BIOL 27 Animal Behavior
Behavioral sciences are extremely broad and the study of animal behavior requires an interdisciplinary approach that integrates psychology, ecology, evolutionary biology, neural science and the underpinnings of learning and memory science. We will draw on each of these fields as we explore topics ranging from signaling and cognition to mating behaviors and sexual selection to foraging and optimality theory. We will consider how proximate and ultimate causality structure behavior throughout the animal kingdom. Thus, the course will take an evolutionary approach to understand behavior in vertebrates and insects and other invertebrates; in fresh water and marine systems, and in terrestrial groups. Offered in alternate years.
Instructor
R. Calsbeek