What is Continuous Sampling Animal Behavior
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Sampling Animal Behavior Animal Behavior Society Workshop July 30, 2016 Sue Margulis, Canisius College margulis@canisius.edu ABS 2016
Lead-in to the class • Understand and be able to construct an ethogram • Know the difference between a state behavior and an event (all-occurrence) behavior • Review hypothesis testing and development of "answerable" questions ABS 2016
These resources provide excellent background and practice for students. The Methods for Animal Behavior Research DVD can be purchased for only $5, from Dr. David Powell (St. Louis Zoo). The video clips here for practicing methods are detailed and lengthy. The "Behavior Matters" curriculum is available from Brookfield Zoo. Although it was designed for middle and high school, the methods practice works very ABS 2016 well for college classes as well.
The state of animal behavior circa 1970's • Early days of field work • Researchers trying to observe everything in all animals • Lack of standardization of how this is done • As a result…inability to compare, contrast, combine ABS 2016
Observational Study of Behavior: Sampling Methods • Importance of "sampling" behavior • Avoid bias Behaviour, Vol. 49, No. 3/4 (1974), pp. 227-267 ABS 2016
The Nature Documentary Fallacy Write down anything that is interesting No clear, defined method Focus on what is interesting to you Problems with this approach? "I saw two monkeys fighting." – how many monkeys were around all together? – Did these animals know each other? – How much time did I spend watching them? ABS 2016
Importance of standardizing methods Choice of method depends on • Questions • Type of behavior – States – Events ABS 2016
Q: Are males more aggressive than females? • On the average, do males spend more of the day involved in aggressive behavior than do females ? • Do males initiate aggressive bouts more often than do females? • Are the aggressive acts of males more serious, more intense, more potentially destructive ? • Is the response to an aggressive act more likely to be an aggressive act if the recipient is a male? To decide on what method is appropriate to allow you to answer a question, you need to understand the methods. ABS 2016
Methods described in Altmann • Ad libitum sampling "notes" • Sociometric matrix completion • Focal-animal sampling • Sampling all occurrences of Adding selected some behaviors events • Sequence sampling • One-zero sampling Yes/no • Instantaneous and scan sampling ABS 2016
Focal animal, or continuous sampling • Watch 1 animal (or subgroup), and record all of its activities for a pre- determined period of time • Must be able to identify individuals • Useful for observing both states and events • Best way to observe interactions • Unbiased record of behavior ABS 2016
Instantaneous or scan sampling • Watch 1 animal or a group of animals, and record what the animal(s) is doing at pre- set intervals • Don't necessarily need to be able to identify individuals • Useful for observing states only • Can monitor large groups ABS 2016
Practicing instantaneous (scan) sampling • Meerkat ethogram This example comes from the Behavior Matters curriculum. • Meerkat data sheet ABS 2016
Practicing continuous sampling This example comes from the Behavior Matters Curriculum. It is important to point out with this example that one must indicate who the initiator and recipient of any interaction are. Additionally, one state ends when the next state begins. Events can occur during states. ABS 2016
Comparing methods: Observe for 20 minutes. Record occurrence of a particular behavior Continuous sampling 225 s 120 s 70 s 235 s 650 s/1200 s = 54% 0 20 This is a great way to illustrate how similar (or different) the 2 methods can be. In this example, each blue box represents a bout of a particular behavior. The numbers indicate the number of seconds (out of 20 minutes, or 1200 s) that each bout lasted. Summing these up tells you what proportion of your observation was spent in that state. ABS 2016
Comparing methods: Observe for 20 minutes. Record occurrence of a particular behavior This represents the same observation, but this time with instantaneous data collection, every minute. The "X" indicates a point observation occurring during a "blue bar." You can see that the percent time spent in this behavior is very similar to the previous slide, which used continuous sampling. 0 20 X X X X X X X X X X Instantaneous sampling 10 of 20 scans = 50% ABS 2016
Comparing methods: Observe for 20 minutes. Record occurrence of a particular behavior In this examples, instantaneous sampling is done every 2 minutes instead of every minute. The results are less similar now. The farther apart the scan, the more difference one is likely to see; the closer together the scans, the greater similarity with continuous sampling. 0 20 X X X X Instantaneous sampling 4 of 10 scans = 40% ABS 2016
Comparing data recording methods This activity is associated with an activity developed for use in both the Behavior Matters curriculum, and in "Learning the Skills of Research: Animal Behavior Exercises in the Laboratory and Field" by E Jakob and M Hodge. • Pick a partner • Watch a 9-minute video of an okapi – First run-through to develop ethogram – Second run-through for data collection • One of you does a "continuous" observation • One of you does an "instantaneous" observation (every 30 seconds) • Calculate activity budgets (percent time spent in each behavior) ABS 2016
The Ethogram • Should include both states and events (at least 8 states and 2 events) • Should include "other" and "out of view" as 2 of your states • Be sure you agree with your partner on definitions ABS 2016
Calculating activity budgets Continuous Instantaneous • Calculate # seconds engaged • Count number of scans in each entry (state behaviors engaged in each behavior only) on data sheet. • Divide by total number of • Sum up total # seconds for scans each behavior • Total # seconds engaged in behavior / total # seconds of observation • # occurrences of each event (does not go into activity budget) ABS 2016
What method is best? • What observation method would you choose if you are observing vigilance in a large herd of zebras? • What observation method would you choose if you are observing aggressive interactions in a small group of gorillas? • What observation method would you choose if you are comparing activity budgets of wild and zoo-housed lions? • What observation method would you choose if you are observing displacements of birds at a birdfeeder? ABS 2016
Part 2: inter-observer reliability • Watch a 2nd video of white-cheeked gibbons • Use the ethogram from the focal sampling practice (states only) • Use an instantaneous method, every 30 seconds • Do not communicate with one another • Record your data simultaneously • Compare your results • Percent agreement • How similar? ABS 2016
Calculating reliability • If you and your partner have – 20 scans – You have the same behavior for 18 of them – 18/20 = 90% agreement It is best to choose a relatively simple video here, preferably one with an easily- identifiable individual. Calculating reliability is much easier when instantaneous sampling is used. This exercise provides valuable insights into why two observers might score things differently (errors of apprehension, lack of sufficient practice, observer error). ABS 2016
USE A VIDEO HERE ABS 2016
Finding videos, shooting videos • You tube is your friend! • Shooting videos – very time-consuming, not as easy as you might think • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_AL93 uqIow Joan Strassmann has some excellent videos available on her Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/strassm), but you also can search Youtube and see what you can find. ABS 2016
Is that all? After you collect the data, you need to… • Enter the data into computer • Analyze the data • Write up the results • Present the findings to peers through publication or presentation Behavioral research from start to finish ABS 2016
Source: https://www.readkong.com/page/sampling-animal-behavior-animal-behavior-society-workshop-7625065
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