GOD SAVE THE QUEENBiology 342 Fall 2011Physiological & Environmental Effects on Hierarchical Rank in Ants. |
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TinBergen's Four Questions about Animal BehaviorIntroduction: -Colonies synchronize their behavior within the hive based on chemical cues or pheromones that are excreted from the other ants, especially the queen. This website focuses on the different areas that influence this behavior using ethologist Nikolaas Tinbergen's four areas of Animal Behavior Study: phylogeny, ontogeny, mechanism and,adaptive value. -phylogeny will exame when and under what circumstances hierarchical structures began arrising in populations of the species that act as precursors to modern species. -Ontogeny will help us explore during which periods of ant development the mechanisms controlling hierarchical behavior occur. -Mechanism is the biological structure and process that carry out these behaviors -Adaptive Value is the value of the behavior in terms of how well it promotes the propagation of an individuals genes. |