• Question: Is animal behavior inherited?

    Asked by N to Carrie, Ellen, Rupert on 16 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Ellen Williams

      Ellen Williams answered on 16 Mar 2017:

      Some behaviours are inherited and some behaviours are learned both from the parents, other individuals or just by getting things wrong. Some inherited behaviours are also refined through learning.

    • Photo: Carrie Ijichi

      Carrie Ijichi answered on 17 Mar 2017:

      Most behaviour is based on the genetic template you’re born with and then shaped by the environment but some is more from the environment (this is learnt behaviour) and others are more genetic (this is innate behaviour). So, a spider has a pretty good idea what it’s doing the first time it builds a web – it doesn’t need to be shown how to do this but it might need to practice a bit to get it just right. Not that many people can play the piano though and it takes years of working with a teacher to do this.

      Great questions

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