Abstract
In this series of articles, I will introduce the reader to the science of ethology, somewhat indirectly by describing simple experiments, both old and new, designed to understand how and why animals behave the way they do. My emphasis will be on the design of the experiments and my goal will be to motivate readers not only to think about the design but also to come up with alternatives and improvements. Motivated readers can indeed replicate some of these experiments even if they end up replacing the study animal or the behaviours of interest with their own favourite choices. In the first part of the series, I describe how Niko Tinbergen — Nobel Laureate and one of the founding fathers of ethology (the science of animal behaviour) — designed remarkably simple experiments to successfully understand how digger wasps find their own nests in a complex habitat also consisting nests built by other wasps.
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14 December 2018
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For an aspiring ethologist, and one desirous of elevating its prestige, it is inspiring to read Peter and Jeanne Medawar, in a remarkable book entitled <Emphasis Type="Italic">A Philosophical Dictionary of Biology</Emphasis> [2], describes ethology in the following words...
Should be read as:
For an aspiring ethologist, and one desirous of elevating its prestige, it is inspiring to read Peter and Jeanne Medawar, in a remarkable book entitled <Emphasis Type="Italic">A Philosophical Dictionary of Biology</Emphasis> [2], describe ethology in the following words...
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Tinbergen did not take detailed photographs of the nest surroundings and he tried to reproduce the exact features of the nests around the sham nests.
Should be read as:
Tinbergen did not take detailed photographs of the nest surroundings and did not try to reproduce the exact features of the nests around the sham nests.
Suggested Reading
C Darwin, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1965, 1872.
P B Medawar and J S Medawar, Aristotle to Zoos–A Philosophical Dictionary of Biology, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 1983.
R Gadagkar, Survival Strategies: Cooperation and Confiict in Animal Societies, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and Universities Press, Hyderabad, India, 1997.
J T Costa, Darwin’s Backyard - How Small Experiments Led to a Big Theory, W WNorton & Company, Inc., New York, London, 2017.
G P Baerends, Early Ethology: Growing From Dutch Roots. In: The Tinbergen Legacy, Eds, M S Dawkins, T R Halliday and R Dawkins, Chapman and Hall, London, pp.1–17, 1991.
N Tinbergen, On the Orientation of the Digger Wasp Philanthus triangulum, Fabr. Zs. Uber die vergl. Physiol., 16, pp.305–334, 1932. [Translated from the original German into English and published in: N Tinbergen, The Animal in Its World: Explorations of an Ethologist 1932–1972. Vol.1, Field Studies, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. pp.103–127].
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Raghavendra Gadagkar is Year of Science Chair Professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences and Chairman, Centre for Contemporary Studies, IISc, Honorary Professor at JNCASR and Non-Resident Permanent Fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute for Advanced Study), Berlin. During the past 35 years he has established an active school of research in the area of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution. The origin and evolution of cooperation in animals, especially in social insects, such as ants, bees and wasps, is a major goal of his research.
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Gadagkar, R. How to Design Experiments in Animal Behaviour. Reson 23, 871–884 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-018-0690-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-018-0690-3