BIOL 370 - ANIMAL BEHAVIOR

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Michael Carey
OFFICE: Loyola Hall 120
PHONE: 941-7544 (office), 575-5293 (cell)
EMAIL: careym1@scranton.edu
OFFICE HOURS: 10:OO-12:00 MW, or by appt.
CLASS HRS: 10:00 TT - Loyola 200
TEXT: Alcock. Animal Behavior, an Evolutionary Approach, 8th Ed

TENTATIVE LECTURE SCHEDULE

WEEK OF       TOPIC                       TEXT READING
-------------------------------------------------------
Jan 28     Introduction                     Ch 1

Feb 4      Evolutionary theory, testing
                methodology, learning       Ch 1, 6 (methodology)

Feb 11     Behavior genetics, 
                development, **Exam 1**     Ch 2,3

Feb 18     Behavioral physiology            Ch 4

Feb 25     Cycles                           Ch 5

Mar 3      Behavioral evolution, **Exam 2** Pg 228-237
              
Mar 10     Habitat selection, territory     Ch 8

Mar 25     Feeding behavior                 Ch 7

Mar 31     Prey defenses                    Ch 6

Apr 7      **Exam3**, reproductive behavior Ch 12

Apr 14     Parental behavior, sexual sel    Ch 12,10

Apr 21     Sexual selection                 Ch 10

Apr 28     **Exam 4**, mating systems       Ch 11

May 5      Mating systems, social behavior  Ch 12,13

**FINAL EXAM**

COURSE POLICIES

OBJECTIVES: The main objectives of this course are to have you learn something about the history and philosophy of science as applied to behavioral studies and to understand the proximate and ultimate mechanisms that have shaped the behavioral actions we see in animals today. Toward these ends, memorization of facts and definitions, while important, should not be the only focus of your studies. You must also be able to think about the material you have memorized, be able to apply it to other areas of the science, and be able to use it to extrapolate to new or unfamiliar situations.
While I do not take attendance in class, it is to your advantage to be present in each class period. Much of the lecture material is different from the text, and much of the text material is not covered at all. Since the exams are drawn largely from class lecture material (see exam policy), you should be there to hear it.
While I do not take attendance, I do notice people who are excessively absent from class. Such excessive absences may reflect negatively on your final class grade (See grading policy).
In order to allow you to review lecture material and to pay closer attention to the lecture in class, all PowerPoint materials used in lecture will be posted on Angel for this section. You can access Blackboard at the link in My.Scranton Your university username and password will get you into Angel and this course should show under the "Courses" section. After entering the course, lecture materials can be found in the "Lessons" section.

EXAM POLICY: There are four 1-hour exams as shown in the schedule above. Each exam is worth 100 pts and will cover only material not included in a previous exam. The final exam is worth 200 pts and consists of 2 halves: 1st a 100 pt. exam covering untested material in as much depth as any earlier exam; 2nd an additional 100 pts covering the entire semester in general. Questions are drawn mainly from material discussed in class or about logical inferences that you can make about class material. Only very general questions will pertain to textbook material not covered in class. The exams are exclusively short answer and essay in nature. Sample exams can be seen at HTTP://ACADEMIC.UOFS.EDU/FACULTY/CAREYM1/EXAMS.HTML.
If you must miss an exam, you must notify me beforehand. I will then schedule a make-up day for you. If you do not notify me before the exam, your make-up will be scheduled on the make-up day (the last day of finals week). If you do not have a legitimate excuse for missing an exam, you will not be allowed to make it up, and will receive a grade of zero for the exam.
You must live up to the University of Scranton Academic Code of Honesty. To view the code, see
http://matrix.scranton.edu/student_handbook/policy_academic_code_honesty.html
Violation of the code (see especially Section II for your responsibilities) will lead to a score of zero on that exam or paper. Students suspected of cheating will be seated in special areas of the classroom on future exams.

GRADING POLICY: 84% of your grade will based on your performance on the 5 exams. Letters will assigned as follows: 90%-A, 80%-B, 70%-C, etc. If I feel it is absolutely necessary, the grade scale may be curved downward from these cutoffs, never upward. Individual grades may be weighted based upon improvement during the semester or upon glaring inconsistencies in scores. 16% of your grade (the equilivant of 1 exam) will be based upon the scientific merit, grammatical quality, organization, and style of a term paper on some behavioral topic of your choice. Guidelines for the papers will be handed out or can be obtained at HTTP://academic.uofs.edu/faculty/careym1/bpap.html. Criteria such as class attendance, participation, and interest will be used to determine the of the grade of students that end up on a borderline.