Behavioral Ecology: Biology 528, 528L, 592B. Spring 2013.

Course Level: This is a 500 level course, defined by the University Catalog as "intended primarily for graduate students...." This course will be taught at a graduate level appropriate for MS students with identical high expectations for both undergraduate and graduate students. Biology 322 (Evolution) or graduate standing are pre-requisites for enrollment. Undergraduate students who have not taken Biology 330/L (Design and Analysis of Experiments) and/or Biology 502/L (Biometry) or any of our upper division 300 or 400 level field courses may be at a disadvantage.

Course Objectives:  This course is intended to provide students with an intensive examination of the modern field of behavioral ecology, that is, the quantitative analysis of behavior in an ecological and evolutionary framework.  The course consists of lecture (ca. 2 hours/week), laboratory (ca. 3 hours/week), and fieldwork including an original research project (ca. 3 hours/week).  Emphasis will be placed on hypothesis testing using both observational and experimental approaches.

Lecture (Bio. 528) will cover major topics in behavioral ecology, using Davies et al. 2012. An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology, 4th Edition. [about $55 on Amazon, ISBN 1405114169]. 

We will also read selections of original literature and from Olivia Judson's fabulous Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation [about $11 on Amazon, ISBN 0805063323].

Lab (Bio. 528L) will serve several functions.

• Background and preparation for fieldwork.
• Discussions of the journal readings related to the lecture and field topics.
• Data collection and management tutorials, e.g. using Microsoft Excel, as well as statistics and data analysis using available software packages.
• Processing of field data, e.g. mathematical summary, analysis and presentation of data.
• Specific lab behavior excercises, assignments, etc.

Expectations and Grading:  I expect full participation, which means more than simply showing up.  It means actively engaging the material in lecture, lab and field situations. Questions and interaction are always encouraged!! You are required to sign up for all three components of the course, but you will receive only two grades, one for lecture and one for lab + field.  Possible grades are A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, F.

• Lecture will be graded based on a midterm (40%), Sex Advice presentation and costume party (20%), and a second exam (40%); exams will cover journal article readings as well as the lecture and text material.
• Lab/Field will be graded based on lab reports (50%), paper discussion (20%), and original research project presentation (15%) and write-up (15%). That project MUST be field based, and collect data on wild animals in a basically natural setting (no labs, no parks, no zoos). You write up that project in the same manner as published scientific research; you can work alone or in pairs (no, not 3's) for experimental design and data collection, but you each submit your own paper.
• Missing a required weekend fieldtrip results in a one letter grade loss from the lab/field component of the course (i.e. from maximum grade of A to maximum grade of B) in addition to loss of the Lab Report points.
• Paper Discussion 20 points: for each class session with assigned paper reading, at the beginning of class, you need to hand in a typed list of 5 points for discussion related to the assigned reading. I will grade those written comments (10 points) and will also grade your contributions to the verbal discussion (10 points).
• Written papers (lab reports and original field research project): Must be written in scientific style (Intro, Methods, Results, Discussion, References). Must be original, not plagiarized (see below).

• It is YOUR responsibility to know and understand the CSUN student conduct code. If you are unsure, consult http://www.csun.edu/a&r/soc/studentconduct.html
  • Cheating on an exam will result in failure of the course and may result in further University discipline.
  • Plagiarism on any written assignments will result in failure of the course and may result in further University discipline. If you are unsure about plagiarism, consult http://www.bio.davidson.edu/dept/plagiarism.html
• Late assignments will not be accepted.
• Punctuality.  Be on time.  Because the labs require setup and field observation of (hopefully) cooperative animals, it is impossible to make up missed labs.
• Withdrawal Policy.  The Biology Deparetment withdrawal policy states: "Unrestricted withdrawals are permitted only until the end of the third week. Thereafter, requests to drop a class will be honored only when a verifiable serious and compelling reason exists and when there is no viable alternative to withdrawal.  Poor performance is NOT an acceptable reason for withdrawal.  During the last three weeks of the semester withdrawals will not be approved except when a student is withdrawing from ALL classes for verifiable medical reasons."
• Cell phones and generally obnoxious behaviors are not allowed in the field (or in class for that matter). No alcohol or illegal drug use is allowed on fieldtrips.