Bio 363/Psy 315: Animal Behavior
Department of Biology, Westminster College
Instructor:
Katherine Robertson
217 Hoyt Science center
robertkl@westminster.edu
X 7213
Texts:
Animal Behavior; an Evolutionary
Approach, Ed 8
John Alcock, 2005
Supplemental articles provided during
the course
Course outline:
Bio 363/Psy 315 is an introduction to the fascinating field of animal behavior. This course focuses on the
relationship that animals maintain with each other and their environments through adaptation,
communication, learning and social organization. It also explores other exciting issues such as, what animal
behavior can teach us about ourselves, how economic game theory has been used to explain the evolution
of behavior, and how our understanding of animal behavior is changing the way we treat them. There will
be field work in the form of animal observations and a possible field trip to Pittsburgh Zoo or other wild
animal facility.
Pre-requisites: C- or better in Bio 203, willingness to spend a lot of time watching animals
Course objectives: students will learn to,
 Understand the mechanisms of adaptation, through evolution, for optimal reproduction and
survival
 Understand the mechanisms of adaptation, through learning and communication, for optimal
reproduction and survival
 Understand the importance of studying animals in their natural environment
 Develop skills in observation, hypothesis forming and data gathering, in the field
 Read primary literature and become familiar with current research techniques
 Understand the relationships between animal behavior and human behavior
 Be able to present clear and succinct summaries of experimental animal observations
 Express concepts and ideas clearly in writing
Course components:
Lectures: Lectures will be based on the required text, supplemental secondary and primary literature
sources and several short movies. Lectures will be both formal and/or discussion style, with some class
exercises.
Journal Clubs: We will have several journal clubs, in which teams of students will be expected to present
a primary literature article to the rest of the class for 30 points. For each presentation, there will be a
reviewing team who will critique, and lead a discussion about the article for 20 points.
Animal Observation Labs:
We will make some field trips to observe the behavior of organisms in their natural environment, as well as
making observations of organisms in the lab. Each student will record their observations, hypotheses and
data in a hard-bound lab notebook, and present their processed data and discussions in typed lab reports.
Animal Observation Project:
Each student will choose a species, which can be easily observed over a period of several weeks. The
student will observe their subject several times a week, and produce an ethogram of its behavior. The
student will also perform literature-based research into their organism, and formulate a question, hypothesis
and set of experiments, written in the style of a research proposal. Finally the student will carry out their
proposed experiment, and present their project in the form of a written report and a class presentation.
Ethics Paper:
Experiments and/or research that involve animals often provoke ethical discourse among researchers and
the public alike, because of the methods of the experiments or the implications of the data. Each student
will be asked to consider the ethical issues surrounding a key experiment or ethological observation, and
write an essay that discusses the arguments presented.
Exams:
There will be three exams, consisting of short-answer questions, based on the lecture topics and
supplemental reading materials. The first two exams are worth 100 points each; the final exam is
comprehensive and is worth 200 points
Grading:
Journal club
Journal club participation
Animal observations (~11)
Ethics paper
Observation project
Ethogram
Proposal
Paper
Presentation
Participation
Exams
Total
30
20
220
50
50
20
50
30
30
400
900
A
AB+
B
BC+
>93%
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
C
CD+
D
DF
73-76
70-72
67-69
63-66
59-62
<59
Academic integrity: The issue of academic integrity is taken very seriously at Westminster. Students are
expected to abide by the College Policy on Academic Integrity. The policy can be found at
http://www.westminster.edu/acad/pdf/undergraduate_catalog.pdf.
Academic integrity is particularly important in scientific writing. I encourage you to work together and
discuss your assignments with your colleagues, but all written assignments must be your own work.
Quotes, data, photographs or ideas taken from another source must be cited correctly. If there is
plagiarism in one of your assignments, you will receive a score of zero (0) for that assignment, and a
report will be sent, in writing, to the Dean. More than one incident of plagiarism may result in you
being awarded an F for the course.
Plagiarism includes: extensive quoting, paraphrasing or copying, from any other source; books, articles,
websites, other students work or class material; Incorrect or inadequate citation of quotes, data, ideas or
images; Directly copying experiments or research projects that have been developed by another student, or
published by another researcher.
Date
Lecture Topic
Lab and Assignments
1-21-09
1-23-09
1-26-09
1-28-09
1-30-09
2-2-09
2-4-09
2-6-09
2-9-09
2-11-09
2-13-09
2-16-09
2-18-09
2-20-09
2-23-09
2-25-09
2-27-09
3-2-09
3-4-09
3-6-09
3-9-09
3-11-09
3-13-09
3-16-09
3-18-09
3-20-09
Introduction to class
Unbiased observation
Review of Evolution
Fitness and behavioral evolution
Ch. 1, Evolution and Animal Behavior
Perception v reality
Ch. 2, Proximate/Ultimate causes
…
Ch. 3, Development of Behavior
…
…
Ch. 4, Neural Mechanisms
…
…
Exam I
Ch. 5, Neurons and Hormones
…
…
Ch. 6, Survival
…
Ch. 7, Foraging
…
…
No lab
3-23-09
3-25-09
3-27-09
3-30-09
4-1-09
4-3-09
4-6-09
4-8-09
4-10-09
4-13-09
4-15-09
4-17-09
4-20-09
4-22-09
4-24-09
4-27-09
4-29-09
5-1-09
Ch. 9, Communication
…
…
Ch. 10, Reproduction
…
Exam II
Ch. 11, Mating Systems
…
No class – Easter break
Ch. 12, Parental Care
…
…
Ch. 13, Social Behavior
…
…
Ch. 14, Human Behavior
…
…
Squirrel lab
5-4-09
5-5-09
5-6-09
Review
Friday classes meet
Reading Day
No lab
No class, Spring break
Evolution of Physical Adaptations: Finches
Observation and Ethograms: Canada Geese
(or rats)
Choose species for project (Monday)
Observer Reliability: House Crickets
(correlation)
Operant and Classical Conditioning of rats
Social Learning in Zebra fish
Journal Club (during lab)
Squirrel Foraging
Ethics paper due (Friday)
No lab

presentations
presentations
Courtship Behavior in Wasps
Ethogram and proposal due (during lab)
Trip to Living Treasures: Primate Observation
Dominance hierarchies
Human Non Verbal Communication (Mann
Whitney U test, χ2)
Project due
Final Exam: Saturday May 9th, 8:00 – 10:30 AM