ANIMAL
BEHAVIOR
Dr. Kari
Benson
Office: 218
Email:
benson@lynchburg.edu
Three hours lecture and three hours laboratory. This course includes a review of concepts of animal behavior and the methods employed to study behavior including an analysis of mechanistic and adaptive aspects of behavior in a variety of animal taxa. Emphasis is placed on analysis of current primary literature and development of critical tests of behavior.
Students will be able to recognize different levels of
behavioral analysis and describe the economics and evolutionary trade-offs in
behavior as measured on tests, challenges, and quizzes. Students will critically evaluate current
research in behavior as evaluated in discussions and critiques. Students will design and analyze critical
tests of behavior as measured on laboratory assignments and the final project. Students will use laboratory assignments and
the final project to interpret behavioral data and present their findings
verbally and in writing.
This course supports goals 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.4, 2.5,
3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.5 of the biology program.
Dugatkin, L. A. 2004. Principles of Animal Behavior.
Karban, R. and M. Huntzinger. 2006. How to Do Ecology: A Concise Handbook.
There will be additional readings from the primary
literature.
Scheduled
Class Times
Lecture: The class meets on Monday,
Wednesday, and Fridays from
Laboratory: Laboratory meets at
Absences
may be excused with prior notice of an acute illness, a family emergency, or a
college sponsored event. Documentation
from a physician or a college representative is required for an excused absence.
We
will conduct several laboratory exercises outdoors, regardless of the weather,
so dress accordingly. Be prepared for
bugs, heat, humidity, cold, wet feet, and other field conditions. The order of the laboratory projects will be
flexible to accommodate various field conditions. Alternative arrangements for assignments will
be made available for students with special needs. If you will require special dispensation, you
must make arrangements during the first two weeks of class. Due to the field nature of
this course, laboratory projects will, at times, extend beyond the scheduled
time.
Required Field Trips:
We
will visit the
There
is a required field trip on
http://benson-k.web.lynchburg.edu/behavior/home.html
The
course web page will include news, assignments, and notes to students of the course.
I
have three scheduled office hours weekly (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from
Your
final grade will be determined as follows:
Item:
Percentage
Three Tests 30
Final Exam 20
Challenges and Quizzes 10
Project Portfolio 12
Project Presentation 3
Two Critiques 10
Class Participation 5
Lab Assignments 15
Total 100
Tests: There will be three midterm
exams, 4 February, 12 March, and 18 April.
The laboratory portion of this course is meant to augment the lecture
and questions expanding on topics covered in the laboratory may appear on
exams. Each exam will cover material since the previous exam. These exams will
account for 30% of the final grade.
Final Exam: The final exam is
cumulative and will account for 20% of the final grade. Remember that any missing test scores will be
replaced with the grade from this final.
The final exam will take place 2 May.
Challenges and Quizzes: Quizzes will be given
periodically to cover the latest readings or material in the class. They will be concise and designed to insure
that you understand the key concepts under consideration. Quizzes will be unannounced. If the subject
matter does not lend itself to a quiz, a challenge (homework assignment) will
take the place of a quiz. Quizzes and challenges will account for 10% of the
final grade. The lowest two of the quiz
and challenge grades will be dropped for the final quiz/challenge average.
Paper: One research paper will be
required. This paper will be used to assess your understanding of the
scientific method, your scientific writing skills, and your ability to
interpret data in the framework of previous behavioral research.
Critiques: There will be a series of
outside readings for the course.
Students will submit critical evaluations of these papers for two
readings.
Class Participation: This grade will be
determined by the level of thoughtful participation including: contributions to
class discussions, class group exercises, laboratory exercises, and independent
learning. Participation in the
laboratory also includes clean-up of the classroom and any class
equipment. Class participation will
account for
Lab Assignments: Students will hand in assigned work from the
appropriate laboratory assignments.are expected to
maintain a laboratory notebook containing all of the laboratory assignment
work. This work will be maintained in a
standard scientific format.
Grading Policy: Students are expected to
hand in work on time. For each day
(including Saturday and Sunday) that an assignment is late, 5% of the grade
will be deducted from the score.
Assignments that are more than 1 week late will not be accepted. If you wish to hand in a
late assignment, either hand-deliver the assignment to your instructor or place
the assignment into the appropriate mailbox in Hobbs Hall. I will not be responsible for lost items that
were not handed in at the appropriate time.
Re-evaluation: If you find that you
disagree with the grading on any particular question, I will re-evaluate your
work. I will only accept re-evaluation
requests in written form, be sure to include your name, the question number,
explain why you should have received credit that you did not, and how much additional
credit you feel you deserve. Be sure to
attach this form to your original work.
For bookkeeping purposes, all re-evaluation requests must be submitted
within 2 days of the return of the work.
Use of Calibrated Peer Review:
I
will initiate the use of Calibrated Peer Review for a number of assignments
during this course. It is the first time
that I am using this resource, so I will expect all of us to work through the
learning curve of CPR use together. It
should be understood that there is a learning curve associated with this
application (as in any other) and we will have to be patient to become
accustomed to its idiosyncrasies. I
intend to use CPR in both the laboratory and the lecture parts of the
course.
CPR
allows students to get background material and submit their work online, review
some samples to “calibrate” their evaluation skills, evaluate their peers
(anonymously) and their own work. The
weight of your peers’ scores of your work will be weighted (or calibrated)
based on their acumen at scoring the sample assignments. Each of the three phases of an assignment
will count toward the score that the student receives for their assignment.
There
are several aspects of CPR that are new and different. First, you will each receive a CPR Username
and will be required to logon, create your account, and take the pre-test
independently. Your work will be
anonymous only as you protect your username.
Second, because of the computer code that drives the scoring of this
work and transitions between phases of an assignment, the deadlines are
absolute. If you miss a deadline, you
will not be allowed to complete the assignment.
Third, I reserve the right to alter the scores received by your peers if
they seem inequitable.
Honor Code: I encourage a free exchange
of ideas both in and out of the classroom.
Science is a collaborative endeavor.
However, when a scientist gets help from another scientist, they are
expected to acknowledge or reference them fully. A description of what
constitutes an honor code violation is available on page 218 of the catalogue
and in the student handbook. If you are
unsure about how to attribute another individual for intellectual contribution
to your work, please see Dr. Benson prior to the deadline of the
assignment. Failure to adhere to these
rules can result in failure in the course.
Respect: I would like everyone in the class to feel
free to express their ideas and opinions. We encourage intellectual controversy
and debate in the course, and, thus, demand that everyone's right to different
thoughts and opinions be respected, even as we challenge the ideas underlying
those opinions. Treating one another
with respect includes arriving in class on time and not distracting fellow
students during any course related activities.
Ethical Use of
Animals: Doing research in animal behavior requires taking responsibility
for the animals that we study. There are several laws describing the treatment of
animals in scientific research. In this class, we will abide by these laws
simply by minimizing our impact (both positive and negative) on the animals we
are working with. All research projects must be approved before data collection
begins.
Tentative Schedule:
|
Week I |
1-3 |
|
Week II |
3-5 |
|
Week III |
5-6 |
|
Week IV |
Test, 7 |
|
Week V |
8-9 |
|
Week VI |
9-11 |
|
Week VII |
12 |
|
Week VIII |
Test,13-14 |
|
Week IX |
14-15 |
|
Week X |
15-16 |
|
Week XI |
16-17 |
|
Week XII |
17 |
|
Week XIII |
Test, 18 |
|
Week XIV |
19 |
|
Week XV |
Review, Catch-up |
Grading Structure:
|
Number Grade |
Letter Grade |
|
Number Grade |
Letter Grade |
|
97-100 |
A+ |
|
77-79 |
C+ |
|
93-96 |
A |
|
73-76 |
C |
|
90-92 |
A- |
|
70-72 |
C- |
|
87-89 |
B+ |
|
67-69 |
D+ |
|
83-86 |
B |
|
63-66 |
D |
|
80-82 |
B- |
|
60-62 |
D- |
|
|
|
|
<60 |
F |