Ethology Course

Lesson 1 • History of Behavioural Science

Key figures and paradigm shifts from Darwin to Tinbergen are traced chronologically. Understanding this history clarifies why modern ethology uses its current methods.

Lesson 2 • Core Concepts and Terminology

Precise vocabulary is essential for reading and producing ethological research. This section introduces fixed action patterns, sign stimuli, and releaser concepts.

Lesson 3 • Tinbergen's Four Questions

Tinbergen's framework organises behavioural inquiry into causation, development, function, and evolution. Students apply each question to real behavioural examples.

Lesson 1 • Sampling Methods in Ethology

Focal, scan, and ad libitum sampling each suit different research questions. Students select and justify appropriate methods for given study designs.

Lesson 2 • Field vs. Laboratory Observation

Trade-offs between ecological validity and experimental control shape study design. Students evaluate when each setting best serves a research question.

Lesson 3 • Inter-Observer Reliability

Behavioural data are only valid when observers agree consistently. Students calculate reliability statistics and use them to refine ethogram definitions.

Lesson 4 • Principles of Behavioural Observation

Objective, repeatable observation is the empirical backbone of ethology. Students learn to minimise observer bias and define behaviours operationally.

Lesson 1 • Visual Systems Across Taxa

Eye structure and photoreceptor diversity determine what animals see. Students compare compound, camera, and pit eyes and their behavioural consequences.

Lesson 2 • Chemical Senses and Pheromones

Olfaction and gustation mediate mate choice, territory marking, and alarm signalling. Students examine pheromone receptor systems and signal specificity.

Lesson 3 • Magnetoreception and Electroreception

Some animals detect magnetic fields and electric fields for navigation and prey detection. Students evaluate evidence for these senses and their behavioural roles.

Lesson 1 • Cognitive Processes in Animals

Insight, mental time travel, and causal reasoning extend beyond simple conditioning. Students assess experimental evidence for higher cognition across taxa.

Lesson 2 • Social and Observational Learning

Animals acquire behaviours by observing conspecifics, accelerating adaptation. Students evaluate evidence for true imitation versus simpler social facilitation.

Lesson 3 • Non-Associative Learning

Habituation and sensitisation are the simplest forms of behavioural change. Students trace their neural bases and ecological functions across invertebrates and vertebrates.

Lesson 4 • Classical and Operant Conditioning

Associative learning links stimuli and outcomes to shape behaviour. Students apply Pavlovian and Skinnerian frameworks to animal training and field observations.

Lesson 1 • Signal Evolution and Design

Signals evolve from pre-existing movements and physiological states through ritualisation. Students trace how signal form reflects transmission environment and receiver sensory bias.

Lesson 2 • Language and Symbolic Communication

Honeybee dances and primate calls approach symbolic reference. Students assess criteria for language and evaluate evidence from ape language studies.

Lesson 3 • Visual and Acoustic Displays

Coloration, posture, and vocalisations convey identity, status, and motivation. Students compare display repertoires across taxa and link form to function.

Lesson 4 • Honest Signalling and Deception

Handicap and index signal theories explain why signals remain reliable. Students evaluate conditions under which deceptive signals can evolve and persist.

Lesson 1 • Reciprocal Altruism and Cooperation

Unrelated individuals cooperate when future returns outweigh immediate costs. Students analyse tit-for-tat strategies and partner choice in non-kin cooperation.

Lesson 2 • Kin Selection and Altruism

Hamilton's rule predicts when helping relatives increases inclusive fitness. Students apply the rule to eusocial insects, cooperative breeders, and alarm callers.

Lesson 3 • Costs and Benefits of Group Living

Predation dilution, foraging efficiency, and competition shape optimal group size. Students calculate net fitness effects using empirical data from social species.

Lesson 4 • Dominance Hierarchies and Conflict

Linear dominance hierarchies reduce costly fighting by establishing predictable outcomes. Students examine hierarchy formation, maintenance, and individual fitness consequences.

Lesson 1 • Mating System Diversity

Monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, and promiscuity each reflect different parental investment trade-offs. Students use Emlen-Oring theory to predict system type from ecology.

Lesson 2 • Sperm Competition and Post-Mating Selection

Post-copulatory selection continues after mating through sperm competition and cryptic choice. Students examine morphological and behavioural adaptations to sperm competition.

Lesson 3 • Sexual Selection Theory

Intrasexual competition and intersexual choice drive the evolution of secondary sexual traits. Students distinguish Darwinian and Fisherian mechanisms and their predictions.

Lesson 4 • Mate Choice Criteria and Mechanisms

Females and males assess partner quality through multiple cues including ornaments and resources. Students evaluate sensory bias, parasite resistance, and genetic compatibility models.

Lesson 1 • Anti-Predator Behaviour

Prey animals employ detection, avoidance, and deterrence strategies against predators. Students analyse vigilance trade-offs, mobbing, and aposematism as adaptive responses.

Lesson 2 • Habitat Selection and Ideal Free Distribution

Animals distribute across habitats to equalise fitness returns, following the ideal free distribution. Students test IFD predictions using experimental and field data.

Lesson 3 • Migration and Navigation

Long-distance migration requires precise navigation using multiple environmental cues. Students examine sun compass, star map, and magnetic navigation mechanisms.

Lesson 4 • Evolutionary Game Theory in Behaviour

Evolutionarily stable strategies predict behavioural frequencies maintained by frequency-dependent selection. Students solve hawk-dove and producer-scrounger games analytically.