An ethogram is a catalogue or inventory of behaviours or actions exhibited by an animal used in ethology.
The behaviours in an ethogram are usually defined to be mutually exclusive and objective, avoiding subjectivity and functional inference as to their possible purpose.[1][2][3][4] For example, a species may use a putative threat display, which in the ethogram is given a descriptive name such as "head forward" or "chest-beating display", and not "head forward threat" or "chest-beating threat". This degree of objectivity is required because what looks like "courtship" might have a completely different function, and in addition, the same motor patterns in different species can have very different functions (e.g. tail wagging in cats and dogs). Objectivity and clarity in the definitions of behaviours also improve inter-observer reliability.
Often, ethograms are hierarchical in presentation. The defined behaviours are recorded under broader categories of behaviour which may allow functional inference such that "head forward" is recorded under "Aggression". In ethograms of social behaviour, the ethogram may also indicate the "Giver" and "Receiver" of activities.
Sometimes, the definition of a behaviour in an ethogram may have arbitrary components. For example, "Stereotyped licking" might be defined as "licking the bars of the cage more than 5 times in 30 seconds". The definition may be arguable, but if it is stated clearly, it fulfils the requirements of scientific repeatability and clarity of reporting and data recording.
Some ethograms are given in pictorial form and not only catalogue the behaviours but indicate the frequency of their occurrence and the probability that one behaviour follows another. This probability can be indicated numerically or by the thickness of an arrow connecting the two behaviours. Sometimes the proportion of time that each behaviour occupies can be represented in a pie chart or bar chart.
^Abeelen, J.H.F. (1964). "Mouse mutants studied by means of ethological methods". Genetica. 34: 79–94. doi:10.1007/BF01664181. S2CID 44915853.
^MacNulty, Daniel R.; Mech, L. David; Smith, Douglas W. (2007). "A Proposed Ethogram of Large-Carnivore Predatory Behavior, Exemplified by the Wolf". Journal of Mammalogy. 88 (3): 595–605. doi:10.1644/06-MAMM-A-119R1.1.
^Wilkinson, M., Stirton, C. and McConnachie, A. (October 2010). "Behavioural observations of singly-housed grey short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica) in standard and enriched environments". Laboratory Animals. 44 (4): 364–9. doi:10.1258/la.2010.010040. PMID 20807718.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Greenberg, N. "Anolis ethogram". Greenberg Homepage. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
An ethogram is a catalogue or inventory of behaviours or actions exhibited by an animal used in ethology. The behaviours in an ethogram are usually defined...
original on 2015-04-26. Retrieved 2009-10-31. Courts, S. E. (1996). An ethogram of captive Livingstone's fruit bats Pteropus livingstonii in a new enclosure...
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Ethogram A detailed description of the behavior of a species in its natural environment Classification Classify behaviors according to their function (how...
exhibiting this posture as a potential threat to their romantic relationship. Ethogram Pelvic thrust "lordosis". The American Heritage Dictionary. Archived from...
Biological Conservation 265, 2022: 109398 MacNulty, D.R., et al. A proposed ethogram of large-carnivore 395 predatory behavior, exemplified by the wolf. Journal...
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point for studying the behaviour of a new species was to construct an ethogram, a description of the main types of behaviour with their frequencies of...
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by other individuals in the species and are recognised as part of the ethogram of that species. Most abnormal behaviours can be categorised collectively...
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MacNulty, Daniel; Mech, L. David; Smith, Douglas W. (2007). "A proposed ethogram of large-carnivore predatory behavior, exemplified by the wolf". Journal...
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by other individuals in the species and are recognised as part of the ethogram of that species. Most abnormal behaviours can be categorised collectively...
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Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2016. An Ethogram for Behavioral Studies of the Domestic Cat. Animal Welfare Research Report...
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language". Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2016-09-12. An Ethogram for Behavioral Studies of the Domestic Cat. UFAW Animal Welfare Research...
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use of the term) is by Julian Huxley in 1914. Displacement (psychology) Ethogram Procrastination Vacuum activity Duncan, I.J.H., (1970). Frustration in...
by otters Yawning by a lion Water-bathing by a pigeon Personal grooming Ethogram Allaby, M. (1999). "Comfort behaviour". A Dictionary of Zoology. Retrieved...
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workers by studying interaction in neutral arenas, and to develop a reliable ethogram for readily distinguishing between monogyne and polygyne colonies of red...
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