Courses Taught
Organismal Biology (BIOL 115)
(Taught Spring Semester)
Organismal Biology Syllabus Spring 2005
Click on this link
to get the PDF Handouts
(Sorry, PDFs are not available)
Organismal Biology Review for Test #1 (on 9 February 2005)
ReportSheet lab1 KEY organ2005.pdf
Plant Diversity Lab 2 Slide Show.pdf
Test 2 Review Sheet –
Organismal Biology
(Test # 2 moved to 7 March 2005)
(up to the spiders)
Study Guide for Lab Test # 2 (1 April 2005, Friday)
(Mainly refer to sheets you received in lab-
the question sheets and the "TO KNOW" lists pretty much list
everything you need to know for this test. If you are missing any of these
sheets, there are extra copies in lab.)
Study
Guide for Lecture Test
3 – Organismal Biology
(Test # 3 is on the end on Chapter 33-start on Page 666 - and on ALL of
Chapter 34)
Test Date Has Moved to 8 April 2005 (Friday)
Lab Test 3 - will be on Friday, 29 April - The study room next door is set up - pigs and models of brain, kidney, heart. Also a few skulls, small mammals, example of sexual dimorphism are set up in the room to study. The test will be mainly (about 80-85% or so) on the pig (see the lab sheets you already have) and the test on the models and things mentioned above that I have set out in the study room.
Poster Tips - how to cite the handouts, how
to report the statistics. See link.
Use the following format to cite your lab handouts for your experiments
Organismal Biology Study Guide for Test # 4 (4 MAY 2005 – Wed)
Final Exam Study Guide - the entire study guide will be posted by Monday. However, some of you want to start studying now. Until I can write the entire study guide, start with knowing:
1. main characteristics
of each animal phylum
2. main characteristics of each main plant group
(and be able to compare different animals with each other and different plant
groups with each other)
3. importance of the following (and which groups each occurs in):
different kinds of symmetry, different kinds of coeloms, metamerism/segmentation
4. main ideas about natural selection
Entire Study Guide for Final –
12 May 2005
(the final will be over the material listed in the "Entire Study Guide
for Final" shown above)
(TAKE NOTE: I AM NOT retesting you over the Ecology and Animal Behavior Chapters (that is, Chapters 50, 51, 52, and 55)
Also -- Keys for Lecture Tests 1, 2, and 3 are posted on the Lab Door for Organismal. (Test 4 is not there because I am not re-testing you over this material.) Please DO NOT REMOVE from the door so others can look at them it they want to.
Lecture Notes For Organismal Biology (PowerPoint):
Organismal Biology/22A-HistorcalContextOfEvol.ppt
Organismal Biology/22B1-DarwinianRevolution.ppt
Organismal Biology/22B2-DarwinianRevolution.ppt
Organismal Biology/23A-PopulationGenetics.ppt
Organismal Biology/23B-CausesOfMicroevolution-1.ppt
Organismal Biology/23C-GeneticVariation-1.ppt
Organismal Biology/23D-ClosrLookNaturalSelect-2.ppt
Organismal Biology/24A-WhatIsASpecies.ppt
Organismal Biology/24B-ModesOfSpeciation.ppt
Organismal Biology/24C-SpeciatnToMacroevolutn.ppt
Organismal Biology/25A1-FosilRecrdGeologicTime.ppt
Organismal Biology/25A2-FosilRecrdGeologicTime.ppt
Organismal Biology/25B1-Systematics.ppt
Organismal Biology/25B2-Systematics.ppt
Organismal Biology/26A-IntroToHistoryOfLife.ppt
Organismal Biology/26B-TheOriginOfLife.ppt
Organismal Biology/26C-MajorLineagesOfLife.ppt
Organismal Biology/27A-WorldOfProkaryotes.ppt
Organismal Biology/27B1-StrctrFnctinReproProka.ppt
Organismal Biology/27B2-StrctrFnctinReproProka.ppt
Organismal Biology/27C-NutriAndMetablicDivers.ppt
Organismal Biology/27D-ProkaryDiversitySurvey.ppt
Organismal Biology/27E-ProkryEcologicalImpact.ppt
Organismal Biology/28A-IntroductionToProtists.ppt
Organismal Biology/28B-OriginAndEarlyDivrsity.ppt
Organismal Biology/28C1-SampleProtistanDivrst.ppt
Organismal Biology/28C2-SampleProtistanDivrst.ppt
Organismal Biology/29A-OvrviewLandPlantEvolut.ppt
Organismal Biology/29B-OriginOfLandPlants.ppt
Organismal Biology/29C1-Bryophytes.ppt
Organismal Biology/29C2-Bryophytes.ppt
Organismal Biology/29D-OriginOfVascularPlants.ppt
Organismal Biology/29E-Pteridophytes.ppt
Organismal Biology/30A-OvrvwSeedPlantEvolutn.ppt
Organismal Biology/30B1-Gymnosperms.ppt
Organismal Biology/30B2-Gymnosperms.ppt
Organismal Biology/30C1-Angiosperms.ppt
Organismal Biology/30C2-Angiosperms.ppt
Organismal Biology/30D-Plants&HumanWelfare.ppt
Organismal Biology/31A-IntrodutionToTheFungi.ppt
Organismal Biology/31B1-DiversityOfFungi.ppt
Organismal Biology/31B2a-DiversityOfFungi.ppt
Organismal Biology/31B3-DiversityOfFungi.ppt
Organismal Biology/31C-EcologiclImpactOfFungi.ppt
Organismal Biology/31D-EvolutionOfFungi.ppt
Organismal Biology/32A-WhatIsAnAnimal.ppt
Organismal Biology/32B-2ViewsOfAnimalDivrsity.ppt
Organismal Biology/32C-OrignsOfAnimalDivrsity.ppt
Organismal Biology/33A-Parazoa.ppt
Organismal Biology/33B-Radiata.ppt
Organismal Biology/33C1-ProtostomiaLophotrch.ppt
Organismal Biology/33C2-ProtostomiaLophotrchz.ppt
Organismal Biology/33C3-ProtostomiaLophotrchz.ppt
Organismal Biology/33D1-ProtostomiaEcdysozoa.ppt
Organismal Biology/33D2-ProtostomiaEcdysozoa.ppt
Organismal Biology/33D3-ProtostomiaEcdysozoa.ppt
Organismal Biology/33E-Deuterostomia.ppt
Organismal Biology/34A-InvtbChrdtsOrgnVrtbrts.ppt
Organismal Biology/34B-IntroToVertebrates.ppt
Organismal Biology/34C-JawlessVertebrates.ppt
Organismal Biology/34D-FishesAndAmphibians.ppt
Organismal Biology/34E1-Amniotes.ppt
Organismal Biology/34E2-Amniotes.ppt
Organismal Biology/34E3-Amniotes.ppt
Organismal Biology/34F-PrimtsEvoluOfHmoSapien.ppt
Organismal Biology/50A-ScopeOfEcology.ppt
Organismal Biology/50B1-FactrsDstrbuOfOrgansm.ppt
Organismal Biology/50B2-FactrsDstrbuOfOrgansm.ppt
Organismal Biology/50C1-AquatcAndTerstialBiom.ppt
Organismal Biology/50C2-AquatcAndTerstialBiom.ppt
Organismal Biology/50D-SpatialScaleDistribut.ppt
Organismal Biology/51A-IntroBehvrAndBehvrEco.ppt
Organismal Biology/51B-Learning.ppt
Organismal Biology/51C-AnimalCognition.ppt
Organismal Biology/51D1-SocalBehvrAndSociobio.ppt
Organismal Biology/51D2-SocalBehvrAndSociobio.ppt
Organismal Biology/52A-ChrctrstcsOfPopulaton.ppt
Organismal Biology/52B-LifeHistories.ppt
Organismal Biology/52C-PopulationGrowth.ppt
Organismal Biology/52D-PopultionLimtngFactrs.ppt
Organismal Biology/52E-HumanPopulationGrowth.ppt
Organismal Biology/55A1-BiodiversityCrisis.ppt
Organismal Biology/55A2-BiodiversityCrisis.ppt
THE LINKS BELOW FOR ORGANISMAL LECTURES NO LONGER WORK AS OF 1 MARCH 2012 - use above links instead
22A-HistoricalContextOfEvol.ppt
23B-CausesOfMacroevolution-1.ppt
23D-ClosrLookNatural Select-2.ppt
24C-SpeciatnToMacroevolutn.ppt
25A1-FosilRecrdGeologicTime.ppt
25A2-FosilRecrdGeologicTime.ppt
25B2-Systematics.ppt
Note: This section (25B2) will not be covered in class and you
will not be tested on it. It covers details that you will get in more
advanced classes. I am including it here in the event you want to read it
(it follows your textbook).
27B2-StrctrFnctnReproProka.ppt
27C-NutriAndMetabolicDivers.ppt
27D-ProkaryDiversitySurvey.ppt
27E-ProkaryEcoloicalImpact.ppt
28A-IntroductionToProtista.ppt
28B-OriginAndEarlyDivrsty.ppt
Note: This section (28B) will not be covered in class and you
will not be tested on it. It covers details that you will get in more
advanced classes. I am including it here in the event you want to read it
(it follows your textbook).
28C1-SampleProtistanDivrst.ppt
28C2-SampleProtistanDivrst.ppt
29A-OvrviewLand PlantEvolut.ppt
29D-OriginOfVascularPlants.ppt
30A-OvrvwSeedPlantEvolution.ppt
31A-IntroductionToTheFungi.ppt
31C-EcologicalImpactOfFungi.ppt
32B-ViewsOfAnimalDiversity.ppt
32C-OriginsOfAnimal Diversity.ppt
34F-PrimtsEvoluOfHmoSapien.ppt
50B2-FactrsDstrbuOfOrgansm.ppt
50C1-AquaticAndTerstialBiom.ppt
50C2-AquaticAndTerstialBiom.ppt
51D1-SocialBehavAndSociobio.ppt
51D2-SocialBehavAndSociobio.ppt
52D-PopulationLimitingFactors.ppt
***********
General Zoology (BIOL 303)
(Taught Spring Semester)
(This course will not exist in its present form after Spring 2004)
**********
Wildlife Ecology (BIOL 455)
(Taught Alternate Years Fall Semester)
**********
Cell Biology Labs (BIOL 111)
(Taught Fall Semester)
********************************************
Principles of Animal Behavior (BIOL 402)
(Taught Alternate Years Fall Semester - 2001)
Animal Behavior Reading Assignments
Animal Behavior Addendum to Bibliography
Animal Behavior Observation Assignment
Ideas for Animal Behavior Research Projects
Animal Behavior Sparrow Observations
Animal Behavior Scavenger Hunt
BIOL 402 - Principles of Animal Behavior Syllabus Spring 2008
Instructor: Donna M. Bruns Stockrahm, Ph.D. Department: Biosciences Office: Hagen Hall 407S Phone: (218) 477-2576(Office) 1-(218) 937-5280 (Home) Email: stockram@mnstate.edu Website: http://web.mnstate.edu/stockram Office Hours:See office hours posted on my office door
Location: Lecture & Lab held in Hagen Hall 410 and 408.
Course Description:
(3 credits, includes lab). The genetic, ecological, evolutionary and physiological aspects of animal behavior including the historical background, kin selection, communication, aggression, navigation, and reproductive behavior. With lab. Prerequisite: BIOL 341, 345. 2, 1-hr lectures and 1, 3-to-4-hr lab per week).
Required Text: Drickamer, Lee C., Stephen H. Vessey, and Elizabeth M. Jakob. 2002. Animal Behavior: Mechanisms, Ecology, and Evolution. McGraw-Hill, New York. 422pp. (5th Ed.) Required Readings: Are included on a separate list. Students will also choose some additional readings.
Prerequisites: BIOL 341 (Genetics) and BIOL 345 (Ecology/Evolution) or permission of instructor. It is assumed you know the basic concepts of development and neural anatomy/physiology that are covered in general biology.
Class meets for 2, 1-hr lecture periods and 1, 3-to-4-hr lab/recitation/ field period per week (field trips might extend beyond 3 hours). The lab/recitation period will consist of lab exercises and oral presentations/discussions on the readings as well as films demonstrating various concepts in animal behavior. Most weeks, we will read papers relating to a particular topic and students will be responsible for giving a brief synopsis of each reading, then leading a class discussion. We will have some field trips and opportunities for observing animal behavior and/or gaining hands-on experience.
Course Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes:
1) To gain an understanding of the genetic, ecological, evolutionary and physiological aspects of animal behavior.
2) To gain an understanding of the historical background to the study of animal behavior, as well as selected topics such as kin selection, communication, aggression, navigation, social behavior, and reproductive behavior.
3) To gain hands-on experience in animal observation. 4) To gain experience in critically analyzing literature in the field of animal behavior.
Attendance Policy:
See MSUM Student Handbook for Student Absence Policy: http://web.mnstate.edu/sthandbook/POLICY/index.htm
Class attendance is expected, and lab attendance is mandatory as it is nearly impossible to make up a lab. Oral participation and reading all of the assigned papers are mandatory.
Course Requirements:
1. Notebook: Students will keep a detailed notebook on all lab exercises, readings, films, and field trips. Data from your independent research project should also be kept here. (This is separate and in addition to your "lecture notes" notebook.)
2. Project-- You have several options for your project: A. RESEARCH PROJECT:
Project should be set up preferably as an experiment testing a hypothesis. In special cases, an observational study might be permitted. Project must include at least 10 hr of observational data. A research paper of the project will be written in standard scientific format including introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and literature cited (with a minimum of 10 references, preferably from the primary literature, not just from the WEB). Students will give in-class, oral presentations on their research. Students may work in pairs if they wish, but each person must contribute equally to the project and be able to demonstrate evidence of this equal partnership.
B. RESEARCH PROPOSAL:
Proposal should be written in the correct professional format for the funding agency to which you would submit the proposal. You choose which funding agency to which you would want to submit the proposal (you do not really have to submit it). Preferably the proposal should test a particular hypothesis. Proposal must be a minimum of 15 pages long and, at a minimum, include: 1) A brief description of proposed project (1 page - sort of like an abstract), 2) Detailed description of project, 3) Methods section which includes the experimental design as well as the statistical methods you plan to use to test the hypothesis (including all appropriate references), 4) objectives, 5) Future research plans, 6) Detailed literature review of the topic which must include a minimum of 20 references from the primary literature (this means from scientific journals; you can have additional references from the WEB, but not in place of the 20 journal articles).
C. TEST OF A HYPOTHESIS USING A LITERATURE REVIEW:
For this project, the student will study the animal behavior literature and find a controversial topic. You will then present the literature in such a fashion as to represent the various interpretations, presenting evidence to support and/or reject a particular hypothesis. This paper will be more than just a literature review, however, because you will then interpret all the information and write how you interpret the information. Which interpretation has the most merit? Which hypothesis is more plausible? Do you want to offer an alternative hypothesis? You must back up your statements with proper citations of the literature and your logic. You must cite a minimum of 20 references from the primary literature (this means from scientific journals; you can have additional references from the WEB, but not in place of the 20 journal articles).
3. Oral Presentations: Each student will give a minimum of 3 in-class, oral presentations on the readings (number of readings will depend on number of students in the class). Student will give a brief synopsis of paper then he/she will lead the class in a discussion on the paper.
4. Exams:
Four exams will incorporate information from lectures, films, oral presentations, labs, and readings.
Evaluation Standards/Course Grading Policy:
Grading:Exam 1...........100 points A.....90-100% Exam 2...........100 points B.....80-89 Exam 3...........100 points C.....70-79 Final........... 125 points D.....60-69 Presentations......5 points F.....below 60 Lab Write-Ups ....25 points Notebook..........25 points Research Project.100 points -3- Presentations & Notebook are mandatory for receiving credit for the course.
The required readings will be on reserve in the Ecology Dry Lab (Hagen 410). Papers must be read there and are not to be taken out of the room (only exception is if you quickly photocopy the article and return it). Additional readings will be added as the course progresses allowing us to look at some of the latest literature.
Lectures and lab/recitations will be integrated as much as possible. The topics covered are listed below. Some additional readings will be added. Movies will be shown during some labs. Lab sequence might change depending on weather and/or availability of animals. Course Outline:
WEEK TOPIC REQUIRED READINGS (*) (Date refers to the Monday of that week)
1 LECTURE (7 Jan)- Introduction *Text - Ch. 1, 2 - Historical Background
LAB - NO LAB THIS WEEK
2 LECTURE (14 Jan)- Approaches and Methods *Text - Ch. 3 - Genes and Evolution *Text - Ch. 4
LAB - Introduction to lab, lab/field notebooks - Scavenger Hunt - Cricket Lab (Ethograms)(Part 1) - Movie (time permitting)
3 LECTURE (21 Jan)- Behavioral Genetics *Text - Ch. 5 - Evolution of Behavior *Text - Ch. 6 Patterns
LAB (Martin Luther King Day - no lab)
- Ethogram Exercise on your own time - see directions 4 LECTURE (28 Jan)- Exam 1 - Social Behavior *Text - Ch. 19
LAB - Cricket Lab (Part 2) - Movie
5 LECTURE (4 Feb)- Sociobiology *Wilson (1980) - Ch.1,2,19 LAB - Movie - TBA - Habitat Selection (if animals available) 6 LECTURE (11 Feb)- Communication *Text - Ch. 12 LAB - Field trip to local pet stores to observe animal behavior (weather permitting) 7 LECTURE (18 Feb)- Nervous System & Behavior *Text - Ch. 7 LAB - Crayfish lab: set-up, initial observations - Movie - Discussion on Readings
8 LECTURE (25 Feb)- Hormones & Behavior *Text - Ch. 8 - Exam 2 LAB - Crayfish lab (continued) - Movie - Discussion of readings 9 SPRING BREAK - NO CLASS (3-7 Mar)
10 LECTURE (10 Mar)- Development of Behavior *Text - Ch. 10
LAB - Crayfish lab (finish) - Discussion of readings - Movie
11 LECTURE (17 Mar)- Learning *Text - Ch. 11 LAB - Guest Speaker and Seeing-Eye Dog "Patton" (training dogs, seeing-eye dog program) - Movie 12 LECTURE (24 Mar)- Conflict *Text - Ch. 16
LAB - Field Trip (MSUM Science Center) - Competitive Behavior of Birds at Feeders
13 LECTURE (31 Mar)- Exam 3 - Biological Rhythms *Text - Ch. 9
LAB - Computer Simulation Lab on Animal Behavior (Permitting we can get the software); alternative lab - Fish Behavior - Discussion on Readings 14 LECTURE (7 Apr)- Sexual Reproduction *Text - Ch. 17 & Parental Care LAB - Field Trip: Red River Valley Zoo (Weather permitting)
15 LECTURE (14 Apr)- Mating Systems *Text - Ch. 18 & Parental Care - Migration, Orientation, *Text - Ch. 13 & Navigation LAB - Human Mating Choice Using Want Ads - Lab Exercise - Discussion on Readings
16 LECTURE (21 Apr)- Habitat Selection *Text - Ch. 14 - Foraging Behavior *Text - Ch. 15
LAB - Foraging Lab - Discussion on Readings - Movie
17 LECTURE (28 Apr)- Catch Up
LAB - Student oral presentations of projects
Final Exam: TBA *****************************************************
ACADEMIC HONESTY
See MSUM
Student Handbook;
http://web.mnstate.edu/sthandbook/POLICY/index.htm
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
From the Disabilities Office: Student with disabilities who believe that they may need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg Toutes, Coordinator of Disabilities Services, at 477-5859 (voice) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY), CMU 114, as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.
UpDated by DMBS: 9 January 2008
******************************************************************* ***************************************************************
Animal Behavior (BIOL 402)
Paper Presentations and Discussions: Updated 9 January 2008 (Some more papers will be added during the course)
"*" designates required reading
DISCUSSION 1: - Basic Concepts * Harlow (1959) - Instinct * Hess (1958) or (1959) * Tinbergen (1952) * Moors (2003)NEW
DISCUSSION 2: - Infanticide * Hoogland (1982, 1985) - Genetics Maynard Smith (1964) - Kin Selection * Moehlman (1979) - Altruism * Power (1975) * Tiffany-Castiglioni (2004) (Parts I and II) NEW
Wilson (1980) - Ch. 5 * Hamilton (1963) Brown & Brown (1981) Brown (1974) Eberhard (1972) Erlenmeyer-Kimling & Jarvik (1963) Holmes & Sherman (1983) Mayr (1977) Meikle and Vessey (1981) Sherman (1977, 1981) Wilson (1973) Trivers (1971) Hrdy (1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981) * Emlen et al. (1995)
DISCUSSION 3: - Sociobiology - Social Behavior * King (1959) * Calhoun (1962) * Getz and Carter (1996)NEW Barash (1974) Bertram (1975) Schneirla and Piel (1948) Shaw (1962) Kleiman& Eisenberg (1973) Alexander (1974) Axelrod & Hamilton (1981) Bekoff (1974a,'74b,'74c,77) Caraco & Wolf (1975) Chadab&Rettenmeyer (1975) Emlen (1952) Bock (1980) -2- DISCUSSION 4: - Communication * Premack (1971) Wilson (1980) - Ch. 8,9,10 * Bekoff (1977) * Holldobler (1971) * Nieh (1999) NEW Bronson (1971) Bullock (1973) Carlson & Copeland (1978) Crews & Greenberg (1981) Fouts (1973) Gardner & Gardner (1969) Kalmijn (1971) Marler (1957, 1967) Menzel (1971) Morris (1956) Payne & McVay (1971) Savage-Rumbaugh et al. (1980) Sebeok (1965) * Provine (1996) * Schwenk (1995) * Holden (1994)
- Aggression * Guhl (1956) - Dominance * Calhoun (1962)- see above - Hierarchies * Wilson (1975a) Rowell (1974) Meikle et al. (1984) Nice (1941) Maynard Smith & Price (1973) Wilson (1980)- Ch.11,13
DISCUSSION 5: - Learning & * Text - Ch. 9, 10 Motivation * Cowley (1988) * Bitterman (1965, 1975) Hailman (1969) Marler & Peters (1977, 1981) Moltz (1965) Seligman (1970) Shettlesworth (1972) Lehrman (1953) * Wasserman (1995) DISCUSSION 6: - Sexual Behavior * Buss (1994) - Mating Systems Hutchinson (1959) * Daly & Wilson (1983) - Pages 301,308,309 * Hrdy (1986) Bateman (1948) * Emlen & Oring (1977) * Weisstein (1982) * Abele & Gilchrist (1977) * Quaid and Peck (2003)NEW Burley (1979) Dewsbury (1972)-very long Wilson (1980)-Ch. 15, p.279 Immelmann (1972) Orians (1969) Zeveloff & Boyce (1980) Skutch (1949) Meikle et al. (1984) Jenni (1974) Lack (1949) Amadon (1964) Daly (1978) Daly & Wilson (1983) Greenwood (1980) * Wright (1994) * Borgia (1995) * Davies (1995)
DISCUSSION 7: - Biological * Takahashi & Zatz (1982) Timekeeping * Palmer (1975) Aronson et al. (1994) Page (1994) * Barinaga (1995) * Takahashi & Hoffman (1995) (This list be revised)
DISCUSSION 8: - Migration * Keeton (1969, 1970, - Orientation 1971, 1974) - Navigation * Sauer (1958) * Southern (1969, 1972) * Emlen (1970, 1975) * Seachrist (1994) Carr (1965) Barbour et al. (1966) Mueller & Emlen (1957) Walcott (1977) Walcott et al. (1979) Zahl (1963) (This list will be revised)
DISCUSSION 9:
- Primate Behavior Wilson (1980) - Ch. 25 Lawick-Goodall (1971)-skim * Booth (1988) * Gurvis (1990)NEW Terrace et al. (1979) Meikle et al. (1984) Meikle & Vessey (1981) Menzel (1971) Premack (1971) Savage-Rumbaugh et al. (1980) Hrdy (1981, 1986) Fouts (1973) Gardner & Gardner (1969) Buettner-Janusch (1966) Harlow et al. (1971) * Stanford (1995) * Achenbach (2004)NEW
Animal Behavior - Reading List Addendum
Add these papers to reading list: Updated 9 January 2008
(We will also update list addendum during the course.)
Aronson, B. D., K. A. Johnson, J. J. Loros, J. C. Dunlap. 1994. Negative feedback defining a circadian clock: autoregulation of the clock gene frequency. Science 263:1578-1584.
Barinaga, M. 1995. Shedding light on the ticking of internal timekeepers. Science 267:1091-1092.
Borgia, G. 1995. Why do bowerbirds build bowers? American Scientist 83:542-547.
Buss, D. M. 1994. The strategies of human mating. American Scientist 82:238-249.
Davies, N. B. 1995. Backyard battle of the sexes. Natural History 4:68-73.
Emlen, S. T., P. H. Wrege, and N. J. Demong. 1995. An evolutionary perspective. American Scientist 83:148-157.
Grier, J. W., and T. Burk. 1992. Biology of animal behavior. Mosby- Year Book, Inc., St. Louis. 890pp. (2nd Edition).
Holden, C. (ed.) 1994. Vertebrate vibrations. Science 266:1810.
Holldobler, B. 1971. Communication between ants and their guests. Scientific American (March). (Reprinted from book by: Gould, J. L., and C. G. Gould, Editors. 1989. Life at the edge: readings from Scientific American Magazine. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York. 162pp.) (This article is on pages 111-121).
Page, T. L. 1994. Time is the essence: molecular analysis of the biological clock. Science 263:1570-1572.
Provine, R. R. 1996. Laughter. American Scientist 84:38-45.
Schwenk, K. 1994. Why snakes have forked tongues. Science 263: 1573-1577.
Schwenk, K. 1995. The serpent's tongue. Natural History 4:48-54.
Seachrist, L. 1994. Sea turtles master migration with magnetic memories. Science 264:661-662.
Stanford, C. B. 1995. Chimpanzee hunting behavior and human evolution. American Scientist 83:256-261.
Takahashi, J. S., and M. Hoffman. 1995. . American Scientist 83:158-165.
Tinbergen, N. 1952. The curious behavior of the stickleback. Reprinted from Scientific American.
Wasserman, E. A. 1995. The conceptual abilities of pigeons. American Scientist 83:246-255.
Wilson, E. O. 1975. Slavery in ants. Scientific American (June). (Reprinted from book by: Gould, J. L., and C. G. Gould, Editors. 1989. Life at the edge: readings from Scientific Magazine. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York 162pp.) (This article in on pages 122-128.)
Wright, R. 1994. Our cheating hearts. Time 144:44-52.
Animal Observation Assignment: Observe an animal of your choice for a continuous 1/2 hour. Make a chart of times and behaviors (be specific about the behaviors you observe). Every time behavior changes, record it and the time. Then go to the library and/or other references and read about what these behaviors mean. Write a report (in proper scientific format- introduction, methods, results, discussion, literature cited) on your findings and interpretations; include complete citations of reference(s) used. Make an ethogram for your animal of choice (make it as complete as possible for the 1/2 hour you observe) and use it as a table in your results section. An example of this exercise is located in our class reference files in Hagen 410.
Ideas For Animal Behavior Research Projects: Updated 9 January 2008
Note:
Animal use and care guidelines make it much more difficult to work on vertebrates than invertebrates. For projects dealing with mammals or birds, we more or less have to design something that does not require you to actually touch the animals.
1. Birds/squirrels at feeders
2. Food preference test - dominance hierarchy associated with food access
3. Ants - scent trails
4. Spiders - web building, prey catching
5. Bees - test different colors, tastes, sweetness concentrations (We can check with NDSU on availability)
6. Domestic animals - all kinds of stuff! (check with instructor - animal use and care guidelines still prevail)
7. Crayfish - substrate preferences, dominance hierarchies relating to size, sex, who was there first, etc.
8. Gophers - dig out their burrows and determine how gophers respond to the disturbance; look at burrow distribution and habitat preference patterns
9. Deer - tracks, scats, observations - habitat use, response to human approach, deer season behavior
10. Response of animals to human presence - with/without blinds, different colored/shaped blinds, different color of human clothing, washing clothes in special substance so whites do not appear brilliant under UV light (deer can see the UV portion of the spectrum)
11. Experiment comparing different methods of sampling animal behavior, e.g., continuous sampling vs. spot sampling, focal-animal sampling vs. scan-sampling
12. Scents: predator/prey reactions to scents that can be purchased commercially
13. Fish behavior
14. Turtle behavior ****************************************************************** For other ideas, see file of past student projects on reading shelf in Room 306.
Update 9 January 2008
Donna Stockrahm's Personal Library Has References on the Behavior of the following topics. Take note that these are my personal books, and as such, you must take good care of them. They are not to be taken out of Room 306 unless you have my special permission.
1. Wild Birds (Stokes Series I, II, III)
2. Domestic Dogs (Morris 1986)
3. Domestic Cats (Morris 1986, 1987)
4. Domestic Horses (Morris 1988, Waring 1983)
5. African Mammals (Estes 1991)
6. Domestic Animals: Dogs, Cats, Horses, Pigs, Cattle, Sheep (Albro Houpt 1991)
Various Textbooks on Animal Behavior and Behavorial Ecology **************
Sparrow (or Bird) Observation Lab Updated 9 January 2008
1. Describe appearance of species.
2. Is it a mixed-species flock or single-species flock?
3. What is size of flock?
4. Are there other flocks nearby or is this flock isolated from conspecifics?
5. What is spacing between flocks if other flocks are present?
6. Do flocks seem to have any interaction with each other?
7. Can you tell males from females? On the basis of what? e.g., color, behaviors? How do behaviors differ? e.g., dominance, display to same sex, display to other sex, response to humans?
8. Can you tell mature from immature animals? Same questions as # 3 above.
9. How do birds seem to communicate with other birds?
10. In a flock, all the birds seem to move together when the flock flies from place to place. Is this true? How do they seem to communicate to the other birds so they function as a group? How important does visual communication seem to be? How about vocal communication?
12. Do there seem to be any displacement behaviors?
13. Do there seem to be any stereotype behaviors?
14. Make an ethogram for this species (or as close as you can approximate it with the time allotted.)
15. Be sure to include: feeding/drinking behaviors, pecking, vigilance, locomotion (flying, hopping, etc.) **********
Animal Behavior Scavenger Hunt 9 January 2008
Find examples of the following behaviors in both vertebrates (non-human) and invertebrates. For context, include things like:
- Is this a solitary behavior? - Are other animals of same species present? - If/how other organisms respond to behavior of observed animal. - Was the behavior part of a sequence of behaviors?
Behavior Animal Description Context
Food getting
Ingesting
Aggression
Auditory Communication
Non-Auditory Communication (Movments, Orientations, Expressions,etc)
Grooming (Self, Others)
Dominance Hierarchy
-2- Locomotion
Orientation Away or Towards Stimuli
Habitat Selection Behaviors
Parent/Offspring Interactions
Social Behaviors
Other Behaviors
Questions:
1. Can you tell if organism is male or female? Older or younger? How - Physical (color, markings, structures) or Behavioral (males/females older/younger behave differently)?
2. Of the above behaviors, which one(s) seem to be more complex and which more simple?
3. Which behaviors seem to have some element of learning in them?
4. Which behaviors seem very repetitive and seem to be based more on instinct than on learning?
5. What did you think was the most interesting behavior? Why?
6. Anything else you want to add?
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Find at least 3 journals that publish mainly or all articles on animal behavior. (Check library, Biology Seminar Room, Computer- On-Line, etc.)