Smart Moves: Behavioral Traits of Organisms 🐿️🐝

 Hi Observant Scientists! 👀

Today’s science lesson is all about how animals behave — and why those behaviors are important for their survival!

These special behaviors are called behavioral traits — things that animals do (not what they look like) to help them live, find food, protect themselves, or take care of their young.

1. Vocabulary:

Inherited/instinctive behavior: A behavior that an organism inherits and knows how to do without being taught.

Learned/acquired behavior: A behavior that an animal does not begin life with but develops as a result of experience or by observing other animals.

2. Inherited/instinctive behavior:

An instinctive behavior is a behavior that an animal inherits from its parents. The animal is born with the behavior, without needing to learn it.

Examples of inherited behavioral traits in animals include: 

-          Migration patterns in birds,

-          Hibernation in mammals like bears,

-          Baby animals instinctively suckling from their mothers,

-          Spider web construction,

-          Beehive building,

-          A newborn sea turtle's immediate movement towards the ocean after hatching

-          A bird building a nest

3. Learned/acquired behavior:

A learned behavior is a behavior that an animal develops by observing other animals or by being taught.

Examples of learned behavioral traits in animals include: 

-          A dog learning to sit on command,

-          A bird learning to sing a specific song by imitating others,

-          A chimpanzee using tools to access food,

-          A baby duck imprinting on its mother,

-          A mouse navigating a maze,

-          A dolphin performing tricks in a show,

-          A wolf pup learning hunting techniques by observing older pack members