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ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR       (<<back to John's class listing page)

This is a course about what animals do and why they may do it. We will be dealing with both the proximate causes -the ecology if you will- of the actions of individuals, and the ultimate evolutionary arguments that arise from studies of populations and species. As some of you already know, I am a Darwinian adaptationist, and this colours both my science and my teaching. I will continually refer you to possible Darwinian explanations for particular behaviours, and will push you to consider adaptationist explanations before falling back on "just because" arguments. I will however try to point out my biases when I feel that they are getting in the way of your learning. I will also try to get you to effectively critique both behavioural studies and critiques of such studies. Much of what we will talk about is controversial. This is deliberate, active science is usually controversial to somebody, and behaviour is as active a study as any. We will periodically deal with "Just So" stories, there are a huge number of them out there & I want to encourage you all to let your minds "romp like the mind of God" but realize that imagination is a poor excuse for sloppy science, and we will be seeing some of that too before the term is over.

The text for the course is Alcock, J. 2001 Animal Behavior, 7th ed. Sinauer Assoc. Sunderland Mass. I am NOT totally thrilled with this latest edition, & suspect that if you can get the 6th cheap you will do just fine. We will be covering the whole book over the course of 10 weeks, so assume that you will be reading about a chapter for each lecture. Some topics may be more interesting then others, so we may occasionally skip or dawdle. Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, then ask for more. I don’t like using textbooks as a rule, but every time I teach the course students say they really like Alcock, so I keep using him. There will also be additional readings that I will put on reserve or hand out in class. There is oodles of stuff written on behaviour & I really love thinking about it/reading about it/gossiping about it, so if the text doesn’t challenge you, come see me, I’ve got lots of stuff that you may find more to your taste! We will meet twice a week for lecture/discussion. I would like to have as much of the latter as possible, but there will be times when I will need to talk quite a bit to get some points across. PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS! You will be evaluated on the basis of class participation, four or five quizzes, a couple of take-home Problem Setsand a term project.

The term project will be a behavioural study that you will design and carry out yourself. You can pick any animal that you wish, including humans, but you need to select a species that is sufficiently numerous and sufficiently observable that you can get a good sample of its behaviours. The actual project will be written up following the Instructions to Authors in a standard scientific journal. You should have selected a topic and discussed it with me by the end of week 3, you should give me a progress report by the end of week 7, and the final paper is due on Friday of week 10.

I have a simple policy about extensions and makeups: I don't do them. Whatever you want to be evaluated on has to be in my hands by that final Friday. If you miss a single quiz for whatever reason it won't hurt your grade overly much (I usually throw out your lowest score anyway when I am writing evaluations) If you miss more than one quiz you have probably missed more of a ten week term than you can afford, so it will count against you. The project is an essential part of the course, so no project, no credit. At the end of term we will take an evening & each of you will give 10 minute presentation of your project to the class. Right now I plan on going out to Great Duck for an overnight field-trip May 18-19 to look at gulls, petrels & bunnies. We will also have occasional OPTIONAL field trips to see local animals doing their thing. These are intended to be casual and fun & will happen early in the morning or evening and are primarily intended to give you an opportunity to wander around a bit, see some critters, and ask me some more questions. Come along or sleep in as you wish! Studying behaviour is fun, that's why I do it. I hope the class will be fun as well.

SYLLABUS -subject to change!

WEEK 1 Introduction, ethology & the classics. Lorenz, Tinbergen, etc. Read Chapters 1 & 2

WEEK 2. Genetics & development: determinism & the environment. Read Chaps. 3-4 + article QUIZ

WEEK 3 Neurology, sensation, migration and endogenous "clocks". Read Chaps. 5-6 + article. TERM PROJECT PROPOSAL DUE.

WEEK 4. Foraging behaviour, optimality, and predation. manipulation, self deception. Chap 7-8 + articles QUIZ

WEEK 5 Communication: Beau Geste, Beau jest, Territory habitat selection and Dear Enemies Read Chaps. 9 , 10+ article

WEEK 6 . Sex and reproduction. How do you know it when the right one comes along? JOHN GONE THURSDAY Read 11 +article QUIZ

WEEK 7 Parental investment & sexual selection: parent/offspring conflict read Chaps 12-13 + articles PROGRESS REPORT ON PROJECT DUE OVERNIGHT TO GREAT DUCK AT WEEKEND

WEEK 8.. Sociality, "altruism" and cooperation Chaps 14. + articles: QUIZ

WEEK 9 Human Behaviour. Sociobiology or Behavioural Ecology?Chap. 15 + articles.

WEEK 10: Sociobiology continued Chapter 16 + all kindsa stuff. QUIZ. PROJECT PRESENTATIONS. PROJECTS DUE ON FRIDAY

 

 

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