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Primate Ethology, 9 ECTS credits.
/Primate Ethology/
For:
ETH
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Prel. scheduled
hours: 184
Rec. self-study hours: 56
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Area of Education: Science
Main field of studies: Biology
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Advancement level
(G1, G2, A): A
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Aim:
The student will increase her/his understanding of the evolutionary origins and ecological determinants of primate behavior.
The student will develop a proficiency in finding, evaluating and compiling primary and secondary research literature on a specific topic.
The student will learn to design and conduct behavioral observations on primate social communication, and experiments on primate learning, and to perform proper analysis of the data obtained.
The student will improve her/his skills in summarizing and communicating the results of her/his own experimental results as well as of literature searches in both written and oral form.
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Prerequisites: (valid for students admitted to programmes within which the course is offered)
120 ECTS including 90 ECTS in Biology and an advanced course in Ethology.
Note: Admission requirements for non-programme students usually also include admission requirements for the programme and threshhold requirements for progression within the programme, or corresponding.
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Organisation:
The course is composed of formal lectures, literature assignments, and laboratory exercises, each with its own evaluation scheme. The lectures are intended to give an introduction to the different topics outlined below and serve as a starting point for the student´s assignments. The literature assignments in small groups require the presentation of a one-page summary and of an oral presentation to all other fellow students. The laboratory exercises require the writing of a lab report using quantitative methods and of an oral presentation. Extra costs due to travelling and living must be paid by the students.
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Course contents:
The course is centered around different aspects of primate ethology. Topics include :
- Primate evolution
- Primate social systems
- Primate breeding systems
- Primate cognition
- Intelligence and learning
- Communication with humans
- Altruism and infanticide
- The sensory world of primates
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Course literature:
Recommended (but not compulsory) textbooks :
Michael Tomasello & Josip Call: Primate Cognition
Oxford University Press, Oxford 1997
Richard Byrne: The thinking ape : Evolutionary origins of intelligence Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995
Frans de Waal: Tree of origin: What primate behavior can tell us about human social evolution Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2001
Noel Rowe: The pictorial guide to the living primates
Pogonias Press, East Hampton 1996
All books are present in the TekNat Library.
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Examination: |
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Written examination
Literature assignments and presentation
Laboratory reports
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3 ECTS
3 ECTS
3 ECTS
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The final grade is the average across the score of the three examination aspects in the course. |
Course language is English.
Department offering the course: IFM.
Director of Studies: Agneta Johansson
Examiner: Matthias Laska
Link to the course homepage at the department
Course Syllabus in Swedish
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