Course Syllabus for Biology 352, Animal Behavior

    
 
      
Professor: Kenneth Clifton
Department of Biology
Phone: (503) 768-7508 
    
Office Hrs: T - Th, 10-11 am or by appt.
Lewis and Clark College, 5 Credit Hours
email: clifton@lclark.edu
 
      
 

  

    
Always remember Professor Clifton's mantra for understanding natural selection and the evolution of animal behavior:
 
      
Food...
...Sex...
...and Death
    
  
Lectures T-Th 8:00 - 9:30 AM in Howard 122
Text Books: 
Labs T-Th 1:00 - 4:00 in Yellow lab
Introduction to Behavioural Ecology (4th ed) By Krebs, Davies, and West
Final Exam: Tuesday, May 1 from 6-9 PM
The Selfish Gene by R. Dawkins

Course Prerequisites: Biology 141, 151 , 200. Mathematics 131 or equivalent. Chemistry 120 or 135.

Course Philosophy: This course broadly exposes students to evolutionary and ecological processes that promote the vast diversity of behaviors found on our planet. A strong emphasis on natural selection and the adaptiveness of behaviors pervades the course. The curriculum aims to define and organize this diversity for upper-division undergraduate students by considering two basic questions: How do animals behave (Ethology) and why do they behave as they do (Behavioral Ecology)?

 Course Goals:

1) Recognize and understand basic terms and concepts of animal behavior

2) Understand the basic ecological and evolutionary processes that shape animal behavior

3) Understand the relevance of animal behavior, both as a biologist and a human being.

4) Learn to use various sources professional scientific journals to learn more about animal behavior.

5) Become familiar with the approaches used in laboratory and field settings to obtain information about animal behavior.

6) Increase effectiveness in the written and oral communication of scientific information.

Course Structure:

After a brief introduction to the general study of animal behavior, the first part of this course focuses on how animals process and respond to environmental stimuli, including treatments of physiology, learning, memory, hormonal behavior, fixed action patterns, communication, and the ontogeny of behavior. The remainder of the course examines the ecology of behavior, stressing the links between environmental factors, behavior, and resultant patterns of organismal distribution and abundance, including discussions of group formation, territoriality, ungulate and primate dispersion, colonial breeding, and reproductive ecology (life history theory). During the last part of the course we explore the evolution of social behaviors, and includes topics such as sexual selection, mating system evolution, parental care, kin selection, eusocial behavior, and human sociobiology.

Lecture outlines will be available, on-line, prior to each lecture. These are not intended as substitutes for lecture notes. Rather, they provide an organizational framework to lectures that may help guide your studies. Please contact professor Clifton, should you have any trouble accessing this information.

Grading: Performance in this course will be judged using four criteria; examinations, class discussions, an assigned paper, and performance in lab. This course will not be graded on a "curve" (i.e., there is no set number of A's, B's, C's, etc.). Thus, the grade you receive will reflect individual, rather than relative, performance.

Three Exams: Two midterms covering the first and middle parts of class, respectively, will each be worth 10% of the final grade. The final exam will be worth 20 % of your grade. Material in this course is hierarchical (i.e. ideas and concepts are developed via increasing knowledge throughout the term), thus each exam, though focused on a particular range of topics, is effectively cumulative. All exams will have similar formats consisting of three sections. The first questions will be short-answer, general information questions to determine whether students recognize basic terms and concepts. The second set of questions will be short essay questions that require original, critical thinking. The last set of questions are longer (1 page) essay questions that will require synthesis and, perhaps, some quantitative/mathematical approaches. These longer questions typically only require simple algebraic solutions, however, they also demand a through understanding of the lecture, discussion, and reading materials. Click here to see a practice exam

Discussions (mandatory, student-led discussions of original research articles, in total, worth 10% of the final grade): These are opportunities to discuss articles from scientific journals that relate to course materials, thus providing students with an exposure to the "end result" of most scientific studies of animal behavior. For a given discussion, a team of four students will lead the evaluation of a paper's strengths and weaknesses with regard to specific methodologies, data, statistical analyses and conclusions. Student leaders should meet with Professor Clifton in advance of the discussion to help prepare. Students will receive up to 4 points for their role in leading an effective, stimulating, and rigrous discussion. Participants (non-leaders) will receive one point for each discussion if they contribute to the discussion with ideas, comments, observations, etc. If they attend, but do not participate, they will still receive half a point for simply attending. To provide an example of how discussions should proceed, Professor Clifton will lead a discussion of "The Selfish Gene"in week 3. Participation in this discussion will be worth 2 points.

Assigned paper (develop a proposal to study some aspect of animal behavior, worth 14 % of the final grade): Each student must write a concise (~ 5 pages double spaced; 1,500 word limit) paper in the form of a grant proposal to study some aspect of animal behavior, including an introduction, methods section, expected outcomes, and bibliography. This is a challenging assignment for many students. Choosing a topic is often the rate-limiting step, and students are encouraged to work closely with the instructor to develop ideas and methodologies. Simple literature reviews are insufficient; successful papers will demonstrate rigor, effort, and creativity in their proposal. Check out the numbered links for three examples of outstanding student proposals 1, 2, 3

Lab assignments: Laboratory exercises are intended to expose students to the challenges of collecting, analysing, interpreting, and presenting data on animal behavior. Outdoor exercises are major component of the lab, but are obviously somewhat weather dependent. For off-campus exercises we will use college vehicles and depart immediately, so please arrive promptly and dressed for outdoor work (good shoes, warm/waterproof jacket, etc.) for every lab. Various work in the laboratory section of this course will cumulatively be worth 35% of the final grade. This includes an evaluation of participation (15%; based on attentiveness during lab exercises, your lab notebook, and the submission of "reflections") as well as four write-ups of lab exercises (worth, in total, 20%; Lab 1 = 2%, Lab 5 = 7%, Lab 6 = 8 %, Lab 11 = 3 %).

An important point: To verify that you've read this syllabus and have a functional e-mail connection with Professor Clifton, introduce yourself electronically <clifton@lclark.edu> with a brief description of your motivation behind taking this class. Do so before 8 AM on Thursday, Jan 19, 2012 and receive your first point in the class. Back to top

 

 An important note regarding exams and assignments:

Morning classes can be a challenge , particularly for those who like to sleep in a bit. Please plan accordingly to ensure you can reach lectures in a timely manner. Exam material will be drawn primarily from the lectures, so it is in your best interest not to miss some or all of a class. Tardy students may also miss important introductory announcements. As a courtesy to both the instructor and your fellow students, please arrive on time.

Deadlines are strictly enforced. If you submit an assignment electronically, you should receive an e-mail acknowledgement of receipt. Contact your professor if acknowledgement is not received within a reasonable time period. Deadlines for assignments should be met. A 10% penalty accrues each day for materials submitted after a dealine, for up to five days. Assignments more than five days late will not be accepted.

Time limits for exams will be strictly enforced (90 min for midterms, 3 hr for the final). Diagnosis of a learning disability may entitle you to additional time as well as other accommodations, however, to receive this accommodation, you must contact Student Services early in the semester to process your accomodation request. This information will be strictly confidential. To ensure fairness, college policy prevents the provision of special accommodation to anyone who does not submit the required forms in a timely fashion. Please talk with Professor Clifton if you anticipate any difficulties with meeting course requirements.

All students are presumed to be familiar with Departmental Policies regarding academic integrity. Refer to the Pathfinder and the College Code of Conduct for additional information.