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Exploring Animal Behavior in Laboratory and Field

An Hypothesis-testing Approach to the Development, Causation, Function, and Evolution of Animal Behavior

Exploring Animal Behavior in Laboratory and Field is designed to provide a variety of exercises that engage students actively in all phases of scientific investigation, from f… Read more

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Description

Exploring Animal Behavior in Laboratory and Field is designed to provide a variety of exercises that engage students actively in all phases of scientific investigation, from formulating research questions through interpreting and presenting final results. It attempts to share the collective teaching expertise and experience of members of the Animal Behavior Society with all who are willing to benefit from their wisdom. Four types of exercises are presented: (1) traditional exercises in which students follow a pre-determined protocol to test particular hypotheses explicitly stated in the exercise, (2) traditional exercises that can easily be adapted to inquiry-based approaches, (3) combined pedagogy exercises that involve both traditional and inquiry approaches, and (4) inquiry exercises in which students first brainstorm to generate their own hypotheses, then design their own experiements to test their hypotheses.

Key features

* Supports a range of pedagogical styles and texts in animal behavior with active learning experiences that engage students
* Students and instructors benefit from knowledge and experience of members of the Animal Behavior Society
* Flexibility of design enables students and instrucotrs to tailor the exercises to their needs
* Can be used to support lab courses that are completely inquiry based as well as independent student research projects in animal behavior
* Consideration of animal care guidelines provides an excellent way to address and discuss concerns about the use of animals in teaching and research
* Emphasizes the hypothetico-deductive approach that students have difficulty understanding and implementing
* Supporting materials make additional required texts unnecessary and link study design considerations with real studies

Readership

Students in Animal Behavior and Behavioral Ecology. The readership of Animal Behaviour is an important audience and includes over 5000 subscribers.

Table of contents

CONTRIBUTORS
PREFACE
PART 1. INTRODUCTION
PART 2. DESCRIBING BEHAVIOR

1. Learning to describe and quantify animal behavior
B.J. Ploger

2. Developing operational definitions and measuring interobserver reliability using house crickets (Acheta domesticus)
T. Glover
PART 3. CAUSATION

3. Courtship, mating, and sex pheromones in the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor
E. Font and E. Desfilis

4. Courtship and mate attraction in parasitic wasps
R.W. Matthews and J.R. Matthews

5. Chemoreception in lizards
C. O'Neil Krekorian

6. Behavioral thermoregulation in field populations of amphibian larvae
H.H. Whiteman and N. Buschhaus

7. Temperature dependence of the electric organ discharge in weakly electric fish
G.K.H. Zupanc, J.R. Banks, G. Engler and R.C. Beason

8. Observing and analyzing human nonverbal communication
P.L. Bernstein

9. Foraging behavior of ants, or picnics: an ant's eye view
S.L. Halkin

10. Hummingbird foraging patterns: experiments using artificial flowers
A. Inman

11. Honey bee foraging behavior
M.R. Richter and J.M. Keramaty

12. Individual constancy to color by foraging honeybees
P.S.M. Hill and H. Wells
PART 4. DEVELOPMENT

13. Dog training laboratory: applied animal behavior
L.L. Gillie and G.H. Waring

14. Paternal care and its effect on maternal behavior and pup survival and development in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)
B. McGuire

15. The effect of prenatal visual stimulation on the imprinting responses of domestic chicks: an examination of sensitive periods during development
W.L. Hill

16. Development of thermoregulation in altricial rodents
G.R. Michener and T.D. Charge

17. Aggregation and kin recognition in African clawed frogs, Xenopus laevis
K.L. Anderson and B.J. Ploger
PART 5. ADAPTATION AND EVOLUTION
Section I: Foraging

18. Diving birds: a field study of benthic and piscivorous foragers
J.J. Templeton & D.J. Mountjoy

19. Found a peanut: foraging decisions by squirrels
S.L. Halkin

20. Economic decisions and foraging tradeoffs in chickadees
R.L. Mumme

21. Seed selection by foraging birds
M.R. Richter, J.A. Halstead and K. Savastano

22. Competitive behavior of birds at feeders
A. Mostrom
Section II: Avoiding Predators

23. Vigilance and the group-size effect: observing behavior in humans
J.E. Scheib, L.E. Cody, N.S. Clayton and R.D. Montgomerie

24. The function of "chat" calls in northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos): vocal defense of nestlings
C.A. Logan

25. Diving and skating in whirligig beetles: alternative antipredator responses
A. Inman and A. Houtman

26. The response of tree squirrels to conspecific and heterospecific alarm calls
A. Houtman
Section III: Agonistic Behavior

27. Competition for breeding resources by burying beetles
M.P. Scott

28. Learning to be winners and losers: agonistic behavior in crayfish
E.M. Jakkob and C.D. Hoefler
Section IV: Courtship and Parental Care

29. Costs and benefits of maternal care in earwigs
R.L. Mumme, J.O. Palmer and S.M. Ranking

30. Vocal behavior and mating tactics of the spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer): a field exercise in animal behavior
D.C. Forester

31. The role of multiple male characters in mate choice by female guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
D.J. Albrecht

32. Investigating human mate choice using the want ads
M. Crowe
Section V: Games

33. Demonstrating strategies for solving the prisoner's dilemma
K.N. Morgan

34. Using empirical games to teach animal behavior
P.K. Stoddard
Section VI: Evolution

35. The evolution of behavior: a phylogenetic approach
K. Yasukawa

APPENDICES
A. Guidelines for the treatment of animals in behavioral research and teaching
Animal Behavior Society and the Association for the Study of Animal Behavior
B. Ethical use of human subjects
American Psychological Association
C. Introduction to statistics
B.J. Ploger and K. Yasukaw

Product details

About the editors

BP

Bonnie J. Ploger

Affiliations and expertise
Hamline University, St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.

KY

Ken Yasukawa

Affiliations and expertise
Beloit College, WI, U.S.A.

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