Class Policies and
Syllabus
Instructor: Vikram K. Iyengar
Office Hours: Tuesdays
1:00pm – 2:30pm, or by appointment
Phone:
519-8081 (office);
519-5186 (research lab)
email: vikram.iyengar@villanova.edu
(I prefer email messages over voice mail)
Course website: http://webct.villanova.edu/SCRIPT/Spr07_BIO_3011_001/scripts/serve_home
Teaching Assistant: Jessica Trout-Haney jessica.trout.haney@villanova.edu
Office
Hours: by appointment in Mendel 192
Lecture
time: Tuesday and Thursday,
11:30am – 12:45am Mendel Hall, Room 115
Required
texts: (1) Alcock, J. 2005. Animal
Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach. Eighth Edition,
Sinauer Associates, Inc. (AB in the syllabus)
(2) Sherman, P.W. and Alcock, J. 2005.
Exploring Animal Behavior: Readings from
American
Scientist, Fourth Edition, Sinauer Associates, Inc. (SA in the syllabus)
(3) Pechenik, J. 2004. A Short Guide To
Writing About Biology. Fifth Edition,
Longmans. (optional, but recommended, for Bio 3011;
required for Bio 3012)
*Note: Additional readings will be assigned
for specific lectures and posted on
WebCT.
Hard copies will be handed out in lecture and then placed
in a folder outside my office.
Course
Objectives and Instructor Expectations
Welcome to Animal Behavior! We
all have a desire to understand the world around us that goes beyond what we
need to know in order to survive; this curiosity is usually the main reason for
our interest in animal behavior. This
course provides an introduction to the biological study of animal behavior,
with an evolutionary and ecological emphasis. Topics will include: how genes
and the environment affect behavior, learning and animal consciousness,
hormones and their role in aggression and reproduction, predator-prey
interactions, visual and auditory communication, courtship and mate choice, and
human social behavior. The lectures will
focus primarily on ultimate explanations (why
animals behave as they do), with less attention to proximate mechanisms (how they get the job done); this course
and the companion lab (Bio 3012) thus fall in the Population Biology segment of
the curriculum. (Note: to fulfill the Biology Major’s distribution requirement
in this segment, you must complete both lecture and lab courses.)
Students completing the course
should be able to demonstrate (1) comprehension of major concepts in the
subject; (2) knowledge of factual generalizations about behavior (which animals
do what); (3) familiarity with the original scientific literature in behavior
and behavioral ecology; and (4) ability to synthesize and analyze critically
research studies in the discipline.
Attendance
in the lecture is strongly encouraged
– although attendance is not absolutely
mandatory, it does count towards your
overall grade. I expect everyone to contribute to the course by asking
questions, participating I discussions, and filing out end-of-class feedback
forms. Furthermore, I cannot imagine
that you will find it possible to master this material without regular class
attendance, especially since lecture coverage will not match the text (Alcock
2005) exactly; I will use some different examples and incorporate material from
other sources. As I am sure you will
notice, the lecture powerpoints – which will be posted on WebCT – will not tell
the whole story, and they should not be considered a substitute for lecture
attendance. Since you will have access
to the lectures, you should not merely copy the words on the slide; I expect
you to focus more on writing down things I say that help to synthesize
information into coherent ideas. We will
also periodically see videos, and you will also be responsible for knowing the
organisms depicted as well as the concepts they illustrate. Regardless of whether you are in class or
not, however, you are responsible for
everything that is discussed in lecture, announced changes in the syllabus, and
any handouts distributed in class.
I am here to help you not only learn
the material covered in class, but also develop skills that will assist you in
learning throughout your academic and professional careers. To that end, please feel free to ask us
questions inside or outside of class if there is something you don’t understand
– one my primary objectives is provide a supportive community for learning. To
facilitate learning, please be respectful of your classmates by adhering to the
list below:
·
Be prepared for class (at the very
least, skim reading before class)
·
Do not be late to class (classes
will start and end on time)
·
Avoid conversations with others
during class
·
Limit food and beverages to those
that can be consumed quietly
·
Turn off pagers and cell phones
(cell phones going off will result in a quiz!)
Your
lecture grade will be based on 2 writing assignments, 2 in-class exams, and a
final (comprised of a third exam and a cumulative portion). Exams will emphasize comprehension of terminology,
concepts, and factual material in animal behavior and behavioral ecology, as
covered in lecture and assigned readings.
A variety of question formats may be used – including multiple choice,
matching, short answer and essay – to test your ability to synthesize and apply
this information to novel situations (in other words, situations we have not
specifically covered in the class or in the text).
I
usually hold two identical
Jeopardy-style review sessions for the lecture exams during lab time (Mondays
and Wednesdays at 1:30pm in Mendel 088) the week of the exam. Lab students should attend the appropriate
session unless prior arrangements have been made, and I hope that lecture-only
students will be able to attend one of the two sessions. If you are a
lecture-only student and cannot make either session, I strongly suggest that
you either get the notes from a classmate or make arrangements to talk with me
about the material.
Summary: 10
% Due
Thursday, February 1 – start now!
Exam #1: 20
% Thursday, February 15
Exam #2: 20
% Thursday, March 29
Review Essay: 20 % Topic
description due Tues, Feb 27
Paper
due Tues, April 17 @ start of class
Final Exam: 25 % Exam
3 plus Cumulative
Saturday, May 5 @ 4:15pm
Participation & Attendance: 5 % Ask questions, during class
and on end-of-class feedback slips
Final
grades will be assigned based on a standard plus/minus scale:
A (93
- 100 %) C+ (77 - 79.99 %)
A- (90
- 92.99 %) C (73 - 76.99 %)
B+ (87
- 89.99 %) C- (70 - 72.99 %)
B (83
- 86.99 %) D (60 - 69.99 %)
B- (80
- 82.99 %) F ( < 60 %)
Academic Integrity
I expect all students to adhere strictly to the College’s principles of
academic honesty throughout this course. I regret to say that I have had to
enforce these policies and fail students in courses for violation of these
principles of academic (and scientific) integrity. Be sure that you know all of
the relevant definitions and policies. This includes taking exams and all
aspects of submitting written assignments: take
careful notes as you review literature sources (including complete bibliographic information), save records of your work (don’t submit
a final draft of a paper without keeping some evidence of you early drafts or
outlines), acknowledge all sources,
and use the computers appropriately. Also, the work you do for this course
should be only for this course; submitting the same work for multiple classes
(without the explicit agreement of
instructors from all courses
involved) is a violation of College policies. The College’s policies pertaining
to all Academic Integrity issues will be strictly adhered to and the
appropriate penalty will be assessed at the discretion of the instructor. There will be no exceptions to this policy.
I can only give you all the credit
you deserve if I can tell how much of the work is uniquely yours. Obviously, do
not attempt to copy—or even to paraphrase nearly verbatim—material directly
from any other source. Even if you were to give a reference for a source you
cited this way, you still would be falling short of my expectations for the
assignment, because the words would not be your own. Read your sources, work towards an understanding of their content, and then restate the essentials in
your own words … with appropriate acknowledgment of the source. Try to
write so that the reader can reasonably infer where every piece of information and every
idea came from. If an idea is yours, say so using active voice and first
person: “I think that the analysis of Jones (1992) is flawed because…” Where
the material instead comes from somewhere else (i.e., something you didn’t know
before you started researching your topic), you must make it clear where you got the information through the use of
text citations. Pechenik (2004) provides additional helpful advice about
writing so that your sources are acknowledged fully, and so that your writing
is clear, simple, and concise. Use his book!
All
writing assignments will be due at the times announced in class or in the
syllabus. Late assignments will be penalized 10% of the points available for
each 24-hour interval that they are late. Assignments > 1 week late will not
be accepted unless you have medical or other valid documented reasons
for the delay. The only valid reasons
for missing an assignment deadline or an examination are those accepted by the
University and published in the Student Handbook (Blue Book). If you know in advance that you will be
missing an exam, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor PRIOR to
the exam to make arrangements for a make-up exam. All
written assignments should be typed/word-processed, 12 pt. font, 1” margins,
and double-spaced, with each page numbered.
All papers in the course must be submitted electronically as an email
attachment in Microsoft Word (LastNameAssignment.doc). Note:
We expect you to have run spell/grammar-check and carefully proof-read all
submitted written material, as you will be evaluated on your ability to
communicate clearly (which includes proper grammar, spelling and punctuation).
SUMMARY – Each student will write a paper (about 2.5 pages of text,
or ≈ 750 words) that summarizes a very recent 1° (primary) research
article (published within the last 6
months) on any aspect of animal behavior. The article should come from one
of the following journals:
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (a.k.a. BES) (available in Falvey
including online contents)
Animal
Behaviour (available in
Falvey including online contents)
Behaviour (available
in Falvey including online contents)
Proceedings of the Royal Society of
London B (available in
Falvey including online contents;
article)
I
will accept a Summary covering an article from another journal only if
you obtain my explicit approval well in advance of the
submission deadline. Even if your article comes from one of the journals
listed, it would be a good idea to send me an email stating the article that
you intend to summarize so I can check it for appropriateness.
Note that your Summary should NOT be about an article from Behavioral Ecology (which is not the same journal as BES!) because that journal provides its own synopsis of most articles (“Lay
Summary” in online content). Have a look at some of these short summaries for
guidance about how to write about other people’s research, both for the Summary assignment and for the Review Essay (below) … but note that
for both assignments, you will need to include longer and more detailed
coverage of the patterns in the results than is included in an article’s Lay
Summary for Behavioral Ecology.
The
paper you summarize should present new empirical data, analysis, and
conclusions. (Empirical means “real” observational or experimental data; unless
you obtain explicit permission from me in advance, you should avoid articles that present only new theory or results from simulations.) Your job is to explain
the context of the study; the goals authors set out to achieve; the
methodological approach they used (in general;
include only those details that are essential for our understanding of the research); the results the investigators
obtained (describe patterns and trends thoroughly enough to give a good sense
of what their data “looked like”);
and the conclusions the authors reached. You should seek additional advice about
writing this sort of essay in Pechenik (2004), chapter 6.
Your
essay should include your own informative title
(not just repetition of the source article’s title) and a terminal section with
the heading Literature Cited where
you list the bibliographic information for each source that you cited in your
text (and only those).
Regardless of which journal provides the paper you
summarize, you must write your paper
using the general style and exact
citation format of the journal Animal Behaviour.
REVIEW ESSAY – Students will research and write a
relatively brief review essay, comparable in scope and presentation to a “News
& Comment” paper in Trends in Ecology
& Evolution that summarizes and synthesizes recent primary literature
dealing with some topic in behavioral
ecology. (In keeping with the “population” emphasis of the course, topics
focusing mostly on behavioral mechanisms, such as physiological or genetic
controls, are not appropriate for this assignment.) Also, the topic for
your review should be the similar to
that of your Summary – since your Review essay will include citation and
analysis of two closely related primary references (articles containing new data and analysis) published after
2001 (i.e., from 2002-present). Most
importantly, one of your two sources must be the same paper you used for your Summary, and the second must be a
paper by different author(s). Thus, I strongly
encourage you to use the feedback and incorporate the suggested changes from
the Summary into your Review Essay.
Your
paper must present a clearly organized, logically sound, and carefully written argument that addresses a specific
question or problem using the
information from the literature references; the review may (probably should)
contain additional secondary references,
including Alcock (2005) and perhaps also review papers from journals like Trends in Ecology & Evolution, BioScience, or American Scientist to help establish the context and scope of
your argument. You should also include a section that explains your critical assessment of the
‘core’ articles your covered. You should briefly address most if not all of the
following questions: Was the problem in common to the two papers interesting
and worthwhile? Were the methodological approaches appropriate? Was one
“better” than the other? How? Why? Were the results in each case conclusive?
Are you convinced that the authors’ conclusions are supported by their data?
Are these conclusions important, in
the sense of helping to resolve some general
problem or issue in behavioral ecology? In sum, were these articles that others working on animal behavior are likely
to cite frequently…or to ignore? Why? I strongly encourage you to find the corresponding section in Alcock
(2005) and cite that as your frame of reference, along with any pertinent
review articles you may find, for trying to answer the questions I just listed.
Overall,
your Review Essay should contain the following components: (1) an opening
paragraph on general concepts (from Alcock) and the overarching themes that
unite your two papers; (2) the “meat” of your essay, which includes a thorough
summary of each of your two papers (similar to your Summary assignment); (3)
2-3 paragraphs that compare and contrast the research contained in the two
papers; and (4) a concluding paragraph that places the research in the “big
picture”, based on the concept you mentioned in your opening paragraph. Please check Chapter 7 of Pechenik (2004) or
check my postings on WebCT for valuable advice on how to tackle this type of assignment.
Topic description: Each student must submit a typed ¶ that
explains the question (or at least the focal subject area) that they will try
to address in their review, followed by bibliographic information for the two
(2) primary literature references that you intend to analyze as part of your
review.
Complete version: The text of your completed paper should
be about 8 pages, or ≈ 2400 words, not counting your “Literature Cited”
section. Please use the stylistic conventions and citation format of the
journal Animal Behaviour.
Notes about grading
standards for written assignments
Bio 3011 by itself is NOT writing enriched—which
means that you do not need to go through a revision step for any of the above
assignments. Nevertheless, I will
expect carefully prepared and logically presented written work.
I
will follow the grading philosophy explained at the end of this handout. Poorly
presented science is poor science. Some of you have had courses
previously that involved major written assignments. You’ll know what I’m
looking for—but don’t hesitate to run ideas or drafts by me (do not, however, wait until the day before
a paper’s due to seek input).
I
especially advise those of you who have not
had courses from me and who may not have had to write critical argumentative
essays for other upper-level biology courses to seek guidance for these written assignments. Besides me, sources
for help about organization, style, and grammar include Pechenik (2004)
{especially chapters 1 and 5} and the university’s Writing Center: don’t
hesitate to take a complete but rough draft over there for input about overall
structure and organization, as well as ‘mechanics.’ I am available often to
give advice about your paper’s topic, sources, goals, organization, and format.
Notes about using the
Internet for help with papers
The
Internet can be a valuable source of
information and help for writing assignments … but it can also provide you with useless
trash. You have an obligation to
try to assess whether information from the Web or another electronic source is
any good. In general, I advise you
AGAINST relying on Web sites for information to cite in your papers (except
for sites that provide electronic versions of scholarly journal articles).
However, you may want to use the Internet to find information that helps you
get started toward a topic (e.g., by
participating in an on-line bulletin board, or by asking questions of a
practicing scientist via email).
Seminars (Mostly optional, but highly encouraged)
Some
of the weekly Dept. of Biology seminars (Thursdays @ 5 PM in Mendel 154) will be
directly relevant to the course and might help you. I will send announcements
about relevant talks to you by e-mail; details also will be on the course web
site.
Below is an outline of the factors I will take into consideration in
assigning your final grade on papers and lab exercises, with a comparable
grading scale applied to other assignments.
[Adapted
from materials distributed in Writing Across the Curriculum seminar, Villanova
University, April 1994, directed by D. Anselmi, B. Wall, and D. Zannoni,
Trinity College.]
Grade: C
Paper satisfactorily (but minimally) meets
expectations of the assignment. It directly addresses a question or issue
relevant to the scope of the course, with adequate reliance on appropriate
biological literature sources. It presents a logical argument with a clear
statement of your central objectives; develops an argument that incorporates
accurately reported information from primary literature sources; and reaches a
clearly explained conclusion that follows logically from that argument. The
argument is developed by an organized sequence of main points and supported by
specific details and examples. The text is readable and relatively free of
errors in syntax, grammar, spelling, usage, punctuation, and requested format.
Grade: B
Paper fulfills all of the requirements of a
“C” paper and, in addition, presents a central argument that is well thought
out and shows careful analysis of hypotheses and evidence in the biological
literature. The argument demonstrates original and critical thought in
synthesis and analysis. Points of interpretation are soundly and thoroughly
argued. Supporting evidence is strong and extensive. Text contains few errors.
Grade: A
Paper fulfills all of the requirements of a
“B” paper and, in addition, presents an argument that is outstanding in its
clarity, logic, rhetorical skillfulness, and originality. It demonstrates that
you have a thorough understanding of the paper’s topic and an ability to apply
and communicate that understanding through excellent writing.
Grade: D
Paper makes an attempt to address the issue
or question posed, but has one or more serious problems: it lacks a central
thesis; it fails to develop a consistent, logical, well-organized argument;
details are inaccurate or few; the text is difficult to read because of
multiple errors.
Grade: F
Paper contains no central question or
problem, or it makes no attempt (or a fake attempt) to address a stated
question. The paper fails to develop an argument of any sort. The text is
filled with errors. The paper shows little or no indication that the author
attempted to meet the expectations of the assignment, or to follow directions.
A paper that contains any plagiarized material, that fails to incorporate adequate acknowledgment
of all sources, or that otherwise violates the standards of academic integrity
established by the University, Department, and instructor will receive a grade of “F” — and trigger disciplinary
procedures that can result in failure (F) for the entire course … and even expulsion from the University.
|
Date |
Lecture Topic |
Reading |
|
January 16 |
Introduction
and Logistics |
AB
Chapter 1; SA 1-20 |
|
January 18 |
Behavioral
Adaptation and Hypothesis Testing |
AB
Ch. 1 (cont); SA 31-40 |
|
January 23 |
Proximate
and Ultimate Causes |
AB
Ch. 2; SA 53-60 |
|
January 25 |
Genes
and Behavior |
AB
Ch. 3 (55-73); SA 181-190 |
|
January 30 |
Environment
and Behavior |
AB
Ch. 3 (74-79); Reeve 1989 |
|
February 1 |
Learning
and Cognition |
AB
Ch. 3 (80-98); SA 68-84 Summary due |
|
February 6 |
Control
of Behavior: Neural Mechanisms |
AB
Ch. 4; SA 125-136 |
|
February 8 |
Organization
of Behavior |
AB
Ch. 5; SA 109-116 |
|
February 13 |
Predators
and Prey: Hunting and Escaping |
|
|
February 15 |
Exam 1 |
|
|
February 20 |
Anti-predator
Behavior |
AB
Ch. 6 |
|
February 22 |
Feeding
Behavior |
AB
Ch. 7; Ricklefs 2001 (192-194) |
|
February 27 |
Habitat
Selection |
AB
Ch. 8; Review topic due |
|
March 1 |
Communication
I: The Languages of Life |
AB
Ch. 9; Payne 1998 |
|
March 6 |
*** No Classes –
SPRING BREAK *** |
|
|
March 8 |
*** No Classes –
SPRING BREAK *** |
|
|
March 13 |
Communication
II: Classifying Communication |
AB
Ch. 9 (cont.); Moller 1989 Candolin
1999 |
|
March 15 |
Reproduction
I: Battles of the Sexes |
AB
Ch. 10 |
|
March 20 |
Reproduction
II: Sexual Selection & Mating
Tactics |
AB
Ch. 10; Iyengar 1999 |
|
March 22 |
Mating
Systems |
AB
Ch. 11; Dhondt 1997 SA
227-235 |
|
March 27 |
Sexual
Selection: Courting |
|
|
March 29 |
Exam 2 |
|
|
April 3 |
Parental
Care |
AB
Ch. 12; SA 236-247 |
|
April 5 |
***
No Classes – EASTER RECESS *** |
|
|
April 10 |
Social
Behavior I: The Costs and Benefits |
AB
Ch. 13 (437-452), Ch.
6 (201-205), Ch. 7 (216-220) |
|
April 12 |
Social
Behavior: Friends and Rivals |
|
|
April 17 |
Social
Behavior II: Kin selection & Eusociality |
AB
Ch. 13 (453-478) SA
293-303; Packer 1997 Review paper due |
|
April 19 |
Cooperation
and Conflict: To help or not to help? |
AB
Ch. 14 (503-510) SA
282-292; Reeve 1992 |
|
April 24 |
Human
Social Behavior and Darwinian Medicine |
AB
Ch. 14; SA 191-200 Neese
& Williams 1998 |
|
April 26 |
Human
Mating Discussion Course
Evaluations (both lecture and lab) |
SA
248-259 |
|
May 1 |
***
No Class – follows a Friday schedule *** |
|
|
May 3 |
TBA {follows a normal Thursday schedule} |
|
|
May 5 |
Final (Exam 3 + cumulative) |
|