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Related Concept Videos

What is Behavior?00:54

What is Behavior?

Behaviors are actions that an organism engages in—they can be related to finding food, reproducing, defending against threats, and many other possible actions. Behaviors include activities related to the environment around the animal—such as migration—as well as social interactions within a species or population. Many behaviors involve motor output—that is, muscle movements—while others involve less visible actions, such as learning.
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Communication between two animals occurs when one animal transmits an information signal that causes a change in the animal that receives the information. Organisms communicate with one another in a host of different ways. Signals can be auditory, chemical, visual, tactile, or a combination of these. Communication is a critical behavioral adaptation that promotes survival, growth, and reproduction.
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Today, scientists agree that good research is ethical in nature and is guided by a basic respect for human dignity and safety. However, this has not always been the case. Modern researchers must demonstrate that the research they perform is ethically sound.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Noninvasive, In-pen Approach Test for Laboratory-housed Pigs
06:30

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Published on: June 5, 2019

Animal innovation defined and operationalized.

Grant Ramsey1, Meredith L Bastian, Carel van Schaik

  • 1Department of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556-4619, USA. grant.ramsey@nd.edu

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|December 18, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers defined innovation in animals as novel learned behaviors not from social learning. This new definition facilitates systematic study of animal innovation in the wild, aiding understanding of cultural and evolutionary impacts.

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The Innovation Arena: A Method for Comparing Innovative Problem-Solving Across Groups
14:14

The Innovation Arena: A Method for Comparing Innovative Problem-Solving Across Groups

Published on: May 13, 2022

Area of Science:

  • Ethology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Innovation is crucial for culture and intelligence, impacting species' ecology and evolution.
  • Empirical and conceptual studies on innovation are recent, with limited research on wild animals due to definition challenges.
  • The previous definition of innovation (first occurrence) necessitates long-term population studies, hindering systematic research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To establish a new definition of innovation in animals: a novel learned behavior not solely from social learning or environmental induction.
  • To propose a new operational approach for identifying innovations in wild animals.
  • To facilitate systematic, large-scale studies on animal innovation.

Main Methods:

  • Defined innovation as a novel learned behavior in an individual, excluding social learning or environmental induction.
  • Developed operational criteria using behavior prevalence, individual frequency, geographic distribution, and context.
  • Incorporated behavior properties (social role, context, similarity to other behaviors), temporal changes, and captive studies.
  • Systematized criteria into a dichotomous key for field assessment.

Main Results:

  • The new definition and operational criteria allow for the study of innovation without requiring long-term single-site population studies.
  • Information from multiple populations is generally needed, but the approach is more feasible for field research.
  • The dichotomous key provides a structured method for assessing potential innovations in observed behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed definition and operational criteria offer a practical framework for studying animal innovation in natural settings.
  • This approach will enable systematic research into the role of innovation in animal behavior, ecology, and evolution.
  • Understanding animal innovation is key to comprehending cultural transmission and adaptive evolution across species.