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Class
meetings: Howard 114, T/TH from 8:00 - 9:30 |
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Texts:
Principles of Animal Behavior by Dugatkin (PAB) & The Selfish
Gene by Dawkins (SG) |
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Week
1 |
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1) |
Course overview (structure, expectations and goals) and an introduction to the study of animal behavior |
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2) |
Genes and behavior |
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Week
2 |
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3) |
The environment and behavior |
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Jan. 28 |
4) |
The interplay between genes and the environment: Neural networks and control systems |
SG: 8-9; PAB: 4 |
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Week
3 |
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Class discussion: Dawkins and the Selfish Gene Concept (graded) |
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5) |
The ethology of animal communication I: Sensory modalities and the role of environmental vs. physiological constraints |
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Week
4 |
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6) |
The ethology of animal communication II: Signal design and honest vs. deceitful information |
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Group discussion: The expression of honest vs. deceitful signals by animals |
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Week
5 |
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7) |
Finish
up animal communication and an introduction to behavioral ecology |
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First Midterm (covering lectures 1 - 7, discussions, and readings) |
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Week
6 |
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8) |
Quantitative modeling approaches I: Optimality Submit general proposal idea |
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9)
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Quantitative modeling approaches II: Game Theory |
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Week
7 |
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10) |
The behavioral determinants of animal dispersion animal movements and group formation |
PAB: 11 |
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11)
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The behavioral determinants of group size and territoriality |
PAB 13 |
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Week
8 |
Mar. 9 |
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12) |
Selfish
genes and the evolution of sex, anisogamy, life history, and conflicts
of interest. |
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Week
9 |
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13)
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Sexual selection, sexual tradeoffs and alternative sexual strategies, and an introduction to female choice and mating systems |
PAB 6 |
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Week
10 |
NO
CLASSES: SPRING BREAK |
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Week
11 |
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14) |
Patterns
of parental care and the parent/offspring conflict |
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15) |
Mating
system evolution |
PAB 7 |
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Week
12 |
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Group discussion: Mating systems, paternity, and parental care |
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Second Midterm (covering lectures 10 - 15, plus discussions and readings) |
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Week
13 |
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16) |
The evolution of cooperative behaviors: phenotypic vs genetic altruism |
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17) |
More on cooperation: kin selection and reciprocity and the evolution of eusociality |
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Week
14 |
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18) |
Different by Design... an introduction to human behavioral ecology |
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19) |
Human
sociobiology |
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Week
15 |
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Group discussion: Human Sociobiology (We will only be focusing on the paper on human voice preferences: 10 ) |
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| Apr. 29 |
20) |
Course summation: what to do with what you've learned - Proposal due by 5 PM |
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Finals Week |
Study session: TBA |
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Printing lecture outlines
as either double sided or 2-up is easy in either the library or computer
labs: Click to find out how |
Note: This course is a work in progress and scheduling may change during the semester: Last updated 1/5/10 |
Back to the Course Home Page |