Ethology

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ethology

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the founding figures?Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen, and Karl von Frisch
2. What is the core methodologies?Observation in natural settings, comparative analysis, and experimental manipulation
3. What is ethology and why do scientists study animal behavior?Ethology is the science of studying how animals act in the wild. Scientists want to know why animals behave the way they do and how those actions help them survive and have babies.
4. Who were some early animal detectives and what did they discover?Early ethologists like Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen, and Karl von Frisch were pioneers. They showed that many animal actions are built-in instincts and that watching animals in nature is the best way to learn about them.

Ethology: The scientific study of animal behavior, focusing on its evolutionary basis and adaptive significance.
Fixed Action Pattern (FAP): An innate, unlearned, highly stereotyped sequence of movements that is triggered by a specific stimulus.
Imprinting: A form of learning in young animals, particularly birds, where a critical period exists for forming social attachments.
Sign Stimulus: A specific external cue or stimulus that elicits a fixed action pattern.