Natural Sciences > Brain & Cognitive Sciences > Animal Behavior

Animal Behavior posted by duggu on 12/11/2007

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Abstract/Syllabus

Courseware/Lectures

Test/Tutorials

Course Highlights

This course features a complete set of audio lectures and a bibliography of readings.

Course Description

Most of the major categories of adaptive behavior can be seen in all animals. This course begins with the evolution of behavior, the driver of nervous system evolution, reviewed using concepts developed in ethology, sociobiology, other comparative studies, and in studies of brain evolution. The roles of various types of plasticity are considered, as well as foraging and feeding, defensive and aggressive behavior, courtship and reproduction, migration and navigation, social activities and communication, with contributions of inherited patterns and cognitive abilities. Both field and laboratory based studies are reviewed; and finally, human behavior is considered within the context of primate studies.

Special Features

Complete audio lectures
Syllabus

Class Overview

The introductory topics will cover various approaches to the study of animals and their behavior. Key concepts in studies of animal behavior, emphasizing ethology, are covered in class and in the assigned readings from Scott (2005), supplemented by selections from other books, especially from classics in the field as well as selected videos. Next, key concepts in sociobiology are covered using readings from Alcock (2001), supplemented by selections from additional books and some video presentations.

Topics for special emphasis include:

Key concepts in learning.
Habitat selection. Nest site selection; territoriality; dispersal; migration.
Feeding. Foraging or stalking; prey capture; storage/hoarding; consummation.
Antipredator behavior. Detection; tricking the predator; defenses - individual, social; other adaptations.
Sexuality. Dimorphisms in body and behavior; social organization, dominance structures; evolution of sexual signals, emancipation from original uses.
Mating and reproduction. Pair bonding varieties and advantages; brood tending and its evolution; similarities of emancipated actions across widely different species.
Cooperation among conspecifics.
Tool use.

Class Format

The class sessions will include:

Lecture/discussion of key concepts in readings, using the study questions for guidance.
Some sessions will include viewing of selected videos.
Student discussion and presentations.

Readings

Scott, Graham. Essential Animal Behavior. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2005. ISBN: 0632057998.

Alcock, John. The Triumph of Sociobiology. Oxford, UK; New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN: 0195143833.

Additional books for selected readings and reference are listed in the readings section. The other listed texts we will not have time to read despite their value. Effort on the readings is expected outside of class. Students should read for key concepts and their illustration in actual examples. Always try to answer the study questions, which will be posted on the course Web site.

Requirements

Do all assigned readings. Attempt to answer study questions before class; these will be discussed in class, along with additional material.
Weekly short quizzes or homework assignments.
Midterm and final exams.
Project paper and short presentation, late in the term.

Grading

Grading Criteria.
ACTIVITIES	PERCENTAGES
Quizzes and Homework	20%
Project Paper	30%
Exam 1	20%
Exam 2	30%

Calendar

Course schedule.
LEC #	TOPICS	KEY DATES
1	Animals in Human History Amateur and Professional Studies
2-3	Introduction to Ethology Tinbergen's Four Questions Field Studies of Birds	Homework 1 due at Lec #3
4	Lorenz' Jackdaws
5	Ethology of Geese Fixed Action Patterns and the Central Nervous System
6	Input and Output Sides of Innate Behavior Motivation
7	Motivation (cont.)
8	Lorenz on Fixed Action Patterns
9	Lorenz on Innate Releasing Mechanisms
10	Models, Hierarchies and Chains of Action Patterns
11	Spatial Orientation Multiple Motivations
12	Interlude: Evolutionary Genetics - Guest Lecturer, R. Lewontin	Homework 2 due
13	Evolution of Behavior, Genes, Learning
14	Navigation, Migration, Communication
15	Communication (cont.)
16	Foraging	Homework 3 due
17	Anti-predator Behavior
18	Anti-predator Behavior (cont.)
19	Mating and Reproduction, Introduction
20	Sociobiology Introduction
21	Sociobiology Subject Matter
22	Genes and Behaviors
23	Sociobiology and Science
24-25	Discoveries of Sociobiology
26	Video: Portions of two programs on the behavior of the domestic cat, showing similarities with larger cat species
27	Videos on the Behavior of Apes
28	Cultural Determinism and Sociobiology
29	Sociobiology and Culture	Homework 4 due two days after Lec #29
30	Practical Issues in Study of Adaptation
31	The Triumph of Sociobiology	Homework 5 due two days after Lec #31
32-35	Student Project Presentations
36	Student Project Presentations (cont.), Review
37	Exam Review Session

Readings

A session-by-session listing of reading assignments and accompanying study questions are included in the table below. Useful general texts and treatises and more specialized books are also listed below.

Most required and recommended readings are from the following texts:

Scott, Graham. Essential Animal Behavior. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2005. ISBN: 0632057998.

Alcock, John. The Triumph of Sociobiology. Oxford, UK; New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN: 0195143833.

Lorenz, Konrad Z. King Solomon's Ring: New Light on Animal Ways. New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1952. ISBN: 0415267471.

———. The Foundations of Ethology. New York, NY: Springer, 1981. ISBN: 0387816232.

Tinbergen, Niko. Curious Naturalists. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1958. ISBN: 0870234560.

Readings files.
LEC #	TOPICS	STUDY QUESTIONS	READINGS
1	Animals in Human History Amateur and Professional Studies		Please do the following: - Review the book list: How many of these authors/books have you read/seen/heard of? Which books would you suggest adding? - Review the topics list. We will not have time to deal with all of these topics, but most of them will come up in the readings or the classes. Students are welcome to make additional or alternative suggestions. (PDF) - Read the outline. (PDF)
2	Introduction to Ethology Tinbergen's Four Questions Field Studies of Birds	(PDF)	Tinbergen, pp. 187-204. Scott, pp. 1-18.
3-4	Lorenz' Jackdaws	(PDF)	Lorenz. King Solomon's Ring, pp. 128-180.
5	Ethology of Geese Fixed Action Patterns and the Central Nervous System	(PDF)	Scott, pp. 19-41.
6	Input and Output Sides of Innate Behavior Motivation	(PDF)	Scott, pp. 42-56.
7	Motivation (cont.)	(PDF)	Lorenz. The Foundations of Ethology, pp. 107-135, 153-188, and 235-253.
8	Lorenz on Fixed Action Patterns	(PDF)	Lorenz. The Foundations of Ethology, pp. 107-135, 153-188, and 235-253.
9	Lorenz on Innate Releasing Mechanisms	(PDF)	Lorenz. The Foundations of Ethology, pp. 153-175.
10	Models, Hierarchies and Chains of Action Patterns	(PDF)	Lorenz. The Foundations of Ethology, pp. 176-210 and 235-253.
11	Spatial Orientation Multiple Motivations	(PDF)	Lorenz. The Foundations of Ethology, pp. 176-210 and 235-253.
12	Interlude: Evolutionary Genetics - Guest Lecturer, R. Lewontin	(PDF)	Lewontin Handout (PDF) Scott, pp. 57-92.
13	Evolution of Behavior, Genes, Learning	(PDF)	Scott, pp. 57-92.
14	Navigation, Migration, Communication	(PDF)	Scott, pp. 93-118.
15	Communication (cont.)	(PDF)	Scott, pp. 93-118.
16	Foraging	(PDF)	Scott, pp. 119-142.
17	Anti-predator Behavior	(PDF)	Scott, pp. 143-165. Schneider, G. E. "Four hours in the life of a Syrian hamster." (Unpublished manuscript.)
18	Anti-predator Behavior (cont.)
19	Mating and Reproduction, Introduction	(PDF)	Scott, pp. 166-196.
20	Sociobiology Introduction	(PDF)	Alcock, pp. 3-21.
21	Sociobiology Subject Matter	(PDF)	Alcock, pp. 23-40.
22	Genes and Behaviors	(PDF)	Alcock, pp. 41-56.
23	Sociobiology and Science	(PDF)	Alcock, pp. 57-91.
24-25	Discoveries of Sociobiology	(PDF)	Alcock, pp. 93-127.
26	Video: Portions of two programs on the behavior of the domestic cat, showing similarities with larger cat species
27	Videos on the Behavior of Apes
28	Cultural Determinism and Sociobiology	(PDF)	Alcock, pp. 129-147.
29	Sociobiology and Culture	(PDF)	Alcock, pp. 149-187.
30	Practical Issues in Study of Adaptation	(PDF)	Alcock, pp. 189-215.
31	The Triumph of Sociobiology	(PDF)	Alcock, pp. 217-223.
32-35	Student Project Presentations
36	Student Project Presentations (cont.), Review
37	Exam Review Session

Useful General Texts and Treatises

Alcock, J. Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach. 8th ed. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Assoc., 2005.

Barash, D. P. Sociobiology and Behavior. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Elsevier, 1982.

Brown, L., and J. F. Downhower. Analyses in Behavioral Ecology: A Manual for Lab and Field. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Assoc., 1988.

Cockburn, A. An Introduction to Evolutionary Ecology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science, Ltd., 1991.

Darwin, C. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1965. ISBN: 0226136566. (Original 1872.)

Dewsbury, D. A., ed. Contemporary Issues in Comparative Psychology. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Assoc., 1989.

Drickamer, L. C., S. H. Vessey and D. Meikle. Animal Behavior: Mechanisms, Ecology and Evolution. 5th ed. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown, 2001.

Gallistel, C. R. The Organization of Action: A New Synthesis. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1980.

———. The Organization of Learning. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990.

———, ed. Animal Cognition. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992. (From Cognition 37, no. 1 and 2.)

Griffin, D. R. Animal Thinking. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984.

Hediger, H. Man and Animal in the Zoo. Translated by G. Vevers and W. Reade. New York, NY: Delacorte Press, 1969.

———. Wild Animals in Captivity. New York, NY: Dover, 1964.

Krebs, J. R., and N. B. Davies, eds. Behavioural Ecology, An Evolutionary Approach. 4th ed. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science, Ltd., 1997.

Maxwell, M, ed. The Sociobiological Imagination. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1991.

Ristau, C. A., and P. Marler, eds. Cognitive Ethology: The Minds of Other Animals. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1990.

Roitblat, H. L. Introduction to Comparative Cognition. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman & Co., 1987.

Wickler, W. The Sexual Code: The Social Behavior of Animals and Men. Translated by F. Garvie. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1973. ISBN: 0297768123.

Wilson, E. O. Sociobiology, The Abridged Edition. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press, 1980. ISBN: 0674816242.

More Specialized Books

Barnett, S. A. The Rat: A Study in Behavior. Chicago, IL: Aldine, 1963.

Byrne, R. W., and A. Whiten. Machiavellian Intelligence: Social Expertise and the Evolution of Intellect in Monkeys, Apes, and Humans. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1988.

Calhoun, J. B. The Ecology and Sociology of the Norway Rat. Public Health Service Publication No. 1008, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962.

Cheney, D. L., and R. M. Seyfarth. How Monkeys See the World: Inside the Mind of Another Species. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

Corbett, Jim. Jungle Lore. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1953. ISBN: 0195651855.

———. Man-Eaters of Kumaon. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1946. ISBN: 0195622553.

Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. Human Ethology. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1989.

Fossey, D. Gorillas in the Mist. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1983.

Goodall, J. The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1986.

Hrdy, S. B. The Langurs of Abu: Female and Male Strategies of Reproduction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977.

———. Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 2000.

———. Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection. New York, NY: Pantheon, 1999.

Konner, M. The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints on the Human Spirit. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Owl Books, 2003.

Leyhausen, P. Cat Behavior: The Predatory and Social Behavior of Domestic and Wild Cats. New York, NY: Garland St PM Press, 1979. (English version of his Verhaltenstudien on Katzen.)

Lockley, R. M. The Private Life of the Rabbit. New York, NY: Macmillan, 1964.

Lorenz, K., and P. Leyhausen. Motivation of Human and Animal Behavior: An Ethological View. Translated by B. A. Tonkin. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1973. ISBN: 0442248857.

Max, D. T. "The Literary Darwinists." New York Times Magazine, November 6, 2005.

Ryden, H. Lily Pond: Four Years with a Family of Beavers. New York, NY: William Morrow and Co., 1989.

Siegel, H. I., ed. The Hamster: Reproduction and Behavior. New York, NY: Plenum Press, 1985.

Strum, S. C. Almost Human: A Journey into the World of Baboons. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1987.

Tinbergen, Niko. The Herring Gull's World. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1960.

Von Frisch, Karl. Bees: Their Vision, Chemical Senses, and Language. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1950.

Wrangham, R. W., W. C. McGrew, F. B. M. de Waal, and P. G. Heltne, eds. Chimpanzee Cultures. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994.