Animal Behavior Screencasts

In an attempt to ascertain how some species of song birds learn their songs, researchers have developed techniques to disrupt auditory input as well as output and assess the results on adult song.

An examination of the complexity of bird song, the syrinx—a structure that is primarily responsible for it, and how song develops from nestlings to adults.

How nonhuman animals use sounds within the human hearing range to refer to specific items, such as threats from potential predators as well as food items.

Many nonhuman species send and receive auditory signals outside the range of human hearing. Low-frequency infrasound and high-frequency ultrasounds play numerous roles, as discussed here.

Infrared & ultraviolet senses are used extensively by a wide variety of nonhuman organisms, even though these senses are outside the range of visible light to which humans are sensitive. Some examples shown here involve California Ground Squirrel tail wagging, avian mate choice, Jumping Spider courtship, and butterfly wingspots.

Bioluminescence is a form of visual communication involving pulses of light produced by specific organs in a variety of species, such as deep-sea fishes, jellyfishes, and fireflies.

Various aspects of how animals communicate visually, including the waggle dance of honey bees, how honeyguides help Boran people locate honey, asymmetrical tail-wagging of dogs that reflect different emotional states, and mockingbird recognition of threatening humans.

Locating the source of an animal vocalizing ranges from relatively easy to quite difficult, and it all depends on structure of the signal. Easy-to-localize sounds are used for specific purposes, and difficult-to-localize sounds are used for other purposes, as discussed in this screencast.

How nonhuman organisms deal with environmental noise to enable effective communication. Noise includes signal attenuation and signal degradation, and has effects on stimulus detection and stimulus recognition.

The definition of communication is complex and somewhat controversial. We'll explore why that's the case, and then move on to some neuronal mechanisms enabling effective communication.

Different species have different mating systems that characterize the primary (though not solely) means under which reproduction occurs. Here, we examine perennial & seasonal monogamy, polygamy, including polygyny & polyandry, and promiscuity, including lekking species. Human mating systems are culture-specific.

An examination of 3 reasons why some species of nonhuman organisms breed synchronously: Optimal Resource Availability; Social Foraging; and, Avoiding Predation.

An examination of sexual selection in relation to speciation, including runaway sexual selection and sensory exploitation.

Deleterious effects of inbreeding in lions, and mechanisms of incest avoidance in zebra finches via female choice of male song, and incest compensation in shore birds via extra-pair mating.

When it comes to sexual selection, males court females, and females choose with whom to mate (with a few exceptions). Thus, female choice of mate is critical, and here we describe examples of this as well as related phenomena such as the Handicap Principle, disruptive selection, and sexual dimorphism not caused by sexual selection.