All Topics  
Ethogram

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Ethogram
 
 
  Topics Ethogram Topic Home

In ethology
Ethology

Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a branch of zoology .Although many naturalists have studied aspects of animal behavior through the centuries, the modern discipline of ethology is usually considered to have arisen with the work in the 1930s of Dutch biologist Nikolaas Tinbergen and Austrian biologist Konrad Lorenz,...
, an ethogram is a catalogue of the discrete behaviors typically employed by a species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
. These behaviors are sufficiently stereotype
Stereotype

A stereotype is a preconceived idea that attributes certain characteristics to all the members of class or set. The term is often used with a negative connotation when referring to an oversimplified, exaggerated, or demeaning assumption that a particular individual possesses the characteristics associated with the class due to his or her me...
d that an observer may record the number of such acts, or the amount of time engaged in the behaviours in a time budget.

Rooted in traditions which focus on discrete species-typical innate behaviors, ethograms represent an early stage of investigating the behaviors of a species and the contexts in which they occur.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Ethogram'
Start a new discussion about 'Ethogram'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


In ethology
Ethology

Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a branch of zoology .Although many naturalists have studied aspects of animal behavior through the centuries, the modern discipline of ethology is usually considered to have arisen with the work in the 1930s of Dutch biologist Nikolaas Tinbergen and Austrian biologist Konrad Lorenz,...
, an ethogram is a catalogue of the discrete behaviors typically employed by a species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
. These behaviors are sufficiently stereotype
Stereotype

A stereotype is a preconceived idea that attributes certain characteristics to all the members of class or set. The term is often used with a negative connotation when referring to an oversimplified, exaggerated, or demeaning assumption that a particular individual possesses the characteristics associated with the class due to his or her me...
d that an observer may record the number of such acts, or the amount of time engaged in the behaviours in a time budget.

Rooted in traditions which focus on discrete species-typical innate behaviors, ethograms represent an early stage of investigating the behaviors of a species and the contexts in which they occur. Difficulties in compiling ethograms include rarely performed behaviors, graded displays, inter-individual variation and non-stereotyped behaviors, all of which introduce ambiguities into the lexicon
Lexicon

In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes....
-like concept of an ethogram.

The behaviors are described (e.g. sit-on-haunch
Haunch

File:Jydske-rear.jpgThe haunch is the buttock and thigh. A large haunch is a notable characteristic of the American Quarter Horse and some breeds of draft horse....
es) without explicit reference to their purpose (e.g. predator-scanning). A species may use a putative threat display
Threat display

Threat display is a type of display behaviour aiming at intimidation of a potential enemy. It may be directed at a rival of the same species , or at a potential threat from a different species....
, which ought to be given a descriptive name such as "head forward" or "bracing display", and not "head forward threat" or "bracing threat". The use of the display in antagonistic interactions should be noted in the ethogram.

See also

  • Behaviour
  • Instinct
    Instinct

    Instinct is the inherent disposition of a life organism toward a particular behavior. The fixed action patterns are unlearned and inherited. The stimuli can can be variable due to imprinting in a sensitive period or also genetically fixed....