BioNB 323: Methods in Animal Behavior Fall 2004
	Home	Information	Schedule	Projects	Staff	Students
Course Syllabus LOCATION AND TIME Lab room: Stimson Hall 310 Computer/lecture room: Stimson G25 (M) / Stimson G27 (W) Scheduled class hours: MW 1:25-4:25 Web page: http://courses.cit.cornell.edu/bionb323 COURSE OBJECTIVES The goal of this course is to introduce students to modern methods of observing and quantifying behavioral interactions and communication signals. The course is designed for honors students and students interested in going to graduate school for advanced degrees in behavior, ecology, and/or evolution. It will provide practical, hands-on experience with commonly used tools of the trade in behavioral research, as well as basic principles for designing, executing, and analyzing field and laboratory studies of animal behavior. The course material will consist of three components. A few lectures will be given early in the semester to review strategies for devising hypotheses, experimental design, methods of quantifying behaviors, and basic statistical methods and reasoning. Workshops throughout the semester will be used to demonstrate key instruments and field methods used in behavioral research, such as audio and video recording, radio-tracking, GPS mapping, and animal capture techniques. Finally, students will work in the field and lab on three different projects (field bioacoustics, duck displays, and cricket aggressive behavior) designed to present a range of different types of data collection methods. Some projects will be conducted individually, others in groups of various sizes. Projects will last 3-4 weeks and culminate in written reports for each one. We have tried to ensure that the workshops and exercises cover a broad range of taxa and modalities. We expect all students to have taken an introductory lecture course in behavior, such as BioNB 221, so that they know why one would want to ask questions about behavior. Students are also expected to have a basic knowledge of PC computers and a working familiarity with software programs such as Word and Excel. Students will benefit if they have taken a statistics course, but this is not a requirement and we will review basic statistical methods as part of the course. TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER CLASS MATERIAL We recommend that all students purchase the following paperback book: Martin, P. and Bateson, P. (1993). Measuring Behaviour, 3^rd edition IMPORTANT: the third edition of this textbook is only scheduled for distribution until late August and will not be available at the beginning of our course (which unfortunately is when we will be using it most heavily). If you purchase copies of the 2^nd edition at the campus store you may trade them in later for the third edition provided that you keep your purchase receipt AND you return the old edition book in good shape (please be aware that there may be a price difference between the two editions). Students may also wish to purchase their own basic reference books for statistics, Excel, and various field guides. Given that Minitab will be the main statistical package we will use this semester, we have placed on reserve several copies of the ‘Minitab Handbook’ (Ryan, B) at the Engineering (Carpenter Hall) and Mann Libraries. Copies of this and other books will be available in the lab room for use by students during the semester. Handouts for all lectures, workshops, and project descriptions can be downloaded as pdf files from the class web site. We recommend purchasing a 3-ring binder to keep all class material nicely organized. Students should purchase a zip disk (PC formatted) or an external hard drive for saving their data files and reports. If a few students have their own binoculars, they should use them during the first field exercise since we do not have enough pairs in the course inventory for everyone. SCHEDULED AND OUT-OF-CLASS HOURS The scheduled class hours (Mon. and Wed. 1:25-4:30 PM) should be used for this course only. We shall often use the first hour of class to lecture on the current material. These initial class meetings will usually be held in the computer room, Stimson G25 (Mondays) or Stimson G27 (Wednesdays). The first few sessions for each project will be used for data collection in the field or in the lab, and the last couple of sessions will be devoted to data analysis and report preparation. For each of the three main projects, you may need to collect data during non-class hours; only in this case can you swap scheduled course hours for work in other classes. The reason we insist on this is because students frequently get behind in this course by using lab time for other courses or for writing up or analyzing the previous lab exercise. Data collection on the next lab exercise is then delayed, and data analysis must be done entirely out of class hours without the benefit of our help. One late student in a group can seriously delay the entire group's work. Do not get behind in this class! GRADES Your grade for the course will be based on three lab reports plus a statistics problem set (100 points each for a total of 400 points). Each project will take 3-4 weeks of scheduled class time, and we have build in time to complete most of the analysis and write-up during class hours. Although some projects may be conducted in groups, each student should analyze and write up their own reports independently. Each report is DUE on the date specified on the Lecture and Lab Schedule sheet at the beginning of class, i.e. at 1:25PM. If you turn it in late, you will lose 5 points per day for each late weekday. No lab will be accepted later than 7 calendar days from the due date. If you fail to turn a lab in by the maximum acceptance date, your score on that lab will be 0. You must hand your labs to one of us personally and we shall initial it with the date received. We are not responsible for labs slipped under doors, put in our mailbox, or handed to a secretary. The reason for such strict due dates is that if you get behind in this course, it is difficult to catch up. We’d like everyone to keep up! Get your labs in on time and you will stay afloat in this course.

Materials distributed in this class may be subject to copyright protection.
Please report problems to: krb3@cornell.edu