Ecology Evolutionary Biology 129 Animal Behavior W05 Professor Dr Dan Blumstein Life Science 4808 267 4746 Office hours Weds 9 30 11 30 Email marmots ucla edu Teaching Assistants Terrence Lee LS 3112 206 6599 E mail tl ucla edu Office hours TBA Ben Rossi LS 3125 206 4983 E mail ben12 ucla edu Office hours TBA Lectures Tues Thurs 9 30 10 45 Knudsen 1200B Discussions 1A W 12 00 1 50P Botany 133 unless otherwise noted 1B W 2 00P 3 50P Botany 133 unless otherwise noted 1C R 12 00 1 50P Botany 133 unless otherwise noted 1D R 2 00P 3 50P Botany 133 unless otherwise noted Required reader Available at Course Reader Material 1137 Westwood Blvd Textbook J Alcock Animal Behavior 7th edition Course website http www lsic ucla edu classes winter05 Welcome to EEB 129 Animal Behavior This is an advanced course in animal behavior that presumes working knowledge of the concepts covered in EEB 100 An introduction to ecology and behavior In this course we will focus on exploring in more detail selected topics in behavior The main objective of this class is to get you thinking critically about how people actually study behavior and to help develop your written and verbal communication skills by writing and communicating about behavioral topics Many students will find this course difficult because you will be expected to think critically about how experiments are designed and you will be expected to read and evaluate primary literature We are here to help you get the most out of this class Review paper A major component of this course worth 50 of your final grade will be an analytical review that you will write and orally present in a 15 min talk in the last weeks of your discussion sections You will select a topic of interest and will research this topic in detail The final review will be 10 12 pages plus references tables and figures etc 1 Ecology Evolutionary Biology 129 Animal Behavior W05 There are many different types of reviews Some are simply a compendium of data For instance some papers list where species have been reported Other reviews critically evaluate a particular idea in the literature e g mechanisms of sexual selection and mate choice and suggest where future research can go Your review will pose a focused hypothesis about a behavioral topic of interest and will use published studies to evaluate that hypothesis The degree to which this is a quantitative review is really up to you an excellent 129 paper could be expanded into an independent study or honors project PLAGIARISM WARNING Any student who submits work that appears to have been copied from another student s work will have their case immediately forwarded to the Dean of Students Office for disciplinary action The same policy is in effect for plagiarism from the scientific literature and the Internet We will review in class what constitutes plagiarism but you can look at the following website http www library ucla edu yrl referenc plagiarism htm In addition to your final hardcopy you will have to submit the final electronic version of your paper to Turn it in via the my ucla edu website This service will evaluate the likelihood that you have copied text from other known sources Please note receiving a low plagiarism score from turn it in does not mean that you have not plagiarized published literature Please properly cite published sources Readings We assume that you still own Alcock the text for EEB 100 There will be both required readings in Alcock and Alcock will provide considerable background information for selected topics as well as being a reference to remind you of topics discussed in 100 or perhaps those not discussed when you took 100 In addition we will provide primary literature that you are expected to read and to understand supplemental reading is for your interest and is not required reading Some of these readings are in the reader others will be available on the class website You are expected to have a BOL account number so that you can access the class website Memorizing material in these readings will not be as useful as truly understanding them and being able to apply knowledge approaches contained in them Lectures Lectures do not typically follow Alcock and many subjects we will discuss are not discussed in Alcock Attending lectures and taking good notes is essential if you want to mater the material While we will handout PowerPoint slides used in class and post them to the class website you will have to take additional notes if you hope to learn the material Key papers associated with lectures may be provided on the website as required or supplemental readings If you miss a lecture you should try to get notes from a classmate so that you understand what was discussed Please don t ask your TAs for copies of their notes Discussion sections The discussion sections will serve several roles In the first few weeks you ll be learning the tools that will be useful to help design experiments essential for the exams and conduct your review You will present your review ideas in your discussion section and obtain feedback And ultimately you will present a 15 min oral presentation of the final results of your review Exams There will be two tests each worth 25 of your final grade that will be half multiple choice short answer and half essay The essays will be selected from a list of possible essay questions that will be distributed at least one week before the 2 Ecology Evolutionary Biology 129 Animal Behavior W05 exam Many of them will require you to evaluate the evidence in support or against a particular idea or to design an experiment to address a particular question You are not permitted to ask the instructors specific questions about how the essays should be answered before the test The final exam will be a normal 1 5 hour exam given on the day of the final exam and will be cumulative in so far as the ideas are cumulative however specific examples will come from the second half of the course You will be able to bring a single 3 5 x 5 note card with you to the exam with anything you wish written on this Your name must be written on the notecard There will be no re grades of essay questions we work hard to ensure that similar answers receive similar scores No early exams will be given Please check your calendars if you know that are unable to take any of the exams please drop the class now There will be no make up exams except under truly extenuating circumstances hospitalization death in immediate family and only