Ritualization (biology)

Comment fight of male red deer

Expressive behavior in the peacock

In behavioral biology, ritualization (also: ritualization ) describes any change that takes place in a behavior when it takes on the function of a social signal in the course of the tribal history . The term ritualization for changes of behavior that under the selective pressure of the signaling out were, for the first time in 1914 by Julian Huxley the example of the use of non-sexual behavior during courtship the crested grebe as a technical term for the development of expressive behavior introduced. Huxley used the word ritualization based on cultural processes - rituals - in humans.

"Ritualization thus implies (a) the change in behavior with a signal effect, (b) under the pressure of selection, better understanding (c) in the direction of greater clarity and unambiguity of the signal for the recipient." The changes that ultimately lead to greater unambiguity of understanding lead through body language, belong u. a. rhythmic repetitions of movements or vocalizations, the simplification of sequences of movements or the emphasis on individual elements and the development of eye-catching color features or body shapes.

Examples of ritualized behaviors are the Comment fights the red deer , the triumph of Gray Goose , the intricate movements of radschlagenden male peacock that Convey a dead mouse as a "bridal gift" to a pairing ready females of the long-eared owl , the dummy cleaning during courtship of mallards -Männchen and certain Chants or common flight movements of pairs of diverse bird species. The clattering of the white storks can also be interpreted as a ritualized form of intra-species communication.

See also

• Appeasement signal
• Handicap principle

literature

• Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt : Outline of comparative behavioral research. 7th edition. Piper, Munich and Zurich 1987, pp. 192-210, ISBN 978-3-492-03074-8 .
• Julian Huxley : Courtship Activities in the Red-throated Diver (Colymbus stellatus Pontopp.); together with a discussion of the Evolution of Courtship in Birds. In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Volume 35, No. 234, 1923, pp. 253-292, doi: 10.1111 / j.1096-3642.1923.tb00048.x .

Web links

• The Courtship Habits of the Great Crested Grebe. From: Nature . Volume 513, 2014, pp. 484-485,
• Video: two deer commentary fight.
• Video: Multiple sham cleaning of two male mallards competing in courtship
• Video: Male peacock wheeling
• Video: White storks courting

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Wolfgang Wickler : Tribal history and ritualization. On the emergence of animal and human behavior patterns. dtv, Munich 1982, p. 233, ISBN 978-3-423-04166-9 .
2. ^ Julian Huxley : The Courtship-habits of the Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus); with an addition to the Theory of Sexual Selection. In: Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. Volume 84, No. 35, 1914, pp. 491-562, doi: 10.1111 / j.1469-7998.1914.tb07052.x .
3. ↑ Keyword ritualization in: Klaus Immelmann : Grzimeks Tierleben , supplementary volume behavior research. Kindler Verlag, Zurich 1974, p. 635.