Course Outline

A copy of the course outline is available here.  Adobe PDF reader is required to view/print this document.  It is available free here. Note that computer labs are in SSC or HSB as outlined in the first lecture notes and that experimental labs are in ChB 386.

Exams

The exam will be held on December 16th at 2-5 PM in UCC 146. Confirm time and location with the registrar's official exam schedule site. Please bring an HB pencil to fill out the scantron sheet as well as a pen for the written answer sections. The test will consist of three parts (1) multiple choice, 1 mark each, answered on the scantron sheet, (2) short answer, written in the space provided, (3) long answer, written in the space provided. Short answer questions typically involve explaining concepts and definitions. Long answer questions may involve more thorough explanations, calculations or graphs. Material covered includes all lectures and lecture handouts (cumulative, but with emphasis on material not tested on the mid-term), assigned S&A and paper readings since the mid-term test, general statistics from the laboratories, and the two movies shown since the mid-term test.

The make-up exam will be held in January and will be scheduled in the new year. There is only one make-up; any conflict or legitatmate absence from both the regularly scheduled exam and the make-up exam will result in a re-weighting of the mid-term and lab marks for a final grade.

** I will have an office hour on Tuesday, December 13th from 2:00-3:00 PM in Collip 204. I will not respond to questions by email. Please bring those questions to my office hour.

TA's

Please include "BIO3436F" in the subject line of any e-mails.

Your TAs are :

Scott Colborne, scolbor@uwo.ca; office Collip 203

Chandra Rodgers, crodger2@uwo.ca; office Collip 203

Aimee Houde, ahoude@uwo.ca; office Collip 105

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J. Alcock. 2005 or 2009. Animal Behaviour (8th or 9th ed.). Sinauer, Sunderland Mass. (recommended, available on 2 hour reserve loan in Taylor) UWO Bookstore link

Sherman, P.W. and J. Alcock. 2005. Exploring Animal Behavior, readings from American Scientist (3rd or 4th ed.).  Sinauer, Sunderland, Mass. (required, 2h reserve loan).

• A lab manual (available from the bookstore) is also required.  This must be the 2008 or 2009 version.

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Adobe PDF reader is required to view/print these documents.  It is available free here.

 

Date	#	Readings	Outlines
8 Sep	1	-	*Download course syllabus Lecture 1 handout
13 Sep	2	Chapter 1 ; S&A "Why male ground squirrels disperse"	Lecture 2 handout
15 Sep	3	-	Lecture 3 handout
20 Sep	4	S&A "Avian siblicide"; Neff paper	Lecture 4 handout
22 Sep	5	-	"
27 Sep	6	Chapter 3	Lecture 5 handout
29 Sep	7	Movie: Signs and Signals	-
4 Oct	8	-	"
6 Oct	9	Bearhop paper	"
11 Oct	10	Chapter 6	Lecture 6 handout
13 Oct	11	"	Lecture 7 handout
18 Oct	12	S&A "Why ravens share"	Lecture 8 handout
20 Oct	13	Movie: Hunting and Escaping	-
25 Oct	14	Q&A: Bring your questions	-
27 Oct	15	No lecture today: mid-term test 7-10 PM	-
1 Nov	16	Chapter 13	Lecture 9 handout
3 Nov	17	Movie: Living together	-
8 Nov	18	S&A "Physiology of helping in Florida Scrub-Jays"; S&A "Making decisions in the family: an evolutionary perspective"; Chapter 13	Lecture 10 handout
10 Nov	19	S&A "The strategies of human mating"; Perfume paper	Lecture 11 handout
15 Nov	20	Hain&Neff paper	"
17 Nov	21	S&A "Infanticide as a primate reproductive stategy"; S&A "The evolution of sexual differences in insects"; Chapter 11	Lecture 12 handout
22 Nov	22	Movie: Continuing the line	-
24 Nov	23	Chapter 12	Lecture 13 handout
29 Nov	24	-	"
1 Dec	25	Chapter 14; S&A "Protecting ourselves from food"	Lecture 14 handout
6 Dec	26	Q&A: Bring your questions	-

*Chapter readings refer to the Alcock text; S&A refers to Sherman & Alcock, Exploring Animal Behavior.

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Labs

Downloading Material for Computer Lab 1 & 2

Word File:  click here

Effective Writing

The Student Development Centre offers an Effective Writing Program that may help many aspects of your lab reports. Their web site can be found here.

Late Lab Reports

If you are unable to submit a lab report at the appropriate time, please take it to the main Biology Department office (BGS 232) and ask the secretary to stamp it with the date received and to place the report in your TA's mailbox.  The lab report must be stamped and signed by the Biology Office.

Format

Lab reports must follow the format of the Canadian Journal of Zoology. Guidelines can be found by visiting the following website: Instruction to Authors.  It is strongly recommended that you also download a recent paper published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology and use as a guide for formatting (e.g. look at how tables and figures are set up, how statistics are reported in the text, and how references are cited in the text and in the References section).
 
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