ZL3026:03
Animal Behaviour
Townsville
Prerequisites: 12 units of level 2 Biological Sciences subjects
Inadmissable Subject Combination: ZL5026
39 lectures, 3 tutorials, 18 hours laboratory, 12 hours field work. First semester.
Staff: Dr R J Rowe.
General principles of animal behaviour in an evolutionary context. Includes: methods for interpreting behaviour studies, ontogenetic development of behaviour, foraging behaviour, mating systems, animal communication.
Topics include determinants of behaviour; evolution – the selective advantage of behaviours; ethology and comparative psychology; sociobiology; optimality; optimal foraging theory; closed and open programs; learning in nature and the laboratory; critical periods – imprinting; ontogenetic changes in behaviour patterns; navigation; intra-specific interactions; predation and predatory versatility; mating systems; courtship; communication.
Learning Objectives:
- understand the intellectual foundation of behavioural studies;
- understand methodological principles in behaviour studies;
- obtain an understanding of the empirical basis for behaviour studies;
- obtain a synoptic view of animal behaviour by examining selected case studies.
Assessment by a three-hour examination (60%), and either one or two essays (40% total).