Questions tagged [behaviour]

The set of actions performed by an organism within a given environment

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Why do some people become more aggressive when tired?

Why do some people become more aggressive when they are tired? I've been thinking about this question for a few days and my 'hypothesis' is that the neural activity in the prefrontal cortex lessens as ...
R. Milky's user avatar
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82 views

Pattern in parental care behaviour from lower to higher animals?

I was studying about parental care behavior. There seems a pattern present in this behavior in case of vertebrates. The more evolutionary advanced class the animal belongs to, the greater effort an ...
Partha Sarker's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
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Is there an ecological scenario where terrestrial insect larvae can show food choices?

I have been going through literature on insect food choices. I plan to study the effect of prior experience on food choices in both adults and larvae of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. ...
vrk's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
414 views

Is there any kind of "unintended consequence" in evolutionary systems?

In the social sciences, unintended consequences is a term used to describe an unexpected positive or negative effect of a particular action. This is obviously the wrong word to use in the context of ...
syntonicC's user avatar
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2 answers
110 views

Do experiences shape actions of insects? Animals? [closed]

Would an insect behave differently to stimuli depending on what stimuli occurred to them earlier (that only affects them cognitively or their conscience)?
nelomad's user avatar
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1 answer
12k views

Why do people sing?

I was wondering the why people sing, but from a biological point of view. Is it necessary for our body? If it is so, then why can't everyone sing well? Is it in direct relation with neurotransmitter ...
Darwin PC's user avatar
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1 answer
64 views

Are fish averse to extreme heat?

Terrestrial animals face two common sources of heat extreme enough to pose a danger to them: Sunlight and fire. It therefore stands to reason that they would evolve systems for sensing heat and ...
user25031's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
94 views

Do clients of cleaner fish queue up?

I can't remember if I saw it in a cartoon, a documentary, or both, but the notion is that the clients of cleaner fish wait in line to be cleaned. "Clients" means the fish (or other aquatic animals) ...
NiteCyper's user avatar
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3 answers
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Do animals' facial expressions have similar meanings to humans'?

In the following pictures, the dog seems to be smiling to the camera. People staring at these picture also tend to feel comfortable and relaxed, presumably because they think it's very happy playing ...
nalzok's user avatar
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1 answer
502 views

Is the "freeze response" really a remain of our reptilian past?

I'm looking for any reliable sources relating the common-known human reaction on a stressful situation, humans sometimes freeze and can not move. From some materials found on the internet I got that ...
Probably's user avatar
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Ant trail behaviour

I observed an ant trail through a house for some years. I wonder why the ants established that trail. The ants are small ants of common type for middle europe, found almost everywhere in this region. ...
dronus's user avatar
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1 answer
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How much do urban pigeons move around cities?

Do they tend to live their lives in one area of the city or do they move around? For example, do pigeons born on London's Trafalgar Square live their whole lives centered around Trafalgar Square or ...
RGWinston's user avatar
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What are the most common mechanisms motivating mammals to mate?

I read somewhere that dolphins and humans are some of the only species known to have sex for fun. I was just curious What motivates mammals to mate? (Like what compels them to do it, not what the ...
Stan Shunpike's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Do animals have different taste preferences within the same species?

Humans (especially children...) seem to dislike certain foods or drinks, that other humans seem to like. Common examples are coffee, french cheeses, olives, milk, fish and cabbage. Are there examples ...
RHA's user avatar
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12 votes
1 answer
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What biological functions does crying serve?

Tears suddenly start flowing out of our eyes when we find our long lost friend or when someone unexpectedly decides to break up with us. Do tears really save us from harm? Or are they just the reflex ...
علی آفاق's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
459 views

What is the reason for fear induced defecation?

I started to handle mice for my job and noticed that they tend to defecate and/or urinate when they are scared. The fear is induced by me, because I need a long time (due to inexperience) to grab the ...
Brian's user avatar
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1 answer
61 views

A limit to birds affinity for high vantage points [closed]

Birds seem to have a natural affinity for high vantage points, including power wires, the tops of trees, and the sides and tops of buildings. However I presume the top of the Burj Khalifa is not ...
alan2here's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
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What other cognitive behaviors in bees, outside of navigation, are affect by neonicotinoids

It is conclusive that neonicotinoids alter navigation in bees when locating food sources. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0091364 But if so, shouldn't cognition also ...
Chitinous Exoskeleton's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
222 views

Do animals demonstrate target practice (i.e., playful accuracy behavior)?

Do animals demonstrate any sort of accuracy-motivated play? (please provide examples!) Consider most human sports and related hobbies. Most share the common goal of hitting a target or being accurate,...
theforestecologist's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
117 views

Male-Male competition limited to breeding season?

I'm currently reading about sexual selection in the context of evolution. Unfortunately, the focus is always on animal behavior during the breeding season. What is 'normal' behavior outside of ...
yapphdorlw's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
232 views

Are there any animals that gradually approaches the predator to search for food?

I was wondering if there is an animal (or insect, bird, etc.) that eventually comes close to its predator to search for food, but only does so if it couldn't find food in the environment it is in. So ...
Jack's user avatar
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Are there worms/snake traveling by rolling? (see youtube video) [closed]

Someone obtained this from a nature simulator : https://youtu.be/l-qOBi2tAnI Is there any animals travelling like this?
n0tis's user avatar
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2 answers
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Is there any evidence of animals wanting to die?

Is there any evidence of animals wanting to die? Specifically, animal communication which says "come and eat me".
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4 votes
1 answer
5k views

Why do you retch when you see something disgusting?

Why do you retch when you see something disgusting? I imagine it is some sort of evolutionary response, although I can't see the connection between receiving a signal that unhealthy conditions are in ...
Jason C's user avatar
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24 votes
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How do burrowing animals get enough oxygen?

Tree borers make a small hole in a tree. At the end of it, they chew on wood to elongate the tunnel. They digest food and grow. All this takes oxygen. The entrance to the tunnel is generally small. ...
mmesser314's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
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Why both sexes of the species don't show equal level of Competition? [closed]

In most species, it is seen that either males or females have evolved to be aggressive towards approaching members of the same species of the same sex and maintaining strict territorial boundaries. ...
Chitinous Exoskeleton's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
849 views

Do reptiles hunt?

I encountered the following passage in the book The Art of Interactive Design by Criss Crawford (bold formatting is mine): [...] From stalking and evasion to the chase, the [interaction between ...
nwk's user avatar
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24 votes
3 answers
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Why do we laugh?

Why is it that the reaction we get from absurdity is laughter? Everyone does it, even babies. Is there a reason why it is our instinct to laugh when we see or hear something absurd/humorous
Small Legend's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
138 views

Was this snake behaving abnormally?

This morning, I walked out front of my house to find a medium-sized snake balled up on my driveway beneath my motorcycle. I spotted it from my porch so I didn't walk any closer. I believe it was a ...
Bungle's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
10k views

Can animals like squirrels leave "gifts" or tribute for humans?

I've heard anecdotal reports of squirrels bringing up gifts to a person's house after that person left out food for them. Sounds bizzare and unbelievable, until I actually saw some kind of a nut right ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
73 views

How do I offer a generous gift to sweet-seeking wasps, bees, hornets, bumble-bees?

I was having ice coffee and melon ice and after visiting the lavatory I saw that a wasp was having a good time with my already finished ice coffee. Trying to begin the melon ice the wasp kindly ...
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1 vote
0 answers
68 views

How octopus develops its imitation skill?

I've watched one documentary about a Mimic octopus which they can imitate another animals in several form e.g. a Lion fish, a Sea snake, a Flatfish, etc. My question is how these octopuses can have ...
fronthem's user avatar
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5 votes
4 answers
529 views

How do birds avoid mid-air collision?

Across from me there is a large flick of Pigeons and Ravens that like to nest on the roof. They swoop and dive and fly all over. Sometimes the whole flock lifts off at once. My question is, how do ...
SolarLunix's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
31k views

Why do orcas eat only the tongue of whales, liver of sharks, etc.?

I noticed that although killer whales are clearly the top predator living in the present oceans, some of them appear to be very picky with their meals. After spending hours hunting down a whale, ...
J.L.'s user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
2k views

Do "virgin" ant queens ever shed their wings?

In species that reproduce sexually, if an ant queen goes on a nuptial flight and does not successfully mate, will she still shed her wings and try to found a colony (although she probably won't ...
Kal's user avatar
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15 votes
1 answer
7k views

Why do crabs spit?

Last year I photographed this juvenile Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grapsus grapsus) 'spitting' (click for larger view): I thought I'd look up more information on this behavior, but couldn't find any ...
p.s.w.g's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
126 views

Is there a schema for how human behavior is genetically determined?

It seem one can distinguish three different kinds of genetic determinism of common patterns of human behavior: behavior that is directly wired into our nervous system, e.g. face-related mirror ...
Lenar Hoyt's user avatar
34 votes
1 answer
7k views

Can beavers control the direction a tree falls?

We humans can easily control the direction a tree falls by making a number of strategic cuts, essentially creating a hinge: This prevents trees from falling on equipment and people and sets them up ...
canadianer's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
779 views

How significant is the genetic component of homosexual behaviour?

From some basic googling, I found that nobody has ever proven that people are born gay and that environment plays a great part in homosexuality. I wish to know if there is a genetic component to ...
Luca's user avatar
  • 77
9 votes
1 answer
9k views

Crow branch pecking behaviour

I was walking through a small park when two crows started cawing at me, and followed me, flying from tree-to-tree as I walked. I speculate that this is a territorial or protective behaviour, but what ...
Galen's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
14k views

Are we more attracted to people of the same ethnicity? [closed]

Are humans more attracted to people from their own ethnic groups? I ask this because most of the time people have relationships with people of their own ethnicity, and I wonder if it's purely social, ...
KaareZ's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
473 views

Why do surface mole tunnels follow directly below the electric fenceline

I have electric fencing enclosing five acres, and moles always seem to tunnel in a straight line just under the electric fence - are they following a force field? Can that be?
user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
329 views

How are behaviors genetically coded in animals?

I am curious as to how complex behavior is passed down genetically? For example, how is the building of a web genetically coded in a spider? And how is the complex behavior of constricting prey coded ...
Anoop Alex's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
820 views

Do any birds have established "poke a predator's eyes out" behavior?

Is there a pattern/tactics of behavior in any birds species that consists of attacking a predator's eyes with its beak? I'm looking for established tactics, not 1 or 2 anecdotal examples.
DVK's user avatar
  • 2,075
0 votes
1 answer
458 views

Advantages of gregarious vs solitary behaviour?

I'm trying to explain why birds (specifically wildfowl) are gregarious during the winter and solitary during the summer. I think that in winter, birds are gregarious to reduce the risk of predation ...
luciano's user avatar
  • 599
5 votes
1 answer
209 views

How is instinct carried from one generation to another?

How can non-structural information, specifically instinct (a fixed pattern of behavior that an organism reverts to as a response to certain stimuli), be passed on from generation to generation (such ...
CDB's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
253 views

Do ant colonies prioritize survival of particular members above others?

In some (perhaps small) human communities people may starve because they have no income. This could be interpreted as a consequence of them not participating in the community, hence they don't get any ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
204 views

How did bullying arise evolutionarily?

By bullying, I mean individuals harassing others with name-calling or violence but not for the purpose of gaining resources such as with extortion or theft. The only explanation I've thought of is ...
Kelmikra's user avatar
  • 187
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

How does the ideal free distribution work?

I have recently completed a study on Brent Goose. I found that Brent Geese occupy high quality habitat first then once this is full of geese, they fill up low quality habitat. However, there were ...
luciano's user avatar
  • 599
8 votes
2 answers
243 views

How to name such grouping behaviour?

Under which keyword would you try to find out more about the grouping behaviour which looks like this? Does anybody recognizes such behaviour, or know an animal species which uses it? My tries: ...
Ladislav Naďo's user avatar