Fundamentals of Animal Behavior
Fall 2014
Instructor: Jeff Schank (original instructor: Don Owings)
Email: jcschank@ucdavis.edu
Office: 268D Young Hall
Phone: 752-6332
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10:30-11:50 and by appointment
Course description: This is the first of a two-quarter sequence. ANB 218B will be offered Winter 2014, and led by Andy Sih, Environmental Science and Policy. The goal of this course is to sample current and traditional topics in the field of animal behavior. You will learn about the basic phenomena, concepts, and theoretical approaches of animal behavior, but no two-quarter sequence can provide the entire breadth and depth of animal behavior.
When:
Speakers: TW: 6:10 PM to 8:00 PM
Discussion: Mondays 1:10 to 2:10 PM
Adjustments: Due to the nature of this course adjustments may be required for some speakers and discussion.
Where:
Lectures: 162 Young Hall (with possible exceptions)
Discussion: 162 Young Hall
Grading:
40% from position papers and leading discussion (you will write 3 papers and lead or co-lead 2 discussions), 15% from review papers on 3 of the position papers (you will write 3 review papers on 3 of the discussion papers), 20% participation in discussions, 25% final exam
Course Website:
http://www.agent-based-models.com/
Look under the “Courses” menu.
Course details:
(1) As noted below, different topics will be the responsibility of different speakers. Each speaker has been asked to lecture on the assigned topic, and then moderate a 1-hour (when possible) with a student-led discussion on the topic.
(2) This means that you, the students, will be leading the discussions (this task will rotate among you). Because of the number of people registered, there will often be co-discussants. Please be thinking about what topic you would prefer.
(3) Each speaker will provide readings prior to the beginning of his/her lectures. Please prepare for lectures by reading that material.
(4) Each speaker will assign the associated discussion topic at the beginning of his/her lectures.
(5) Preparation for each discussion will involve
(a) reviewing the lecture and reading material so that
you can lead the discussion, but everyone else is expected
to join in (this is the main part of the 20% participant
discussion);
(b) for a subset of you each time, you will write a
short position paper on the topic (no longer than 2
single-spaced pages)that you will circulate to all
parties to read exactly one week after the topic is
discussed. You should look into additional reading
and include references for these papers. You will send
it using the class email list; and
(c) A subset of you, will write a short review of the
position paper (between 1/2 and 1 page
spaced pages). The review will briefly
discuss the the strong points of the position
paper and the weak points (e.g., "I think the author
should have included more about X", or "I do not
think that topic X is fundamental to the topic."
or "I think that that X is better, explained or
articulated as this..."). The short review will
be due 3 days after you receive the discussion paper.
You will send out your review using the
class email list.
CLASS SCHEDULE – FALL, 2014
Fundamentals of Animal Behavior (ANB/PSC218A – Schank Instructor)
Lecture times – MW, 6:10-8:00 PM; Discussion times – M, 1:10-2:00 PM
1. Monday – Oct 6 – Organize Jeff Schank (6:10 PM – 7:00 PM)
2. Tuesday – Oct 7 – Quantitative genetics, Andy Sih (6:10 PM – 8:00 PM)
Readings (1) Multivariate inheritance and evolution: a review of concepts (2) The genetics of fish behavior (3) The genetics of politics: discovery, challenges, and progress Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
3. Wednesday– Oct 8 – Quantitative genetics, Andy Sih
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:(26.7 mb)
Discussion – Andy Sih – Quantitative genetics – Dicussion Leader(s): Monday Discussion (Oct 13)
4. Tuesday Oct 14 – Animal Cognition and Learning – Dick Coss
Readings
(1) Burrhus F. Skinner: Radical Behaviorism
(2) The Structure of Learning
(3) Précis of How monkeys see the world
(4) I. P. Pavlov: Classical Conditioning
(5) Recognition of Heterospecific Alarm Vocalizations by
bonnet Macaques (Macaca radiate)
(6) Effect of spatial context on the mobbing reaction
of pied flycatchers to a predator model
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio: (22.7 mb) (6.7 mb)
Discussion – Dick Coss – Quantitative genetics – Dicussion Leader(s):Karalyn Aronow, Marion Ryan
Monday Discussion (Oct 20)
5. Wednesday Oct 15 – Conservation and Animal Behavior, John Eadie
Readings
(1) Animal behavior and conservation biology
(2) Behavioural biology: an effective and relevant
conservation tool
(3) Endangered species and a threatened discipline:
behavioural ecology
(4) Behavior and conservation: a bridge too far?
(5) The behaviour–conservation interface
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
Discussion – John Eadie – Quantitative genetics – Dicussion Leader(s):Marion Ryan, Emily Burke
Monday Discussion (Oct 20)
6. Tuesday – Oct 21– Communication, Dustin G. Reichard (6:10 PM – 8:00 PM)
Readings (1) Signaling (2) Avian psychology and communication
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
7. Wednesday Oct 22 – Genomics, Brian Trainor
Readings (1) Natural variations in maternal care are associated with estrogen receptor expression and estrogen sensitivity in the medial preoptic area. (2) Serotonin transporter genotype x construction stress interaction in rats. (3) Gene expression profiles in the brain predict behavior in individual honey bees. Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
Discussion – Brian Trainor – Quantitative genetics – Dicussion Leader(s):
Monday Discussion (Oct 27)
8. Tuesday – Oct 28 – Communication, Dustin G. Reichard (6:10 PM – 8:00 PM)
Readings (1) Complex signal function: developing a framework of testable hypotheses. (2) What do animal signals mean? (3) The central importance of information in studies of animal communication. (4) Information and Communication Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
9. Wednesday – Oct 29 – Communication, Dustin G. Reichard (6:10 PM – 8:00 PM)
Readings
(1) Animal Signals: Models and Terminology.
(2) The cost of honesty and the fallacy of the handicap principle
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio: (8.2 mb) (15.6 mb)
Discussion – Dustin G. Reichard
– Communication
– Dicussion Leader(s):Kelly Finn, Gabrielle Names
Monday Discussion (Nov 3)
10. Tuesday Nov 4 – Agent-Based Modeling – Jeff Schank
Readings
(1) Agent Based Modeling (2) Agent-based modelling as scientific method: a case study analysing primate social behaviour (3) Avoiding Synchrony as a Strategy of Female Mate Choice
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
Discussion – Jeff Schank
– Communication
– Dicussion Leader(s):Katrina Brock
Monday Discussion (Nov 10)
11. Monday Nov 10 – Animal Welfare — YeunShin Lee (5:10 PM – 7:00 PM)
Readings
(1) Evolution and animal welfare (2) Using behavior to assess animal welfare (3) A user's guide to animal welfare science (4) Conflicting and complementary ethics of animal welfare considerations in reintroductions
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
Discussion – YeunShin Lee – Animal Welfare
– Dicussion Leader(s):Tamar Boussina, Sarah Adcock
Monday Discussion (Nov 17)
12. Tuesday Nov 11 – Veterans’ Day
13. Wednesday Nov 12 – Animal Circadian Clock, Joanna Chiu
Readings (1) Circadian timekeeping and output mechanisms in animals Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
14. Tuesday Nov 18 –Lecture rescheduled for Dec 1 5:10 to 7:00 PM
15. Wednesday Nov 19 – Sensory behavior, Jamilynn Poletto
Readings
(1) Neural Processing, Perception, and Behavioral
Responsesto Natural Chemical Stimuli by Fish
and Crustaceans
(2) Conservation physiology
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio: (74.2 mb) (25.8 mb)
Discussion –
– open
– Discussion Leader(s):Emily Burke, Casey Dykier
Friday Discussion (6:10 – 7:00 PM)
16. Monday Nov. 24 – Social Interactions and Endocrine Responses, John Wingfield
Readings
(1) Hormonally-regulated trade-offs ...
(2) The concept of allostasis in biology ...
(3) What are extreme environmental conditions ...
(4) Hormone-Behaivor Interrelationships ...
(5) The comparative biology of environmental Stress ...
(6) The challenge hypothesis ...
(7) Regulatory Mechanisms that underlie ...
(8) Ecological processes and the ecology of ...
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
Discussion –
– open
– Discussion Leader(s):Sarah Adcock, Erika Mittelman
17. Tuesday Nov. 25 – Behavioral Responses to Environmental Stress and their Regulation, John Wingfield
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
19. Monday Dec 1 – Genomic Approaches to Social Behavior, Brian Johnson (5:10 PM to 7:00 PM)
Readings
(1) Large-Scale Coding Sequence Change Underlies ...
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
Discussion –
– open
– Discussion Leader(s):Katrina Brock
19. Tuesday Dec 2 – Social Behavior – Margaret Crofoot
Readings (1) Social Bonds of Female Baboons Enhance ... (2) The Social Lives of Microbes Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
20. Wednesday Dec 3 – Evolution of Mating Behavior – Ann Hedrick
Readings (1) An attractive male trait and aggressiveness ... (2) Sex differences in the repeatability of boldness ...
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio: (18.4 mb)
Discussion – Ann Hedrick – Evolution of Mating Behavior – Discussion Leader(s): Kelly Finn, Gabrielle Names Monday Discussion (1:10 – 2:00 PM)
21. Tuesday Dec 9– Movement and Migration – Marilyn Ramenofsky
Readings (1) Behavioral and physiological conflicts in migrants: the transition between migration and breeding (2) Contributions of endocrinology to the migration life history of birds (3) Regulation of migration Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
22. Wednesday Dec 10 – Movement and Migration – Marilyn Ramenofsky
Slides/Lecture Notes/Audio:
Friday Dec 12 Discussion (1:10 PM to 2:00 PM)
– Movement and Migration
– Discussion Leader(s): Rebecca Halpin
FINAL EXAM – Monday Dec. 16, 9:00 AM (24 hour take home)