BIO 3300 Animal Behavior

3 Hours

Prerequisites: BIO 1110 (C- or higher), and six additional credits in Biology or six credits in Psychology or a combination of the two.

This course is an examination of the evolution of animal behavior and the mechanisms which underlie that behavior. The course will include the genetic, neural and hormonal basis of behavior. Behavioral strategies such as foraging, territoriality, vigilance and defense, sexual selection, social behavior, parental care, kin selection and communication will be studied to understand how they increase the fitness of the individual and adapts a population to its environment. We will briefly address sociobiology, the application of these theories to human behavior. In the laboratory, we will study various aspects of behavior directly, culminating in a complete independent animal behavior experiment. Two hours of lecture and three hours of lab per week. Course fee $50.