicated topic of science.
Animal behavior is a very diverse topic. The way animals find food, reproduce, travel/migrate, communicate, etc. are all influenced by their behavior. The way an animal behaves can be very reliant on the sensory structures of the animal; the eyes, ears, and even skin. In "What Functions of Living Systems Underlie Behavior?", Michael D. Breed talks about how an animal's eyesight can actually affect its behavior. Most animals have either monochromatic vision or trichromatic vision. Monochromatic vision is the ability to see in black and white, while trichromatic vision is the ability to see the three primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) and their mixtures. Whether an animal has monochromatic eyesight or trichromatic can affect their behavior. Having monochromatic eyesight gives the animal more sensitivity of light, as they can only see something as dark and light instead of in color. This also makes them reliant on shapes and movements, while trichromatic animals rely on an indication by color. For example, bulls are actually color blind, so when a large red cloth is waved in front of them, they are actually threatened by the sporadic movements of the cloth itself, not its color. The same goes for many trichromatic predatory animals; when they see a brightly colored amphibian (frogs, salamanders, etc.) or snake, they correlate the bright colors with danger and death.
The article "What Functions of Living Systems Underlie Behavior?" showed the relationship between animals' sensory structures and the way they behave by showing that the type of eyesight an animal has directly correlates with the way they react in different situations. Animal behavior can be connected with many other variables such as stress, hormones, and diet as well; it is a very diverse and complicated topic of science.
Week 1 Post 1
An Introduction to Animal Behavior
Before I start my online animal behavior course on February 7th, I started to perform some preliminary research on the basics and fundamentals of animal behavior.
After some general googling of animal behavior, I stumbled upon a very informative website:
Before I start my online animal behavior course on February 7th, I started to perform some preliminary research on the basics and fundamentals of animal behavior.
After some general googling of animal behavior, I stumbled upon a very informative website:
The website includes a general introduction to animal behavior, and then many links to basic, intermediate, and advanced topics within the subject of animal behavior.
For this week of research, I chose to focus on the diversity of animal behavior during the first few days to get a better understanding of all the different types. These are a few facts from the topic:
- Animal behavior is influenced by
- Genetic mechanisms
- Physiological mechanisms
- Growth from embryo to juvenile
- The purpose of animal behavior is to learn more about how the animal interacts with its environment and how it is changing and has changed over time
- The social aspect of animal behavior actually adapts over time
- Example: a species of gazelle becoming more and more aggressive towards lions over time
- Social behavior can be connected with natural selection
Friday, January 20, 2017
Introduction
My name is Rabsa Naseer and I am a junior at Roosevelt High School as well as Central Academy. For my GT Extended Learning Seminar class, I will be completing an online course through edX. The course I will be completing is called Introduction to Animal Behaviour and is offered by Wageningen University & Research.
Through this course, I will learn about the fundamentals of animal behavior, specifically:
My interest for this course came from my passion for animals. I plan to pursue a career in scientific research, specifically biology/zoology. So, this course could help me gain a basic understanding of animal behavior, a topic I may work with in the future.
This course will help me in the future by giving me some amount of background knowledge on a topic I may pursue in college, which could help me acquire the major of my choice when I apply. The process of completing this course in the duration of this class also requires doing prior research and further research in comparison to the completed course. That will help me learn how to synthesize and compare information on the same topic from different sources. And, as with most online courses, this course will have a weekly schedule which I will have to follow in order to pass, which will help my time management skills.
Through this course, I will learn about the fundamentals of animal behavior, specifically:
- Learning, Cognition, and Development
- Finding Food and Avoiding Predators
- Mating Systems and Parental Care
- Living In Groups
My interest for this course came from my passion for animals. I plan to pursue a career in scientific research, specifically biology/zoology. So, this course could help me gain a basic understanding of animal behavior, a topic I may work with in the future.
This course will help me in the future by giving me some amount of background knowledge on a topic I may pursue in college, which could help me acquire the major of my choice when I apply. The process of completing this course in the duration of this class also requires doing prior research and further research in comparison to the completed course. That will help me learn how to synthesize and compare information on the same topic from different sources. And, as with most online courses, this course will have a weekly schedule which I will have to follow in order to pass, which will help my time management skills.
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