Ethology: the science of animal behavior

The world of animals is wonderful. These beings surprise us with their unique characteristics and behavior. Have you ever wondered why they behave in a certain way? Yes, ethology is a discipline dedicated to it.

That’s right, there is a whole science that studies animal behavior, wonderful right? Ethology is responsible for asking questions such as: why do animals exhibit certain behavior? What is it about? how do they execute it?

Thanks to ethology, we have come to understand animal behaviors that we were previously unaware of and the reasons for them. Continue reading this article, we will tell you how this wonderful science emerged, what it consists of, who is involved in it, and their contributions.

What are the origins of ethology?

Ethology emerged thanks to the joint work of professionals who had an inexhaustible passion for animals.. They dedicated a lot of their time to it. In fact, Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen and Karl Von Frisch won the Nobel Prize in physiology for their studies on behavior in 1973.

But, how did they come to it? For the investigations they did. Lorenz delved into the behavior of geese and proposed the theory of imprinting. Tinbergen became interested in the instinct of the stickleback and studied autumn migration. Meanwhile, Von Frish emphasized the way bees communicate.

Besides, were influenced by the research of other thinkers who studied animal behavior. For example, Morton Wheeler, who dedicated himself to studying the behavior of ants for a long time. And who popularized the term “ethology”.

Although there were already studies exploring animal behavior in other disciplines, such as comparative psychology, After Lorenz, Kinbergen and Von Frisch won the Nobel Prize, ethology began to be considered a science. And, comparative psychology was integrated into this.

What is ethology about?

Ethology studies animal behavior and takes into account natural selection. The professionals in charge of studying it are called ethologists, and they are in charge of:

Carry out field work. To observe the behavior of animals in their environment.Do some work in your lab. For research purposes. There, they give shape to their hypotheses and propose new ones. They explain phenomena. They ask about adaptive behavior, observe the stimuli and modifications due to learning and establish how the behavior occurs throughout the life cycle of the animal.Compare. With behaviors of other species, to see how behavior has evolved.

So, l Ethology is interested in innate and learned behavior. For this reason, ethologists focus on areas such as: imprinting, social life, development, sexual selection, cooperation and aggressiveness, among others.

Contributions of ethology

Ethology has contributed enormously. We show you some of his contributions:

Modal action guidelines. They are sequenced behaviors. That is, circuits as a behavioral reflex that are activated in specific situations.Theory of behavior as adaptation. It proposes behavior as an evolutionary aspect.The imprint It consists of learning that occurs during a moment of development in which there is greater sensitivity to certain stimuli. We talk about learning that takes strong roots.Communication in animals. Animals use modal action patterns in their communication. Bees, for example, do it through aerial dances.Behavioral ecology and evolutionary psychology. Ethology has given rise to these branches of knowledge. The first studies animal behavior from the ecological and evolutionary implications. And, the second proposes that human behavior can be understood by understanding its evolutionary history.Clinical ethology. It studies behavioral changes in animals, for example, in domestic animals when sudden aggressive behaviors occur.

So, In ethology, the distinctive behavioral characteristics of animals are studied, almost always through observation. Furthermore, the study of it also contributes to the understanding of human behavior through comparisons.

Thanks to research carried out by ethologists we have tools for conservation. Together with ecologists, they promote sustained wildlife management and the protection of endangered species. As Marcelo H Cassini suggests in his study published in the Magazine of the Spanish Society of Ethology.

Ethology helps to increase animal welfare, optimize production, diagnose diseases, promote the survival of endangered species. Furthermore, their study provides tools for animal-assisted therapy.

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