Behavioral Ecology and Conservation

How does an understanding of behaviors and their adaptive significance contribute to conservation of an animal species? We will focus on fundamentals of animal behavior and review studies where the application of animal behavior is relevant in wildlife protection. We will see how theory and data gathered through traditional and new techniques in animal behavior and behavioral ecology can be used to understand the impact of ongoing anthropogenic threats. Class time will be used to discuss textbook chapters and scientific papers and to present team projects. We will review the research process with a focus on honing the skills required to garner background information, to pose clear questions and state hypotheses, and to imagine the methods and type of data generated to test the hypotheses.