Aggression in Animals: A Tool For Survival - Article Example

Aggression In Animals: A Tool For Survival Introduction Aggression in animals is one of the major behaviour trait. As behaviour is a result of innate traits responding to the external environmental factors, one can say that aggression is a result of the stimulus from environmental situations. Behaviour, and particularly aggressive behaviour, is not random in nature. To understand why and how the animals aggress, it is necessary to understand what behaviour is and what role does aggressive behaviour play in the life of the animals. The roots of behaviour According to Buller, behaviour is an “event, of relatively short duration, which is the output of an information-processing brain reacting to informational input about the current conditions in an animal’s environment and brain” ( Buller, 2005, p.51). Behaviour works as a tool which helps animal to respond to the different stimuli in the environment (Bernard, 1983, p.11)As ‘aggression’ is one of the behaviour traits displayed by animals, it is also a result of the information processing that takes place in their brain. Scott (1966) defines agonistic aggression as “behaviour patterns having the common functions of adaptations to situation involving physical conflict between members of the same species” (Nelson, 2006, p.3). Hence, to understand why animals aggress, it is important to study the mechanism that causes animals to behave in a particular way. Why do animals aggress? The behaviour of an animal depends on the way its brain is designed ( Buller, 2005, p.51). The brain functions on the basis of two things. The first is the information stored in the brain about the environmental conditions and the second is the information stored in the brain about the animal’s perception of the environment. The brain of the animal is constantly updating the information regarding the consistent changes in the environment (Buller, 2005, p.51). It also has the information about the animal’s goals, desires, plans and expectations in regards to the environment (Buller, 2005, p.51). The combination of these two types of information processing in the brain leads to the development of certain behaviour pattern in animals. The interesting point is that this information is not consistent. It keeps on changing according to the changes in the environment and the changing response of animals to the environment (Buller, 2005, p.51). The information regarding the different behaviour patterns needed to survive in different environmental conditions constantly gets updated in the brain ( Buller, 2005, p.51). Hence, the behaviour pattern of the animals is controlled by the cognitive and motivational factors that function in the brain (Buller, 2005, p.51). The evolutionary psychologists call the mechanism of control of behaviour by cognitive and motivational factors as ‘proximate mechanism’(Buller, 2005, p.51). As the proximate mechanism in different in different animals, they display different behaviour patterns (Buller, 2005, p.51). For example, in the presence of a prey, one animal may decide to attack and eat it while other may decide to run away (Buller, 2005, p.51). Evolution and aggression As per evolution theory, aggression is a selected behaviour pattern by animals to survive the competition of their environment (Buss, 2005, p.629). According to evolutionary psychologists, the behaviour traits of animals are not the creation of one lifetime. The process of developing a behaviour trait that helps in solving the adaptive environmental problems or even building an organism that can help in becoming more efficient for surviving the environmental challenges, takes place for many generations (Buller, 2005, p.32). The effort to modify the existing behaviour trait or the organism is repeated in cycles and when the expected modification is achieved, the behaviour trait or the organism is retained (Buller, 2005, p.32). As aggression helps in surviving the threats from rivals and predators, it has been maintained by the animals. However, what is important is to know ‘how’ these modifications in the physical structure of the organism or the behaviour traits of animals are passed to the next generation. The answer lies in the genetic structure of the animals. Genes and the aggression.The behaviour traits of the animals are passed to the next generation through their genes (Buller, 2005, p.50). By coding the protein in the bodies in a certain way, the genes provides animals with certain qualities and behaviour traits that are not found in animals not having those genes (Buller, 2005, p.50). In animals, the functions of the proximate mechanisms like goals, desires, information processing and survival instinct (Buller, 2005, p.52) depend on the numerous interconnected neurons in brain and the signal that is transmitted between them through neurotransmitters (Buller, 2005, p.51). The neurons and the connections among them are made up of proteins, and the neurotransmitters and hormones (which affects the activities of neurons) are made of amino acids (Buller, 2005, p.51). It is the genes that codes the proteins and amino acid which makes the neurons and hence, affects the neuronal structure and the proximate mechanisms of brain (Buller, 2005, p.52). In this way, genes are responsible for the behaviour traits displayed by the animal. As genes are passed through reproduction process from one generation to another, even the behaviour trait and physical traits are passed from one generation to another. Animals adapt certain behaviour traits that helps them to survive in uncertain and competitive environment. By repeating the behaviour patterns, they retain those traits in their genes and hence, these traits are passed on to another generation. This shows why aggression in animals is not just a learned behaviour trait to adapt to the habitat, but is also a trait that is genetically carried from ancestors. However, it has to be noted that genes do not affect the behaviour directly (Buller, 2005, p.52). Animals behave according to the environmental stimulus. Hence, what is actually transferred through genes is not a behaviour itself but ‘tendency’ to display certain behaviour trait, in case the stimulus demands so. So, it is the ‘tendency’ to aggress which is transferred from one generation to another. Adaptation of aggression in behaviour has proved profitable for animals as it helps them to survive the threat from the other animals of same species and predators from other species (Buss, 2005, p.629). As animals face threat in their environment most of the times, they have a tendency to aggress. According to Darwin, the survival of the rapidly reproduced animals depends on the availability of food, shelter, dominance, mates etc (Buss, 2005, p.628). The resources like food help in keeping the animals fit and healthy and which makes them strong enough to maintain their hold on the territory and to mate for reproduction (Buss, 2005, p.628). However, the availability of the resources in the habitat is not in abundance. The animals have to compete with each other to get a share in the resources. Hence, they adapt aggression as one of the response to competition for resources (Buss, 2005, p.628). Aggression has its root in both, biological and behavioural aspect of animal (Buss, 2005, p.628). In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that aggression stems from every aspect of animal. Aggression is known to be innate as well as learned, behavioural aspect and also part of cognitive process, functional and dysfunctional etc (Buss, 2005, p.628). Hence, it can be seen that aggression is present in every aspect of animals. According to evolutionary psychologists, the competitive nature of the environment forces the animals to bring out their innate aggression and behave aggressively (Buss, 2005, p.628). THE CHOICE OF AGGRESSION The scarcity of resources like food and water in the habitat, makes the animals to adapt different behaviour patterns for survival. Migrating from a territory where there is lack of enough food and water to the territory where food and water is in abundance is one of the ways that animals adapt to deal with the scarcity of resources (Buss, 2005, p.628). However, there are some major drawbacks in the process of migration. The first drawback is that the animals who migrate to new place instead of competing for the resources are considered weak by their group members and enemies (Buss, 2005, p.628). Secondly, the migration does not guarantee survival. There is always a risk of losing physical strength and die of starvation before reaching the new place with enough resources (Buss, 2005, p.628).Thirdly, the societies established in the new place can attack the migrating animals with the fear of losing their resources (Buss, 2005, p.628). So, even if animals choose ‘migration’ instead of ‘aggression’ as a survival technique, they still have to face many life threatening situations to acquire resources. Migration not only takes more time and energy but also uproots the animals from their territory. Also, it is always better to fight the familiar animals in known territory than fight the strangers in the unknown territory (Buss, 2005, p.628). Hence, aggression proves to be profitable behaviour pattern than any other survival technique as it not only helps in acquiring the resources but also helps in establishing a reputation of strength and power, which in turn makes them attractive to opposite sex (Buss, 2005, p.628). So, as being aggressive helps the animals in many ways, animals adapt and display aggression in their behaviour. How do animals aggress It has also been observed that, apart from survival, the motivation behind the aggression in animals is increasing the chances of growing their biological kin compared to the rival’s. The male animal in the mammalian society desires to dominate the society by producing the off springs of his and killing all the off springs of other males (Goodall, 2000, p.101). This aggression and killing from the male comes from the fact that this leads to reproducing the population which shares his biological traits and hence, proves to be superior to others (Goodall, 2000, p.101). The aggression in the animals also comes from the desire to protect the family members. For example, when the chimpanzees see a threat to their territory and food resources in a presence of a stranger male or female chimpanzee, they attack that chimpanzee ruthlessly and savagely and drives it away from their territory (Goodall, 2000, p.102). The attack does not come randomly and for fun. If it was so, then they would have attacked the baby chimpanzees also. However, Goodall observed that the chimpanzees attack mostly the female stranger because she is comparatively weaker than male and is threat to the food resources, as she not only feeds herself but also her babies (Goodall, 2000, p.102). So, by attacking the stranger, the chimpanzees protect the resources for their females and babies. Moreover, if the chimpanzees find some benefit in the arrival of the animal from other group, they tolerate the presence of that chimpanzee. For example, if a adolescent female chimpanzee from the neighboring community, who is in the most receptive phase for sexual mating, arrives in the group, the adult male chimpanzees not only tolerate her presence but also give her an active role in the community and enjoy the sexual excitement they experience (Goodall, 2000, p.102). This clearly shows that aggressive behaviour is controlled by the thought of benefit and loss. If the animals see some benefit in the presence of a stranger, then they do not attack her but become friendly to her (Goodall, 2000, p.102). So, the aggression in animals is not random but is controlled by the information processed by brain. If the brain sends the signal of threat to survival, the animals become aggressive and violent. If the brain sends the signal of pleasure and support, animals become adaptive and become open to the change. The interesting observation regarding the violence against animals from same species shows that not only the conquest on the resources, but also a conquest of a partner is perceived as a threat to the partnership among the animals. It was seen that if an adolescent female chimpanzee becomes pregnant and tries to go back to her community, then she is attacked brutally by the males there (Goodall, 2000, p.102). This shows their insecurity of breeding a baby chimpanzee from the rival group and a threat to their off spring. It was observed by Jane Goodall that the aggression between the two species, Chimpanzees and Baboons increases during the season when they face the shortage of the food (Goodall, 2000, p.125). If the Baboons climb the trees where the Chimps are eating food, the chimps become nervous and display aggressiveness in their behaviour (Goodall, 2000, p.125). They start eating the food quickly and in large quantities than usual (Goodall, 2000, p.125). This behaviour stems from the insecurity of losing the food to others. The survival instinct is the reason for aggression. They also show aggression by roaring, screaming, hooting and destroying the food items that Baboons are eating. Chimpanzees also show hostility to the strangers if they feel that their territory is in danger of being attacked and conquered (Goodall, 2000, p.209). Also, the disputes of community dominance, sexual conquest and hierarchy issues are solved by aggressive behaviour and gestures (Goodall, 1995, p. 16). The severe aggressiveness and physical attack with aggression in gesture was observed during the conflict related to the change in the top ranking male and to become a leader of the community (Goodall, 1995, p. 16). Reproduction is an important factor in animal’s behaviour pattern. The motivation behind the behaviour of animals is not just to survive by getting food and protection from enemy but also to assure the continuity of their species by reproducing successfully (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.1). According to Charles Darwin’s observation, “the sexual selection, the selection of the best and the strongest animals for reproduction, was furthered by the fighting of rival animals, particularly males” (Lorenz, 2002, p.35). Hence, every individual animal competes to reproduce with the aim of passing his genes to the future generation (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.1). However, passing the genes to the future generation is not an easy task. The animals have to fight for the sexual copulation and there is a huge competition between the males to attract and copulate with the female. This results in conflict. Hence, the acquisition of resources of biological survival like food, mate and territory creates a competition between the two animals and this creates a conflict (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.150). The conflict usually results in fights (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.150). According to Darwin, fighting in animal is important as it helps the future of the species by making a stronger individual between the two to win and hence, take hold of the territory and the female (Lorenz, 2002,p.35). Krebs and Davies (1993) have given an excellent example of how the process of reproduction become a matter of strong competition between the male dung flies (p.150). It was observed that “when a male dungfly has paired with a female dungfly, other males may approach and attempt to take her over” (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.150). This fight to pair with the female leads a struggle between the males where other gives away only when one of them wins (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.150). It was also found that even in the process of fights, competition and aggression with each other, the animals are careful enough not to fight to such extent that it will cause them serious injury (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.150). Animals restrain being extremely violent in their fights by conducting the fights in ritualized manners, i.e. in a step-by-step and conventionalized manner. When fighting with the individuals from their own species, they avoid using their life threatening weapons which usually are used against their preys and dangerous enemies (Ridley, 1995, p.213). For example, the fight between the two rattlesnakes is conducted like an energetic ceremony where the intention of both the snakes is to be victorious by pushing the other to the ground (Ridley, 1995, p.213). As the fight is conducted just to show the strength over the other, the rattlesnake do not use their poisonous fangs in the fight (Ridley, 1995, p.213). According to Lorenz and Huxley (1966), the care of not causing a serious physical injury during competition fights is taken considering the importance of physical strength needed for mating and reproducing (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.150). The serious injuries can heavily affect the pairing process and hence, can work against the survival of the species. This shows that the aggression of the animals is controlled and is displayed to chase away the enemies and not to cause real harm. The theory that explains the motivation behind restrained aggression in animals is the game theory The game theory: In the game theory, the fights between the animals are described through two strategies, first is the ‘Hawk’ strategy and the second is the ‘Dove’ strategy (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.151). Animals displaying ‘Hawk’ strategy are those who attack the other animals with the intention of injuring them or killing them and animals displaying ‘Dove’ strategy are those who only display aggression and do not get into serious fight (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.152). The difference is that ‘Hawks’, by engaging themselves in the serious fights also risk getting killed or getting badly injured, while ‘Dove’ maintain their own safety (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.151). ‘Hawk’ and ‘Dove’ strategy is used to explain the evolutionary stable strategy (ESS), a term coined by Maynard Smith (1982) to explain the equilibrium that has to be maintained in the environment (Manning & Dawkins,1998, p.335). The harmony of the environment can be maintained only when there are equal numbers of ‘Hawks’ and ‘Doves’ in the environment. To explain how this works, different types of encounters between ‘Hawks’ and ‘Doves’ are given (Manning & Dawkins, 1998, p.335). They are as follows: (Manning & Dawkins, 1998, p.335) 1. Hawk against Hawk: This results in serious fight and while both the Hawks have chances of winning, they also have chances of getting injured and killed. 2. Hawk against Dove: Dove gains nothing and always retreats, but without getting inured. Hawk wins. 3. Dove against Dove : Both have equal chances of winning. Now, if the population consists mostly of ‘Doves’, the ‘Hawks’ have advantage and they will drive the ‘Doves’ away (Manning & Dawkins, 1998, p.335). This leads to population dominated by ‘Hawks’, which in turn threatens their survival as their chances of getting into serious fights and injuring each other increases (Manning & Dawkins, 1998, p.335). Hence, in the both the case, where most of the population is only of ‘Doves’ or only of ‘Hawks’, the chances of their survival decreases and the evolutionary stable strategy is not successful. For evolution to remain stable and harmonious, both the species need to be in equal number (Manning & Dawkins, 1998, p.335). Hence, what strategy should an individual use depends on what other animals are doing (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.155). However, to create a win-win situation in the territory, an individual can use a third strategy which is called a ‘Bourgeois’ strategy (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.154). In this strategy, the individual acts as ‘Hawk’ when he is the owner of the territory and as ‘Dove’ if he is the intruder (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.154). This strategy avoids unnecessary fights and escalations and helps in maintaining stability (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.154). It is the Bourgeois’ strategy that helps in achieving ESS (Krebs & Davies, 1993, p.155). Difference between animal and human aggression The nature of aggression is similar in both, the humans beings and the animals. It is said that the cultural upbringing and morality has shaped the humanness in the human being. The human being has all the violent and beastly qualities that animals have but they are either denied so that they should be accepted by the society or are repressed (Bailey, 1987, p. 3). Human being is aggressive by nature but his behaviour is controlled by the cultural influence as the culture in which a human being grows influences his behaviour to great extent (Bailey, 1987, p. 36). According to Holloway (1974), the nature of violence and aggression in human beings is not different from animals (Bailey, 1987, p. 351). The difference is seen in their expression of aggression. The animals display their aggression by attacking when they perceive threat. Human being, on the other hand, is influenced by his intellectual ability which makes him to think rationally and turn that aggression into doing something that is culturally and socially acceptable (Bailey, 1987, p. 351). Hence, what makes human being different from the animals is the cultural upbringing. Otherwise, human being has similar behavior traits as animal’s. Even the nature of aggression is same in both. References: Bailey, K.G. (1987). Human Paleopsychology: Applications to Aggression and Pathological Processes. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Bernard, C.J. (1983). Animal Behaviour: Ecology and Evolution. Great Britain: Croom Helm Ltd. Buller, D.J. (2005). Adapting Minds: Evolutionary Psychology and the Persistent Quest for Human Nature. MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Buss, D.M. (Ed.) (2005). The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology. New Jersey: Wiley Goodall, J. (2000). Through a window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe. New York: Soko Publications Limited. Krebs, J.R. & Davies, N.B. (1993). An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd. Lorenz, K.(2002). On Aggression. London: Routledge. Manning, A. & Dawkins, M.S. (1998). An Introduction to Animal Behaviour. UK: Cambridge University Press. Nelson, R.J. (2006). Biology of Aggression. New York : Oxford University Press. Ridley, M. (1995). Animal Behaviour : An Introduction to Behavioural Mechanisms, Development and Ecology. USA : Blackwell Science Ltd. Read More