Animal Behavior

Biology 550

Description | Study Questions | Syllabus | Class Handouts | Internet Resources | Makeups and Grade Improvement |

Syllabus

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. M. Novak

OFFICE: 439 Tobin Hall

OFFICE HRS: T,TH 4-5

PHONE: 5-2387

TEXT: Animal Behavior (8th Edition) by John Alcock (This text is NOT interchangeable with any previous editions).

WEB PAGE: www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~bio550/

Biology 550 is a web-supported course. The web page is divided into a number of sections including the syllabus, description, handouts, internet resources etc. An outline of the in-class material will be available the evening prior to class on the "class handouts" web page. You will find it helpful to bring a hard copy to class.

ISSUES TO CONSIDER WITH RESPECT TO SELECTING THIS COURSE (Please read this section carefully)

Studying: This course covers a lot of material and requires extensive preparation for exams. You should expect to spend about 7 hours per week outside of class studying for and preparing for this course. You will need to learn the various concepts, theories, and hypotheses used in the course, and you will need to understand the subtle differences that differentiate some concepts, theories, and hypotheses from each other. You will also be required to apply your knowledge to new examples presented in exam questions. You will be exposed to many studies of animal behavior. You will need to remember the findings from specific studies and be able to interpret their significance.

Balance between Text and Lacture: Although there is some overlap between the class material and the text, the class material will not merely be a rehash of the text. In terms of exam coverage, there will be about a 60:40 split with the class material being emphasized somewhat more than the text.

Lecture: You are strongly urged to attend class. Class sessions will include videos, new material (not contained in the text), handouts, and assignments. To help you organize the lecture material, I will provide detailed "lecture notes" which will be posted on the web page the evening prior to each class. The lecture notes will not be complete, rather there will be spaces for you to fill in as the discussion proceeds. I urge you to look over the lecture notes prior to coming to class. This will enable you to spend more time thinking about, seeing, listening, and discussing the material rather than scribbling notes. If you miss a class, you are responsible for getting the completed notes for that day, learning about any announcements, and picking up handouts or assignments. You can obtain the handouts or assignments from the TAs.

Text: The text chapters are filled with information and require careful reading. In fact, you should read all the assigned pages including figures and material presented in boxes. To help you organize this material, I will provide a set of study questions which will direct you to particular sections of the chapters.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Exams: Exam grades will be based on two exams (each worth 100 pts.) and a cumulative final exam (worth 130 pts). Each exam will consist of a mixture of multiple choice, short answer questions, and one essay question. Please click here to learn more about the exam format and what you can do to achieve a good exam result. To insure that everyone has adequate time in which to complete the 1-hour exams, the exams for this course are given in the evening from 7-9 PM on Tuesday, March 7th and Thursday, April 13th.

Missed Exams: If you miss one of the two regularly scheduled exams, you must take the corresponding makeup exam given on May 2nd from 7-9 pm. You must be able to make this time. Both the first and second makeup exams will be given on this date. Although some time will have passed for those taking the first exam makeup, a review of this material at this time will greatly facilitate study for the upcoming final exam which is cumulative. The format of the makeup exam will be somewhat different than the regular exam. It will not include any multiple choice questions, just matching, short answer, and one essay. You can read more about the makeup by going to the Makeups and Grade Improvement page on this site.

Short Assignments: You will receive short assignments distributed in class at four points during the semester. For each assignment, you will receive a description, a set of questions, and a due date. Assignments will not be accepted after the due date. Each assignment will be graded pass/fail. If you pass, you will receive 10 points, if you do not pass, you will be given one opportunity to correct one assignment. You must complete 3 out of 4 assignments yielding a total of 30 pts (10 pts for each assignment). Assignments will be available only in class.

The final grade in this course is based on a total of 360 pts.

• First Exam = 100 pts
• Second Exam = 100 pts
• Cumulative Final Exam = 130 pts
• 3 Short Assignments (10 pts each) = 30

Grade Improvement: There are two ways in which you can attempt to improve your grade (exam option or paper option). In both cases, your score will be AVERAGED with the relevant exam score. If you do not miss the first or the 2nd exam, you can take either the first or the second makeup exam (usually your lower score) on May 2nd from 7-9 pm. Your makeup exam score will be then averaged with the corresponding regular exam score. Alternatively, you can choose to write a paper. This is a structured paper requiring you to select an area and species, develop a hypothesis, and then construct a study to test the hypothesis. You can read more about the paper option here. Students who miss an exam can only use the paper option. Like the makeup exam, the paper will be graded on the basis of 100 pts, and it will be AVERAGED with the lower of your two exam scores.

SCHEDULE

Below you will find a schedule of upcoming topics and reading assignments. This a tentative schedule. I may get off track along the way (depending in part upon the amount of in-class discussion) and I may change the order of topics. Nonetheless, the exam days of March 7th and April 13th will remain fixed.

DATE	TOPIC	READINGS
Jan 31	Introduction - Questions about behavior, Natural Selection	Chap 1
Feb 02	Natural Selection- Inclusive Fitness	Chap 13 (453-465)
Feb 07	Historical Approaches - Ethology/ Behaviorism/ Development	Chap 3
Feb 09	Methodology (Scientific Method)	Chap 13 (446-447)
Feb 14	Methodology (Observational Method)	Handouts
Feb 16	Causation (bats and moths)	Chap 4 (98-130)
Feb 23	Development (acquisition of bird song)	Chap 2
Feb 28	Development (acquisition of bird song)
Mar 02	Function (egg shell removal)	Chap 6 (175-186)
Mar 07	In-class Review Session	Review
Mar 07	Exam Tues 7-9 PM
Mar 09	Foraging Strategies (Bee Dances)	Chap 7 (232-237)
Mar 14	Foraging Models (Birds)	Chap 7
Mar 16	Foraging
Mar 18-26	Spring Break
Mar 28	Orientation and Migration	Chap 8 (252-263), Chap 4 (130-140)
Mar 30	Navigation in Birds
Apr 04	Communication	Chap 9
Apr 06	Communication
Apr 11	Predator-Prey	Chap 6
Apr 13	In class Review	Review
Apr 13	Exam Thurs 7-9 PM
Apr 13	Predator-Prey	Chap 8
Apr 18	Dispersal and Territoriality
Apr 20	Sexual Selection	Chap 10
Apr 25	Sexual Selection
Apr 27	Mating Systems	Chap 11
May 02	Mating Systems
May 04	Strategies of Parenthood	Chap 12
May 09	Strategies of Parenthood
May 11	Social Organization	Chap 13 (437-452)
May 16	Perspectives

 CHEATING

All students are expected to adhere scrupulously to the University Policy concerning academic honesty. Information about academic honesty can be found at ___________. Cheating is unethical and dishonorable and undermines the hard, honest work of other students. Cheating includes but is not limited to the list below:

• using notes or crib sheets of any kind during exams
• copying information from another person's exam
• exchanging information during exams through conversation, sign language etc.
• allowing another person to copy your exam
• submitting a paper that is not written by you
• submitting a paper containing plagiarized information.
  • Plagiarism refers to the direct copying of published or unpublished work of others without appropriately quoting the author(s).
  • Plagiarism also refers to describing someone's ideas in your own words but not appropriately citing or giving credit to that individual.
  • Plagiarism can exist if your sentences are similar but not identical to the original work. Merely changing a few small words or switching from active to passive voice does not overcome the problem of plagiarism. Please be careful, provide full citations for your paper, and don't rely too heavily on your notes of articles if you tend to copy the author's words verbatim.

NOTE: We scan assignments and search for plagiarism, so please be very careful when submitting your assignments. For those who plan to write a paper, all papers must be submitted electronically, and papers will be scanned for plagiarism.

 INFORMATION, QUESTIONS, CONVERSATIONS, AND THE LIKE:

 I would like to encourage you to come to my office (or the TA's) to discuss lecture and/or book material, careers, graduate or medical school or anything important to you. My office hours are listed above, however, I am often in my office at other times. I won't always be free to talk with you, but you can schedule an appointment with my staff assistant, if necessary (rm 438). You may also query me over email at mnovak@psych.umass.edu. If your question(s) requires a detailed response, I will suggest that you see me during my office hours.

 I encourage questions during the lecture. If you prefer, please feel free to also ask me questions before or after class. I will usually arrive 5-10 minutes early for each class to set up the computer equipment. It will take me another 5-10 minutes after class to shut the system down and collect everything.

Description | Study Questions | Syllabus | Class Handouts | Internet Resources | Makeups and Grade Improvement |

Produced and maintained by Melinda Novak (mnovak@psych.umass.edu)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

last updated - 1/10/05