Graduate Curriculum Committee Course Proposal Form
for Courses Numbered 6000 and Higher
Note: Before completing this form, please carefully read the accompanying instructions.
Submission guidelines are posted to the GCC Web site: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/gcc/index.cfm
1. Course prefix and number:
BIOL 7740/7741
2. Date:
09/26/2011
3. Requested action:
New Course
X
X
Revision of Active Course
Revision & Unbanking of a Banked Course
Renumbering of an Existing Course from
from
#5740/41 to
Required
X
#7740/41
Elective
4. Method(s) of delivery (check all boxes that apply for both current/proposed and expected
future delivery methods within the next three years):
Current or
Proposed Delivery
Method(s):
X
On-campus (face to face)
Expected
Future Delivery
Method(s):
X
Distance Course (face to face off campus)
Online (delivery of 50% or more of the instruction is offered online)
5. Justification (must cite accreditation and/or assessment by the graduate faculty) for new course
or course revision or course renumbering:
Evaluation of the graduate curriculum by the Biology Graduate Committee
revealed the need for course work emphasizing the integration of subdisciplines of biology, and expanding course offerings to doctoral students
in Biology. Behavioral ecology is the study of the environmental, genetic
and social factors that influence the evolution of animal behavior. The field
combines theoretical principles from evolutionary biology with methods
from ecology, genetics and behavior to obtain a deeper understanding of
issues of theoretical interest.
6. Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
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7740, 7741. Behavioral Ecology (4,0) Formerly 5740, 5741 3 lecture and 2
discussion hours per week. P: Permission of instructor. Animal behavior
investigated through the integration of evolution, ecology, and genetics.
Readings from a text and current scientific literature, and weekly
discussions.
7. If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:
Change from 5000 to 7000 level course.
8. Course credit:
Lecture Hours
2
1
4
0
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
Studio
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Practicum
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Internship
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Lab
Other (e.g., independent study) Please explain.
s.h.
s.h.
s.h.
4
Total Credit Hours
s.h.
15
9. Anticipated annual student enrollment:
10. Changes in degree hours of your programs:
Degree(s)/Program(s)
Changes in Degree Hours
NA
11. Affected degrees or academic programs, other than your programs:
Degree(s)/Program(s)
Changes in Degree Hours
PhD IDPBS
NA
12. Overlapping or duplication with affected units or programs:
X Not applicable
Documentation of notification to the affected academic degree programs is
attached.
13. Council for Teacher Education (CTE) approval (for courses affecting teacher education):
X Not applicable
Applicable and CTE has given their approval.
14. University Service-Learning Committee (USLC) approval:
X Not applicable
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Applicable and USLC has given their approval.
15. Statements of support:
a. Staff
Current staff is adequate
X
Additional staff is needed (describe needs in the box below):
b. Facilities
X Current facilities are adequate
Additional facilities are needed (describe needs in the box below):
c. Library
X
Initial library resources are adequate
Initial resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and an
estimate for the cost of acquisition of required initial resources):
d. Unit computer resources
X
Unit computer resources are adequate
Additional unit computer resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief
explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition):
e. ITCS resources
X
ITCS resources are not needed
The following ITCS resources are needed (put a check beside each need):
Mainframe computer system
Statistical services
Network connections
Computer lab for students
Software
Approval from the Director of ITCS attached
16. Course information (see: Graduate Curriculum and Program Development Manual for
instructions):
a. Textbook(s) and/or readings: author(s), name, publication date, publisher, and
city/state/country. Include ISBN (when applicable).
Westneat, D.F., and C.W. Fox (Eds). (2008). Evolutionary Behavioral
Ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
b. Course objectives for the course (student – centered, behavioral focus)
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
Students taking this course will:
Demonstrate knowledge of the history and development of the field of
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behavioral ecology.
Demonstrate an understanding of how natural selection affects animal
behavior in an ecological context.
Explain the important issues and controversies associated with the major
areas of research in behavioral ecology, including life history strategies,
sexual reproduction, the evolution of parental care, sexual selection,
kinship, cooperation, and reciprocity.
Demonstrate proficiency in interpreting and presenting reviews of recent
scientific research in behavioral ecology.
Employ library research to acquire data and background information for
an independent comparative analysis of behavioral ecological data.
Conduct a comparative analysis of behavioral ecological data, and
integrate the analysis findings with a written review of relevant scientific
literature
c. Course topic outline
Part I: Introduction to Behavioral Ecology
Lecture 1: Behavioral Ecology: History and Overview (Chapter 1)
Lecture 2: Adaptation and Selection (Chapter 2-3)
Discussion 1: Introduction
Lecture 3: Life History and Fitness (Chapter 4)
Lecture 4: Genetics and Selection (Chapter 5)
Disc. 2: Behavioral Ecology and Selection
Lecture 5: Comparative Analysis (Chapter 7)
Lecture 6: Phenotypic Plasticity (Chapter 6)
Disc. 3: Environmental and Genetic Effects
Lecture 7: Modeling and Game Theory (Chapter 8, 15)
Part II: Sexual Reproduction
Lecture 8: The Evolution of Sex
Disc. 4: Comparative Analysis
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Lecture 9: Sexual Selection and Parental Investment (Chapter 20-22)
Lecture 10: The Evolution of Parental Care (Chapter 26)
Disc 5: Sex and Evolution
Lecture 11: Sexual Selection and Mate Choice (Chapter 16, 24)
Lecture 12: Sexual Conflict (Chapter 23)
Disc. 6: Sexual Selection
Lecture 13: Mating Systems (Chapter 20)
Lecture 14: Alternative Strategies (Chapter 25)
Disc. 7: Genetics and mate choice
Lecture 15: Sexual Selection and Immunity
Lecture 16: Sex Allocation
Disc. 8: Sexual conflict & mating systems
Part III: Sociality
Lecture 17: Kinship (Chapter 18)
Lecture 18: Cooperation (Chapter 18)
Disc. 9: Kin and Individual Recognition
Lecture 19: Parent-Offspring Conflict
Lecture 20: Genomic Imprinting
Disc. 10: Parent-Offspring Conflicts
Lecture 21: Reproductive Parasitism
Lecture 22: Cooperative Breeding and Reproductive Skew (Chapter 17)
Disc. 11: Brood Parasitism
Lecture 23: Eusociality (Chapter 19)
Lecture 24: Reciprocity (Chapter 18)
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Disc. 12: Cooperation
Part IV: Human Social Evolution
Lecture 25: Cooperation and Conflict in Human Societies (Chapter 31)
Lecture 26: Sociality and Cognition (Chapter 10, 31)
Disc. 13: Direct and Indirect Reciprocity
Lecture 27: Human Social Evolution (Chapter 31)
Lecture 28: Evolution of the Human Psyche
Disc. 14: Human Sociality
d. List of course assignments, weighting of each assignment, and grading/evaluation system
for determining a grade
Assignment
% of grade
1 midterm exam
25
1 final exam
25
Discussion/presentation
25
Comparative analysis paper
25
10
Grading scale
A = 90 – 100%
B = 80 – 89%
C = 70 – 79%
F  69%
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