| A | B |
|---|
| Proximate questions | Questions that focus on the environmental stimuli that trigger a behavioral as well as the genetic, physiological, and anatomical mechanisms , HOW questions |
| Ultimate questions | A questions that focuses on the evolutionary significance of a behavioral, WHY questions |
| fixed action pattern | A sequence of behavioral acts that is essentially unchangeable and usually carried to completion once initiated. |
| sign stimulus | An external sensory stimulus that triggers a fixed action pattern. |
| imprinting | A type of learned behavior with a significant innate component, acquired during a limited critical period. |
| sensitive period | A limited phase in an individual animal′s development when learning of particular behaviors can take place. |
| innate behavior | Behavior that is developmentally fixed that are are under strong genetic influence |
| kinesis | Appearing as random motion, it is a change in activity in response to a stimulus. |
| taxis | Movement directly toward or directly away from a stimulus |
| pheromone | a small, volatile chemical that functions in communication and that in animals acts much like a hormone in influencing physiology and behavior |
| ecological niche | The sum total of a species′ use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment, an organisms job description |
| cryptic coloration | Camouflage, making potential prey difficult to spot against its background. |
| aposematic coloration | The bright coloration of animals with effective physical or chemical defenses that acts as a warning to predators. |
| Batesian mimicry | A type of mimicry in which a harmless species looks like a species that is poisonous or otherwise harmful to predators. |
| Müllerian mimicry | A mimicry in which two harmful species mimic each other |
| herbivory | +/- in which an animal eats parts of plants or algae |
| host | The larger participant serving as home and feeding ground to a parsite |
| endoparasites | A parasite that lives within a host. |
| ectoparasites | A parasite that lives outside of a host. |
| mutualism | A symbiotic relationship in which both participants benefit. |
| Commensalism | A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither helped nor harmed. |
| Dominant species | those species in a community that are the most abundant |
| keystone species | A species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche. |
| disturbance | an event, such as a storm, fire, flood, drought, overgrazing, or human activity, that changes a community |
| succession | a process in which species are gradually replaced by other species, which are in turn replaced by still other species |
| primary succession | A type of ecological succession that occurs in a virtually lifeless area, where there were originally no organisms and where soil has not yet formed. |
| Secondary succession | A type of succession that occurs where an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves the soil intact. |
| facilitate | early arrivers help late arrivers |
| inhibit | early arrivers harm late arrivers |
| tolerate | late arrivers are not affected by early arrivers |
