Agent-Based Models » ANB 218a 2017

ANB 218a 2017

Fundamentals of Animal Behavior

Fall 2017

Instructor: Jeff Schank (original instructor: Don Owings)

Email: jcschank@ucdavis.edu

Office: 268D Young Hall

Phone: 752-6332

Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10:30-11:50 and by appointment

Course description: This is the first of a two-quarter sequence. ANB 218b will be offered Winter 2018, and led by Andy Sih, Environmental Science and Policy. The goal of this course is to sample current and traditional topics in the field of animal behavior. You will learn about the basic phenomena, concepts, and theoretical approaches of animal behavior, but no two-quarter sequence can provide the entire breadth and depth of animal behavior.

When: TR: 6:10 PM to 8:00 PM

Discussion: F 11:00 AM to 11:50 AM (unless otherwise noted)

Adjustments: Due to the nature of this course, adjustments may be required for some speakers and discussion.

Where:

Lectures: 145 Young Hall

Discussion: 1166 Young Hall

Grading:

40% from course position/perspective paper

20% participation in discussions

40% final exam

Course details:

(1) Different topics in animal behavior are covered by different speakers. Each speaker has been asked to lecture on the assigned topic, and then may moderate a 25 minutes to 50 minutes (when possible) with student-led discussion on the topic. That is, each two-hour lecture, we will have 25 minutes of discussion.

(2) All of you will participate in each discussion. To facilitate discussions, for each lecture topic, you will submit two topics for discussion to anb218a-f17@ucdavis.edu before the scheduled date of the discussion. This will allow everyone to consider the topics you raise before discussion. A discussion topic is typically a couple of sentences setting the context for a question on a topic.

(3) Each speaker will provide readings prior to the beginning of his/her lectures. Please prepare for lectures by reading that material.

(4) Speakers may assign additional material (e.g., problem sets).

(5) The course position/perspective paper is a 10-20 page paper (estimated length) in which you review and discuss the various topics presented during this course from two positions/perspectives (1) how these topics fit into your view of animal behavior generally and (2) how they fit into your position/perspective on the research you plan to pursue during academic study at UC Davis. Not every topic will be equally relevant to (2), so you probably will emphasize those topics of particular interest. A good strategy for writing this paper would be to write up one to several paragraphs on each topic informed by the lectures, readings, and discussions each week. The course position/perspective paper then becomes largely a matter of assembling and organizing the paragraphs you have written during the course with an introduction and discussion/conclusion section.

On Nov 16, you will submit a working draft of your position/perspective paper to anb218a-f17@ucdavis.edu. It will not be complete with respect to topics, but it should be a good first draft. Everyone can look over everyone else’s papers to see if there are ideas and approaches that could be incorporate into your own papers. In addition, I will assign each of you another person’s paper to review. The review will be 5% of your grade and will be part of the 40% positions/perspective paper. I’ll send the reviews to the corresponding authors of the papers.

On Dec 13, you will submit the final version of your position/perspective to jcschank@ucdavis.edu so that I’ll have time enough to grade them.

(6) The course will have a 24-hour written take home final exam.

CLASS SCHEDULE

Fundamentals of Animal Behavior (ANB/PSC 218A – Schank Instructor)

Lecture times – TR 6:10–8:00 PM

Discussion times – 11:00 to 11:50 AM

1. Thursday – Sep 27 – Organize Jeff Schank

Slides/Lecture Notes

2. Tuesday Oct. 3 – Behavioral endocrinology, Tom Hahn

Readings

(1) Physiological regulatory networks: ecological roles and evolutionary constraints

(2) Hormonal Control and Evolution of Alternative Male Phenotypes: Generalizations of Models for Sexual Differentiation