Biological Sciences 315 - Behavioral Ecology

In this course, students learn to view and understand animal behavior within an evolutionary context. The mechanistic side of behavior is investigated and students explore how behavioral traits originate and evolve over time. Students will integrate their knowledge of how organisms work with an appreciation of why they work the way they do. At the end of the course, students will understand basic concepts in behavioral biology and know many of the experiments that have facilitated our understanding of this field. They will be able to construct hypotheses and design experiments that address behavioral phenomena. The laboratory portion of this course is based on individual projects.