Animal Behavior (ECOL 487/587)
Fall 2012

PUT YOUR VIDEO HERE!

Stefanie: eggs mimicking seeds

Stefanie: myotonic goats

Amanda: rattlesnake mating

Monique: cave-adapted fish

Kevin K.: giant water bug egg-carrying

Erana: reef fish bullying and sex change

Rachel S.: predator lures

Samantha S.: infanticide in lions

Emily: hognose predator avoidance

Lindsey: spiders stealing dance moves

Samantha S.: carotenoids and finch mating

Jeremy: anglerfish mating

Erana: penis fencing in flatworms

Katie B.: a murmuration of starlings

Ashleigh: elephant seal territoriality

Stephen: crows at crosswalks

Michelle S.: peacock spider contests

Samantha Y.: female mimic cuttlefish

Monique: cave-adapted salamander

Erana: manakin courtship

Angela: meerkat mobbing

Angela, Mary, and Tory submitted summaries on the video of a TED talk on crow cognition by Joshua Klein, which includes footage of Betty the New Caledonian Crow as well as Joshua's efforts to teach crows to work a vending machine. The link is below
http://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html

Angela submitted a video of mobbing behavior in meerkats. They are mobbing a cobra and later a genet. Angela notes, "Younger meerkats, too young to participate, watch and learn on the sidelines."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFVvaptpFr0

Tory submitted a segment on camouflage and confusion along with other strategies for predator avoidance. Related videos on those subjects will be listed at the same link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds5qIn2TISg

Jacqueline submitted an hour-long BBC documentary on animal cognition called Super Smart Animals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUCdWyLNNXU

Erana submitted an example of male-male competition in the form of physical combat in horned beetles. The winners are not always the bigger beetles! Or even the beetles with the bigger horns. The Japanese narration adds to the excitement. Well, adds something anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvsTX0qd7Us

Ashleigh submitted a remarkable example of vocal mimicry by the Superb Lyrebird from Australia. Ashleigh writes, "This video contains a clip of a male Lyrebird at the Adelaid Zoo in Australia.  There is construction nearby the nest of the bird that the bird has learned to mimic. Among the sounds that are heard are a jackhammer, drill, whistling, and human voices."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeQjkQpeJwY

Erana submitted an amazing example of antithesis involving the Southern White-Faced Owl, from southern Africa. When it threatens, it expands itself greatly; when it is threatened itself, it turns into Mr. Thin! Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xox0hET_4iQ

Robert found a site at University of Utah on the subject of epigenetics. The site has links to videos explaining epigenetics:
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/

Michelle submitted a video explaining frequency-dependent selection using the left-jawed/right-jawed fish. Audio is not great but content is right on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUQnrc5FSNE&feature=related

Meghan submitted this video on orangutan map sense: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56wq69gBQ5Y

Kristyn submitted this video on color signaling in male-male contests in cuttlefish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_kcnGiMtC0

Gabriel submitted this video on lion predation on zebras: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40CnnbNyEq0&feature=relmfu

Nichole submitted this video on toad free falling and predator avoidance, from the Life series:
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/life-waterfall-toad-leaps-from-danger.html

Elizabeth submitted these videos on fungus gnat larvae aggregations, which move as one over the surface like a treadmill. Are they mimicking snakes?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDpUayCHVXI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC9iqtOm2x4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=4yI7g1JKc9I

Jessica submitted this Life series video on Monarch butterfly migration: http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/life-monarch-butterfly-winter-migration.html

Classmate Malissa sent this link to a great Quicktime video clip about the gradual evolution of the lens eye. It adds a bit of new information to what we went over in class, and some nice visuals. Check it out!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/01/1/quicktime/l_011_01.html

Read about the intracacies of mammalian alarm calls in Olivia Judson's blog "The Wild Side" in the NY Times. http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/leopard-behind-you/?ref=science

See news at nature.com about worms wriggling with weapons way down beneath the waves.

These deep sea worms respond to predators by releasing gas-filled balloons attached to their bodies which then glow. See a movie of them swimming.