“This course will build on the materials in PSY 275. Lecture, thorough discussion of primary literature, and the development of experiments to address topics in animal behavior research will be used. Through this course, you will gain an understanding of what it means to be an animal behavior scientist and the techniques and methods involved in the field. Topics covered will include the construction of ethograms, game theory and its application to behavior, and the influence of environment on behavior.” – UNE Catalog
Advanced Methods in Animal Behavior is a course that builds off of the animal behavior introduction course, Introduction to Animal Behavior, through discussing primary literature and developing an experiment to address aspects in animal behavior. To start off the course, the professor had students research experts in the field they chose as a career and email them with a set of questions asking about what their career was like, how they got to where they were, etc.; below you can find an image of the types of questions students were required to ask the professionals.
Another assignment needing to be done was to write up a grant proposal to see what it was like to conduct one in the instance we needed to do one once we entered our career realms. This was done in a series of steps by first outlining what our grant proposal was to be about, forming the necessary sections into paragraphs – narrative, project description and goals, methods, budgeting details, and significance – and then to complete a final draft for submission. The grant proposal was one of the biggest components of the course and was the peak of the coursework for the semester. For the rest of the semester, students were put into groups of two or three people and prompted to create an original research plan based off of researching information about cricket’s acoustic communication. Once each group had a solidified plan in place, students then were to conduct experiments based off of their projects and run experimental trials with field crickets. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and switching to online courses, the experimental aspect of the project was unable to be completed, so students then had to create a presentation with mock-results of what their entire research plan would have been. Below, I have provided a snippet of my project goals for the grant proposal.
Through having this type of course as a capstone course for Animal Behavior students, I was able to learn valuable and informative information that I will carry with me as I move into my own career, being wildlife management and conservation. This course prepares students who want to work in areas of animal behavior by challenging them to create and complete assignments on their own, such as through the grant proposal and original research plan. It also prepares students for how to get to their future career areas by having them email professionals in their chosen field and having them ask questions of how they got to where they were. This aspect of the course also allowed me to make connections with people I would probably not have thought of contacting if it were not asked of me. Through this course, students can move confidently into their chosen fields by having an excellent background and knowledge of the field and areas within animal behavior.
