Teacher Resource

support material

Animal Behavior

Kathryn Orzech
  • Support Material Type:
    • Vocabulary Words

Biobehavioral strategies: Strategies for survival and reproduction that take into account the animal's biology. What biological features and capabilities do they have because of their species, their sex and their age? What behaviors can they do or not do based on their biology? What DO they do to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation?

Context/environment: This is where the animal spends most or all of its time. When describing it, make sure to note features like the availability of shelter, food, water and other necessities for your animal. What is the general climate like in terms of temperature, rainfall, etc? Are there plants in the environment? Other animals? How does the focal animal relate to the other occupants of its environment?

Life cycle: What is the timing of growth, development and reproduction. What stages does the animal pass through? (Most animals have infancy, juvenile and adult stages) How old are they at each major life-cycle event, like weaning, sexual maturity, first birth for females? How old does your animal live to be?

Life Ways: These are behaviors the animal engages in to survive. They might include how they find food, how they avoid predators, how they interact with and create alliances with other members of their species.

Information on the Internet

References

Morbeck, Mary Ellen, Alison Galloway and Adrienne L. Zihlman, Eds. 1997. The Evolving Female: A Life History Perspective. Princeton University Press. Princeton, NJ.

Patterson, J.D. 2001. Primate Behavior: An Exercise Workbook, 2nd Edition. Waveland Press. Prospect Heights, Illinois.

About This Page


University of Arizona

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Kathryn Orzech at

All Rights Reserved.

 Treehouses are authored by students, teachers, science enthusiasts, or professional scientists. Anyone can sign up as a treehouse contributor and share their knowledge and enthusiasm about organisms. Treehouse contributions are checked for general accuracy and quality by teachers and ToL editors, but they are not usually reviewed by expert scientists. If you spot an error, please get in touch with the author or the teacher. For more information about quality control of Tree of Life content, see Status of Tree of Life Pages.

close box

This page is a treehouse that is attached to a branch of the Tree of Life.

Treehouses are ToL pages designed for children and the young at heart.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Animals

Treehouse Content

articles & notes

Treehouses

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top