Meeting Abstract
Animal behavior is a varied and dynamic discipline that has been evolving since the beginning of 20th century. Classical approaches to the study of animal behavior have been limited to relatively simple processes and questions, which often failed to holistically explain the complexity of animal behaviors in natural systems. Nikolaas Tinbergen recognized over 50 years ago that the integrative study of animal behavior required an understanding of both the proximate and ultimate and mechanisms. Yet, for many years, studies of the proximate and ultimate explanations of animal behaviors typically proceeded independently. With the development of new resources and tools in genomics, physiology, neurobiology, behavioral tracking, animal movement, and more, it is now possible to integrate across levels of analysis in the same studies. However, the true integration of animal behavior is more than just combining levels of analysis. It is asking questions at a variety of levels of biological organization, in a diversity of taxonomic groups, and at a range of spatial and temporal scales, and then answering those questions using a variety of tools and techniques. I will summarize a variety of innovative tools and technologies that have, over the last half century, helped push the field of animal behavior forward, often in new directions. Using examples from my own work on social birds and crustaceans, I will highlight some of the newer technologies that are changing the field by allowing us to study proximate mechanisms and ultimately explanations simultaneously in free-living organisms. I will discuss how the integration of ecology, evolution, and development can also enrich our understanding of complex behaviors. Finally, I will highlight some of the emerging technologies that are likely to change the field over the next decade, many of which we will hear about in more detail during this symposium.
