Ethology

Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour considered as a branch of zoology. A scientist who practises ethology is called an ethologist.

The Fixed Action Pattern and animal communication

An important step, associated with the name of Konrad Lorenz though probably due more to his teacher, Heinroth, was the identification of fixed action patterns (FAPs). Lorenz popularized FAPs as instinctive responses that would occur reliably in the presence of identifiable stimuli (called sign stimuli or releasing stimuli). These FAPs could then be compared across species, and the similarities and differences between behaviour compared with the similarities and differences in morphology on which taxonomy was based. An important and much quoted study of the Anatidae (ducks and geese) by Heinroth used this technique. The ethologists noted that the stimuli that released FAPs were commonly features of the appearance or behaviour of other members of their own species, and they were able to show how important forms of animal communication could be mediated by a few simple FAPs. The most sophisticated investigation of this kind was the study by Karl von Frisch of the so-called “dance language” underlying bee communication. Lorenz developed an interesting theory of the evolution of animal communication based on his observations of the nature of fixed action patterns and the circumstances in which animals emit them.

Related Topics:
Konrad Lorenz - Fixed action pattern - Morphology - Anatidae - Animal communication - Karl von Frisch - Bee communication

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