Term		Definition
acoustic demarcation		when an animal makes sounds to signal its presence examples include singing of birds, calling of amphibians, hooting of some primates, howling of wolves and coyotes. Crow Frog Primate Wolf Elk
aestivation		the condition of dormancy or torpidity.
alpha animal		individual or animal that takes a lead role and occupies the dominant position in the group.
anthropomorphic		attributing to animals the emotions of humans
appeasement behavior		actions or body language that may send a danger, threat or challenge signal to another animal. Zookeepers must strive to avoid such behavior.
appetitive behavior		an introductory phase of a specific behavior pattern that preceeds instinctive behavior. e.g. roaming before taking chase of a fleeing animal.
artiodactyls		terrestrial herbivorous mammals characterized by having an even number of toes and by having the main limb axes pass between the third and fourth toes examples include: hippos (4 toes), deer, sheep, antelope, goats (2 toes)
AZA		American Zoological Association
behavior		what an animal does, how it cares for itself and how it reacts to other organisms and the environment in which it lives.
beta animal		subordinate or second animal in the social group
biological rank		when a dominance exists between different species, which compete for food, water or space.
canids		belonging to the Canidae family of carnivorous mammals including dogs and their allies
circadian rhythm		a rhythmic process within an organism occurring independently of external synchronizing signals.
CITES		Convention on Intentional Trade in Endangered Species places restrictions on the importing or exporting of species of plants or animals that are rare or endangered.
classical and operant conditioning		involves rewarding an animal for a particular action while at the same time providing a separate and distinct stimulus. Pavlov's working giving dog food, which resulted in salivation while at the same time ringing a bell was repeated. Then he found just ringing the bell would elicit salivation. This operant conditioning is used to train dolphins.
coprophagy		feeding on dung or excrement
crepuscular		active during twilight hours e.g. Nighthawk
critical distance		a component of the flight distance, distance at which the animal feels forced to defend itself
displacement activity		an animal be respond to a releaser in an alternative way under certain conditions e.g. stimulus to attach another animal may be redirected to another activity less dangerous
distribution or range		is the geographic distribution of the species
diurnal		active during the day
dynamic optical demarcation		when an animal uses a special signalling device in a stereotypical movement (the waving of the fiddler crabs claw) to alert other members of its species.
ecological niche		describes the role of the animal within its community. It considers what the animal does in relation to the food chain, plant and animal associations and energy flow. The niche might be compared to an occupation.
escape reaction		animals that sense a predator may run, flee or stay motionless in order to avoid contact
ethology		the study of the behavior of animals in their normal environment.
experience		This is the basis for trial and error learning. An example is the frog that snaps up a wasp and gets its tongue stung. The frog learns to associate the color and pattern of the wasp with pain and will not again try to eat a wasp. When a young insectivorous bird leaves its nest it picks at pebbles, leaves or sticks until it finds and eats an insect. Once the bird has eaten the insect, a reward, it greatly reduces the frequency with which it picks at pebbles, sticks or other non-rewarding items.
fixed action patterns		These are complex instinctive behaviours. An example might be the series of behavioral activities engaged in by birds that are not sexually dimorphic that allows mate selection. It may include bowing, mutual vocalization, mutual preening and posturing. Sometimes a series of dozens of behavioral acts, each stimulating a response, follow one another.
flight distance		is recognized in many prey species which, while they may defend a territory against conspecifics, flee when a perceived potential predator gets within this distance. Flight distance can be modified by habituation
habitat		habitat is the area within the range that contains the environmental factors and conditions needed to support the species.
habituation		this is the suppression of response to a repeated harmless stimulus. An example might be animals learning to ignore a train or sound of a horn near the enclosure. The stimulus results in no reward or punishment.
home range		is the living area normally occupied and inhabited by an animal.
husbandry		application of scientific principles to agriculture, especially to animal breeding
imprinting		This is a genetically programmed form of learning in which a newly hatched or new-born learns to identify with its species within a finite time by following or being exposed to stimuli it learns to identify. The sensitive period for imprinting baby mallard ducks to follow a man instead of other ducks is 13 to 16 hours after hatching. This is the time when the female typically leaves the nest and , by following, the ducklings learn they are ducks.
innate		any behavior that is performed without prior learning
insight or reasoning		this is the most sophisticated form of learning where the solution to an entirely different problem is used to solve a new challenge. Chimpanzees using straws to fish termites from burrows be an example.
instinct		any behavior that is performed without prior learning and that is inherited. Suckling by new-born animals is an instinctive behavior.
ISIS		International Species Inventory System - a computer based information system for animals in captivity.
kinesis		induction of movement in an animal where the movement lacks directional orientation and depends on the stimulus intensity producing a change of rate of random movements.
lagomorphs		order of animals including hares, rabbits and pikas, differentiated from rodents by two pairs of upper incisors covered by enamel
lek		males defend and area or lek among several other male's territories during mating.
nocturnal		active at night e.g. owls
olfactory demarcation		an animal signalling its presence via scent which can be in its faeces, urine and products of special scent glands. Generally male scent glands are more elaborate than those of the females.
operant conditioning		A process of behavior modification in which the likelihood of a specific behavior is increased or decreased through positive or negative reinforcement each time the behavior is exhibited, so that the subject comes to associate the pleasure or displeasure of the reinforcement with the behavior
peck orders		animals social position within a group, allows one to discern different levels of dominance.
personal or intimate distance		is the individual distance within which conspecifics are tolerated. In some species such as horses the distance may be 0. Personal distance is often considered a component of territoriality.
personal space		in group species this is the distance inside of which the intrusion of a fellow member of the species creates stress where that intruder is a mate or immature. In humans this distance is about an arm's length in western societies but is somewhat less in Mediterranean countries.
precocious		early maturing, ahead of development
pyschology		is the science of mental processes and behavior in humans
redirected activity		an animal responding to a releaser e.g. to fight may alter its behaviour to carry out another activity e.g. male deer may scratch a tree with its antlers
reflexes		These are responses of part of the body to a stimulus that does not involve the higher brain centers. The blinking of the eye or knee jerk are examples of reflexes.
releaser		a behavior pattern or structure, which serves to trigger a behavior pattern e.g. sounds of young or color patterns
rut		males of certain species of mammals become sexually active and aggressive during a period prior to mating e.g. antlered an horned hoof species and some elephants.
social rank		is the position an animal holds in a social group of the same species
species-specific		any behavior that is the same in all members of a species
specific action potential		instinctive behavior is triggered by internal factors, hormonal or otherwise, that build to a certain level and allow the behavior to take place. This build up is called the specific action potential. It is responsible for an animal performing one behavior in preference to other behaviors.
static-optical demarcation		result arises from the presence or appearance of the animal's body. Visual demarcation of animals territory so other members of the species can recognize it using the whole body or even parts of it. Form and color are often important.
stereotyped		any behavior that an animals repeats in the same way
taxes		This name is given to behaviour that involves movement to or away from a stimulus. An example would be cockroaches fleeing from light.
territory		within the home range of an animal there is often a defended area which is identified as its territory.
vacuum activity		sometimes when the specific action potential is high an animal may act without a stimulus that we are aware of