any activity of an organism that can be 

observed & measured

• Practical reasons: hunting, fishing, domesticating

• As a model for understanding human behavior &    

helping human society

• As a way to help save endangered species from 

extinction

• As a way to help manage captive animals,                    

and ensure their welfare

• Simple curiosity

4 questions about behavior (Niko Tinbergen)

1. What are the mechanisms that cause behavior? 

- How do birds know it is time to migrate?

- How do they find their way?

- How do internal factors like neurobiological, chemical, & hormonal changes affect 

migration?

- How do external factors like temperature, length of day, etc, affect migration?

- What kind of skeletal and muscular system is required for migration/flying

- Do the young learn the route from experienced travelers?

- Do they inherit a directional tendency from parents? Are genes involved?

- Does the behavior change as the individual matures

3. What is the behavior’s survival value? Or, how does behavior affect survival & 

reproduction?

- Why do birds migrate?

- What do they gain that outweighs the risks of the journey?

- Do birds that migrate have better reproductive success than birds that do not?

- Was climate change a reason for migration?

- Have migratory paths been modified over time? Why