[photos, left to right: Johnston Miller, Jeremy McNeil, David Sherry, Michael Boisvert]ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
Honors Specialization
- Honors Specialization in Animal Behaviour Requirements - This pdf form is a guide only, for complete information see the Academic Calendar.
Do you like extreme sports such as skydiving or downhill skiing? Do you jump from job to job or from module to module at University? Do you simply like to rearrange your furniture often? You may have genes that predispose you to risk taking behaviours.
Did you know that if you are the first thing a greylag gosling sees when it opens its eyes for the first time that it will assume you are its mother for the rest of its life?
For hundreds of thousands of years, humans have observed animals because their lives depended on a knowledge of animal behaviour. Today, information on the reproductive behaviour of insect pests, for example, may ultimately lead to their control, while knowledge of migratory routes of an endangered whale or shorebird may enable conservationists to design adequate reserves to save the animal from extinction. Moreover, an understanding of the evolutionary basis of our own behaviour may help us to identify and understand harmful behaviours such as homicide or addiction.
The Animal Behaviour module takes a scientific approach to understanding what an animal (including a human) does and why it does it. Behaviours are complex and involve both genetic and environmental inputs. No behaviour is without an influence of both – the nature and nurture. The types of behaviours exhibited by animals are rich and various. This module will explore behaviours at both the proximate and ultimate levels of analysis. Proximate analysis involves the mechanism underlying a behaviour such as hormonal controls and gene expression, while ultimate analysis involves understanding the evolutionary origin and reproductive consequences of a behaviour. The module draws on teaching and research expertise in the Departments of Psychology and Biology and offers lecture, lab, field and research courses. The module can be used towards a Bachelor of Science degree.
Consultation with one of the Biology counsellors prior to registration into 4th year is advised.
