You may select the "paper option" in an attempt to improve the score of one exam grade. You must first select a topic and have it approved in advance by me (no later than April 19, 2011). The paper will be graded on a 100 point scale, and your score on the paper will be averaged with the lower of your two exam scores. This averaging policy should encourage you to hand in a carefully edited, thoughtfully written paper so as not to risk lowering your grade. You can always decide at the last moment not to turn one in, but you cannot decide to turn a paper in at the last moment that has not been approved in advance. The paper must be on some aspect of animal not human behavior (see possible topics listed below). Your paper must then be structured in the following way:

BACKGROUND SECTION (about 2-3 pg): In this section you are to provide a description of the topic area characterizing a number of studies. You should read at least 6 journal articles on the topic, and the articles should be referenced in your paper.

HYPOTHESIS SECTION (about 1 pg): In this section, you should formulate a specific hypothesis based on the above literature review. This can be an existing hypothesis developed by someone else (if it hasn't been tested), or it can be one that you have developed based on your readings. In this section, you should include any additional information that bears directly on your hypothesis that may not have been covered in the background section.

EXPERIMENTAL SECTION (about 5 pg): In this section, you are to develop a study that would further our knowledge about the hypothesis. You will need to generate predictions and then describe EXACTLY how you would test these predictions. Your study should be described in great detail including all the relevant observational methods (vantage point, subject sampling, measurement etc) and experimental methods (see section on approaches).

SIGNIFICANCE SECTION (about 1-2 pg.): In this section, you should describe several possible outcomes of your study and what the significance of each outcome might be.

REQUIREMENTS

LENGTH: The paper can be no less than 10 pages and no more than 12 pages of double-spaced typing, excluding your reference page. Points will be deducted for papers that do not conform to this requirement.

FORMAT: The paper should consist of four sections described above: 1) Background in which you "introduce" your topic and provide evidence, 2) Hypothesis in which you formulate an hypothesis and develop your predictions, 3) Experiment in which you describe the study designed to test your predictions, and 4) Significance in which you indicate possible outcomes and their importance. Sections 1,2, and 4 will be worth 20 points each. Section 3 will be worth 40 points.

REFERENCES: You must use at least six references which should be cited in the text and listed in a separate section entitled REFERENCES. For every citation in the text, there must be a reference in the reference section. Conversely, every reference listed in the reference section must be cited in the text at least once.

EDITING: Please be sure to proof-read your paper carefully. It should be free of typo errors, misspellings, and grammatical mistakes. I am not looking for glitzy writing, just clear ideas communicated in a straightforward manner. All procedures described above should be followed exactly. Points will be deducted if these procedures are not followed.

DUE DATE: The papers are due on on the last day of the final exam period.

Possible Topic Areas (these are areas not hypotheses)

1. self recognition in monkeys and apes

2. mate choice copying

3. song learning in cowbirds

4. alarm signals in vervet monkeys

5. neuroanatomical correlates of song in canaries

6. the use of magnetic cues in homing pigeons

7. the use of olfactory cues in homing pigeons

8. the use of search image in birds - experimental and field work

9. sexual selection in the satin bower bird

10. infanticide in rodents

11. infanticide in monkeys

12. nocturnal migrants - what cues do they use?

13. the function of play in dogs and other canids

You may select other topics but whatever topic you select (whether it be from the list above or not) must be approved in advance by me. Please also note that I often have information on potential sources. You should feel free to come in and discuss your ideas (particularly with respect to section 3) and get information on references.