sign in sign up
<<
Home , Zoosemiotics

Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

ADVANCED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR: Theories and Applications (PSYO 3162 and NESC 3162)

Fall term 2020 Lectures: Asynchronous Lecturer and teaching assistant:

Function Office hours email Phone #

Dr. Simon Gadbois Lecturer Material: Wednesday, 13:00 to 14:00; Advising: Tuesday, 14:00 to 15:00 [email protected] 902–494–8848

Laura Kiiroja, IDPhD candidate Teaching assistant TBA [email protected] n/a

Course Description and Course Prerequisites

This course focuses on advanced theories and applications of animal behaviour, with a focus on proximate, integrative and applied questions. It ofers a more in-depth analysis of topics covered in NESC/PSYO 2160.03 and explores trends and issues in contemporary , animal psychology and behavioural ecology. FORMATS: Lecture LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 3 PREREQUISITES: PSYO 2000.03 or NESC 2007 or BIOL 3062.03 or BIOL 3630.03, and NESC 2160.03/PSYO 2160.03 CROSSLISTED: PSYO and NESC 3162.03

Overview

General: This course will focus on advanced theories and applications of animal behaviour, with a focus on proximate, integrative and applied questions. It will ofer a more in-depth analysis of topics covered in PSYO/NESC 2160 and will explore trends and issues in contemporary animal psychology and behavioural biology (ethology, /behavioural ecology).

Specific: The approach will emphasize proximate issues in animal social behaviour with a special attention to the neurophysiological, endocrinological, social, afective, conative and

1 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

cognitive underpinnings of communication and social behaviour. Reference to applied animal , conservation and behaviour, human-animal interactions and conflicts, welfare and other contemporary issues in animal behaviour will be made.

Course Objectives/Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Understand, explain and apply fundamental principles of behavioural biology and to practical problems in conservation, medical, and other real world applied areas. 2. Understand and explain the advanced principles of and zoosemiotics, including inter-specific associations and interactions. 3. Understand and explain the role of the behavioural sciences and neurosciences (e.g., neuroecology) in conservation. 4. Understand and explain the diferent applications of the behavioural sciences and neurosciences to applied research in animal behaviour, including in the context of the R&D model (research and development) of applied animal research (the focus will be on non-profit applications, e.g., health and conservation). 5. Synthesize and integrate the methodologies and perspectives of behavioural biology (ethology and behavioural ecology) and comparative (or animal) psychology. For example: Using principles of classical conditioning in wildlife management or captive breeding of endangered species. Course content: Advanced and applied topics in animal behaviour.

The focus will be on:

1. Vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) 2. Proximate questions. 3. Communication. 4. Applied animal behaviour. 5. New trends in animal behaviour. 6. Case studies on specific research programs. Course Materials

Lecture notes: A Brightspace site is activated for the course. Lecture notes and grades (PDF files of spreadsheet/links to web pages, etc) will be posted.

Note that:

2 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

Lecture notes are posted before class, but updates can be uploaded after class as well. Lecture notes are only an outline, Dr. Gadbois does not use “slides” as a teleprompter. This means that missing class translates into missing crucial information for an exam. You should be annotating the lecture notes provided (outline).

Textbook: The following textbook is suggested for students wanting a textbook (but not mandatory, and not at the bookstore. Second hand hard copies are likely available for sale online. Note that the ebook version is cheaper): Bradbury, J.W. and Vehrencamp, S.L. (2011). Principles of Animal Communication, Second Edition. Oxford/Sinauer. Other material: Scientific papers on specific topics may be suggested at any time during the term. Other resources are listed below (“other resources”). Course assessment Evaluations:

Test questions are a mix of multiple choice questions, simple true/false questions, multiple select questions and short question/short answer (except for the final). The final is cumulative. Note that you will be tested on:

1. Material from the lecture notes. 2. Material presented in class not included in the readings or the lecture notes.

In order to pass this course you need to:

Write the two midterms and the final exam. Complete the term project (and submit both parts of the project). And obviously obtain a final grade of 50% or more (minimum D). No resolution of missed exams or non-submitted assessments = INC for the course. Note that an INC that is not addressed within a month of the end of a class will result in a failure of the course (F).

Term projects

We will require individuals or teams of two (maximum) to prepare a research proposal for a project in animal behaviour.

1. An outline of the project will be submitted for approval. 2. The actual proposal will be submitted/presented: it consists of a virtual (digital) poster presented in a recorded or live session (3-minute presentation).

3 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

Note that both the outline and the poster will require an electronic submission. A plagiarism detection system will be used in this course.

The topics:

Presentation of a proposal for a study (experimental or observational; field or lab) looking at a specific behaviour, of a specific species, preferably relating to social behaviour and/or communication.

The topics can be:

Applied: e.g., wildlife conservation Comparative (comparing 2 or more species. taxa) Proximate: from a neuroecology/, sensory ecology/ethology, (neuro)/ecology, etc.

All topics need to be approved by Gadbois and Kiiroja. As mentioned above, both the outline and the proposal need to be submitted to pass the course.

Grades:

The instructor is required to submit marks in letter grade format. The letter grade equivalents of numerical grades are shown below (from the Dalhousie Common Grade scale). Grades are not negotiable.

F D C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A A+

0–49 50–54 55–59 60–64 65–69 70–72 73–76 77–79 80–84 85–89 90+

Assessments:

All assessments will be done online. Dates for exams are based on a 24-hour access to the test. Presentations will be done using Microsoft Teams if the students decide to adopt the interactive (as opposed to pre-recorded).

4 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

Evaluations Break-down Dates % of total

Midterm 1 October 2nd 20%

Midterm 2 November 6th 20%

Final exam TBA 20%

Project: Virtual poster and short presentation of a proposal 40%

Outline (5%) October 2nd

Final copy of poster (15%) October 30th

3-minute presentations (20%) — by appointment November 2nd to December 7th

Course content

This is a topic-based course that uses, among others, themes presented in the textbook mentioned above (Bradbury & Vehrencamp). Note that other topics are covered and are not included in that textbook. I will consult with the class early in the term (lecture 1 and 2) for a focus to the topics to cover from the ones listed below:

5 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

# Topics Book chapters

1 General intro and animal taxonomy Lecture notes

2 Zoosemiotics and information; proposals Lecture notes

3 Communication and signals Chapter 1

4 Bioacoustics Chapter 2 and chapter 3

5 Social odours, pheromones and olfaction Chapter 6

6 Decisions and information Chapter 8

7 Signal evolution Chapter 10

8 Conflicts and conflict resolution Chapter 11

9 Social integration Chapter 13

10 Environmental signals Chapter 14

11 Communication and social networks Chapter 15

12 Generalities on applied animal behaviour Lecture notes

13 Generalities on “conservation behaviour” or conservation ethology , the importance of behaviour and ethological methods Lecture notes

14 Other ethological considerations in conservation ethology: Habitat selection, foraging, anti-predator behaviour, bioacoustics, individuality and personality, Lecture notes demographic factors, other considerations

Other resources (just examples):

6 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

General:

Barnard, C. (2004). Animal Behaviour: Mechanism, Development, Function and Evolution. Pearson. Goodenough, J., McGuire, B., Jakob, E. (2009). Perspectives on Animal Behavior. John Wiley and Sons. Hogan, J.A. (2017). The Study of Behavior: Organization, Methods and Principles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nordell, S. E. & Valone, T. J. (2014). Animal Behavior: Concepts, Methods, and Applications. Oxford University Press. Olmsted, M.C. and Kuhlmeier, V.A. (2015). Comparative Cognition. Cambridge University Press. Ploger, B. J. and Yasukawa, K. (2003). Exploring animal behavior in laboratory and field: an hypothesis-testing approach to the development, causation, function, and evolution of animal behavior. Academic Press.

Applied animal behaviour:

Blumstein, D.T. and Fernández-Juricic, E. (2010). A Primer of Conservation Behavior. Sinauer. Mills, D. S. (2010). The Encyclopedia of Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare. C.A.B. International. Price, E. O. (2008). Principles and applications of domestic animal behavior: an introductory text. C.A.B. International. Berger-Tal, O. and Saltz, D., eds. (2016). Conservation Behavior: Applying Behavioural Ecology to Wildlife Conservation and Management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Animal communication:

Bradbury, J.W. and Vehrencamp, S.L. (2011). Principles of Animal Communication, Second Edition. Oxford/Sinauer. Hauser, M. (1996). The Evolution of Communication. MIT Press. Hauser, M. & Konishi, M. (1999). The Design of Animal Communication. MIT Press. Maynard Smith, J. & Harper, D. (2003). Animal Signals. Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution. McGregor, P. (2005). Animal Communication Networks. Cambridge University Press. Searcy, W. A. & Nowicki, S. (2005). The Evolution of Animal Communication. Princeton University Press. Stegmann, U.E. (2013). Animal Communication Theory: Information and Influence. Cambridge University Press. Stevens, M. (2013). Sensory Ecology, Behaviour, and Evolution. Oxford University Press. Course policies

7 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

Missed lectures:

It is particularly important that you realize you will be accountable for material covered in lectures and any other material provided (e.g., articles).

Missed tests/exams:

Students who have missed a midterm exam due to debilitating distress or illness, must print, complete, and the STUDENT DECLARATION OF ABSENCE then send it (hard copy) to Dr Gadbois within 72 hours of the absence. Do not delay providing Dr. Gadbois with documentation. Failure to provide documentation within a reasonable period of time may cause your mark for the test to be listed as zero.

This form may only be used a maximum of two (2) times throughout the term and may only cover three (3) consecutive days of absence. This form may NOT be used for Final Exams or for absences lasting more than three (3) consecutive days.

Consult this link for more details

For long-term or chronic absences please speak with an Advisor at the Student Advising and Access Services or visit Health Services on-campus. For long-term or chronic absences please speak with either:

An advisor at the Student Advising and Access Services. The Assistant Dean of Student Afairs (at the Faculty of Science). Your own physician or visit Health Services on-campus.

There are no actual make-ups for a missed midterm: Your final exam adds the of the missed midterm. In other words, your final will weigh more (the value of the final + the value of the missed midterm).

If you miss both midterms, you will need a special permission from the Assistance Dean of Student Afairs (see above), and your final, if the absence is justified and approved, will be worth 100% of your grade.

If you miss the final, only students with a valid and documented excuse will have the following options (at the discretion of Dr. Gadbois):

1. You write an essay question exam.

8 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

2. You take an oral exam (~30 minute recorded session; ~10 questions). Cancelled midterms

If a midterm is cancelled due to weather or other force majeure events, the new date will be announced as soon as possible on Brightspace.

Missed deadlines: day missed include weekend days and holidays.

Electronic copies need to be submitted on time in PDF. Days missed include weekend days and holidays.

1. Missed deadline on the due day: –5% (e.g., lab is due at 10 am, you submit it at 11 am the same day) 2. Day 1 missed: –10% (the lab is submitted the day after it is due) 3. Day 2 missed: –25% 4. Day 3 missed: –50% 5. Beyond day 3: 0% is submitted as a grade for the assignment Plagiarism

All the information you need is here. It is your responsibility to read, understand and respect the guidelines presented there. Make sure you understand the concept of “self-plagiarism”: you are not allowed to “re-cycle” papers or other projects submitted in other courses. See also the student calendar for more information.

University Policies and Statements

This course is governed by the academic rules and regulations set forth in the University Calendar and by Senate.

Academic Integrity

At Dalhousie University, we are guided in all of our work by the values of academic integrity: honesty, trust, fairness, responsibility and respect (The Center for Academic Integrity, Duke University, 1999). As a student, you are required to demonstrate these values in all of the work you do. The University provides policies and procedures that every member of the university community is required to follow to ensure academic integrity. Online information here.

9 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

Accessibility

The Advising and Access Services Centre is Dalhousie’s centre of expertise for student accessibility and accommodation. The advising team works with students who request accommodation as a result of a disability, religious obligation, or any barrier related to any other characteristic protected under Human Rights legislation (Canada and Nova Scotia). Online information here.

Student of Conduct

Everyone at Dalhousie is expected to treat others with dignity and respect. The Code of Student Conduct allows Dalhousie to take disciplinary action if students don’t follow this community expectation. When appropriate, violations of the code can be resolved in a reasonable and informal manner—perhaps through a restorative justice process. If an informal resolution can’t be reached, or would be inappropriate, procedures exist for formal dispute resolution. Code online.

Diversity and Inclusion – Culture of Respect

Every person at Dalhousie has a right to be respected and safe. We believe inclusiveness is fundamental to education. We stand for equality. Dalhousie is strengthened in our diversity. We are a respectful and inclusive community. We are committed to being a place where everyone feels welcome and supported, which is why our Strategic Direction prioritizes fostering a culture of diversity and inclusiveness Statement online.

Recognition of Mi’kmaq Territory

Dalhousie University would like to acknowledge that the University is on Traditional Mi’kmaq Territory. The Elders in Residence program provides students with access to First Nations elders for guidance, counsel and support. Visit or e-mail the Indigenous Student Centre (1321 Edward St; [email protected]). Online information here.

Important Dates in the Academic Year (including add/drop dates)

Important dates online

University Grading Practices

Grading practices online.

10 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

Missed or Late Academic Requirements due to Student Absence (policy)

SDA policies online

SDA form

Student Resources and Support Advising

General Advising Science Program Advisors Indigenous Student Centre Black Students Advising Centre International Centre

Academic supports

Library Writing Centre Studying for Success Copyright Ofce Fair Dealing Guidelines

Other supports and services

Student Health & Wellness Centre Student Advocacy Ombudsperson

Safety

Biosafety

11 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM Advanced Animal Behaviour - Fall 2020 file:///Users/suzanneking/Documents/Data/Data/Syllabi/2020:2021/Fall/NESC_PSYO-3162-Fall-2020-Gadbois.html

Chemical Safety Radiation Safety Scent-Free Program

12 of 12 2020-09-02, 5:44 PM