BI407 Fall 2020 Animal Behavior Lab
TFs: Brandon Güell & Julie Jung Lab Meetings: ALL via Zoom (except Lab 2)
[email protected] [email protected] Meeting ID: 953 3168 3457
Password: frogsrcool
Office Hours:
By appointment via:
Monday 2:30 pm - 5:15 pm
https://bguell.youcanbook.me/
https://julie-jung.youcanbook.me/ Wednesday 6pm - 8:45pm
Thursday 12:30pm - 3:15pm
Top Hat: Friday 2:30pm - 5:15pm
Join Code: 087415
https://app.tophat.com/register/ Please let both TFs know 2 days
in advance if you plan to attend a
different lab session.
All vector art herein drawn
by Julie Jung
Syllabus:
This syllabus is “more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules!”
– Captain Barbossa (and Brandon & Julie)
Assignment due
Lab # Date Lab activity (beginning of class)
week of
0 Labor Day - NO LAB NONE
Sept 7th
1
Presentation: Introduction + What is science +
How to read a scientific article. Complete “Introductions
week of
1 In-class activity: Read Beever et al. (2017) and & favorite animal
Sept 14
complete “Reading + Engaging with Scientific behavior factoid”
Literature” assignment
Complete “Scientific
Article Homework” on a
week of peer-reviewed article
2 Field trip: Ideal free distribution (IFD) in ducks
Sept 21 &
Read IFD prelab & meet at
Boston Commons
In-class activities: ( 1) The how and why of
week of
3 behavior and (2) Animal observation IFD lab report due
Sept 28
introduction
In-class activity: (1) Lab report discussions and
week of
4 (2) peer review workshop (Word doc Popular press article due
Oct 5
tracked-changes)
week of
NA Indigenous Peoples’ Day - NO LAB NONE
Oct 12
Animal observation mini
week of Animal observation presentations
5 lab report AND
Oct 19 In-class activity: Presentation peer-reviews
presentations due
In-class activity: (1) Optimal foraging (2) Squirrel
week of First pass of Sauter 2006
6 foraging lab intro and (3) Final project topic
Oct 26 & (3 C’s) question
form
In-class activity: Research proposal draft
workshop & Innate vs. learned behavior
week of Mini presentations: Topics in groups, make Squirrel foraging lab
7
Nov 2 concept summary cards (one slide) that you report due
present to the class (example topics on Khan
Academy Page)
week of In-class activity: (1) Brood parasite concept First pass of three articles
8
Nov 9 cards (2) Final project outline & (3 C’s) question
Research proposal draft
In-class activity: (1) Reproductive behavior (2)
week of due AND Read Basolo
9 SimBio “family matters” (3) Research proposal
Nov 16 1990 & Write discussion
draft peer review
point
In-class activity: (1) Cooperative behavior (2)
week of Read Reed et al 2019
10 SimBio “Sections 1–5” (3) Reed et al 2019
Nov 23 before coming to class
activities
2
week of
NA Thanksgiving Recess - NO LAB NONE
Nov 30
Final research proposal
week of
11 Final research proposal presentations AND Final research
Dec 7
presentation due
Note: lab activities are subject to change as the semester proceeds
Grading (100 points total)
Assignments must be turned in on the day they are due. Any assignments turned in
late will be subject to penalty described below.
Assignment types: Pre-class assignments
Lab reports
In-class participation
(via discussion & Top Hat)
In-class assignments
Final project
Final presentation
Assignment Points
Pre-class assignments 15
Lab reports 30
In class participation 10
In class assignments 15
Final project 15
Final presentation 15
Grading Policy
Please see the guidelines and/or rubrics for each specific assignment for more exact grading criteria.
Many of the points lost in this class are due to not following the rubric, so please read them closely.
Assignments are due by the beginning of each class period.
3
Lab Reports (10 points each)
Lab reports should be two pages max, double-spaced, and in 12pt. Times New Roman font.
Margins should be 1”. Reports should include the following sections in the following order:
Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Discussion, Tables*, Figures*, and
References. Tables, figures, and references should be placed after the main body of text and do not
count towards the 2-page length limit. Each lab report should include at least three primary
literature citations. Be sure to add them with parenthetical citations in the text (e.g. Jung & Güell
2020) and provide full citations in the References section. Methods sections should include detailed
explanations about the specific statistical tests used for each analysis you report. Lab reports will be
graded for thoroughness and quality. Try to keep your writing clear and concise!
Your Results section should be formatted like the Results
section of journal articles. It should report the results of the
experiment without commenting on or interpreting them. You
cannot report any results that are not supported by statistical
tests. The summary statistics for a test should be reported
in parentheses after the relevant sentence. See below for an
example. The most important of these is typically the p-value,
which summarizes the statistical probability of the result.
Typically, we consider p-values of less than 0.05 to be
significant. This means that there is less than a 5% probability
that the results were obtained by chance. When a p-value is
less than 0.0001, it should be reported as p<0.0001.
When you report a result that has a corresponding figure or table, refer to the figure or table in
parentheses at the end of that sentence, like this (Fig. 1). Make sure to refer to every table and
figure in this section! Figures and tables should be captioned with a comprehensive but brief
summary. Figure captions should be placed below figures and table captions should be
placed above tables. Do not title figures. Remember to label all axes. Include the units of
measurement if relevant.
*These sections should be included in reports only when applicable.
Example Results sentence:
Students received significantly better grades on their results sections after reading the guidelines
in the syllabus (t=-4.06, p=0.002, Fig. 1).
4
Figure 1. Average grades of students’ results sections before and after reading the
guidelines in the lab manual. There was a significant increase in the mean score of the
assignments. Box plots show medians, interquartile range (IQR), and extent of data to
±1.5×IQR.
Final Project: Research Proposal
(15 points for written, 15 points for
presentation)
The research proposal will be completed as pairs or
individually. It can be based on any principle of animal
behavior.
3-Page Written Research Proposal
(double spaced, 1” margins, 12pt Times New Roman font; page
limit does not include tables, figures, or references)
5
Research proposals will be three pages max, double-spaced, and in 12pt. Times New
Roman font.
Margins should be 1”. Proposals should include the following sections in the following order:
Background, Proposed Research, Methods, Anticipated Results, Significance, and
References. References do not count towards the three-page maximum length. You may include
tables and figures that are appropriate and relevant. One idea is to create figures on predicted data
or other results that you might predict. Tables, figures, and references should be placed after the
main body of text and will not be counted towards the 3-page length limit. The background section
of your proposal should include background information about your study system and all facts
should be supported with proper citations. The proposed research section should include your
explicit research questions, your hypotheses, and your predictions. The methods sections should
include detailed information about how you would test your hypothesis using observational or
experimental approaches and details about the specific statistical tests you would use for each
analysis. The references section should include a minimum of 10 scientifically valid (i.e. peer
reviewed) sources relating to your proposed study. Research Proposals will be graded for
thoroughness and quality. Try to keep your writing clear and concise!
Research Presentation
The presentation will be presented by all members of
the group. Your group will have 5–10 minutes to
present your proposed research to the class. The
presentation will be graded based on quality and
content (rubric will be provided). At the end of the
presentations, the class will vote for one or two
projects to be “funded” by their “funding agency”.
Students may not vote for their own proposals.
6
Lab Attendance & Assignments Policy
Students are expected to attend all lab meetings synchronously and participate using video and
audio on Zoom calls. However, if you need special arrangements, contact both TFs as least a week
in advance. Assignments should be turned in by their deadlines regardless of attendance.
Zoom Tips & Tricks
● Setting up a profile picture! (highly recommended)
● Setting up a virtual background! (up to you)
● Pressing the space bar will temporarily toggle mute-status
● Check out the Zoom Help Center for additional information
Late Work Policy
Pre-class assignments, In-class participation, & In-class assignments: Unexcused late work
will not be accepted. If you miss any of these assessments or turn them in late, you won’t receive
those points.
Lab reports, Final project, & Final presentation: If you turn in these assignments late, you will
lose two points for each additional day it is late.
Academic Conduct:
Students are expected to work independently to complete all written assignments unless otherwise
specified. You may collaborate with your classmates in brainstorming ideas, but the written work
must be your own. This means that when you sit down to type up your paper, you should not have
any conversations, verbal or electronic, with anyone else in the class, nor should you have anyone
else’s paper in front of you while you are writing. Provide proper credit to those who gave you
ideas. Writing which is substantially similar in phrasing to a published source (e.g. textbook,
laboratory manual, or scientific journal) or another student’s work constitutes plagiarism. Students
found guilty of plagiarism may receive an F for the course from the faculty and may be suspended
or expelled by the Academic Conduct Committee. Therefore, we recommend that you complete the
assignments in the spirit in which they were intended. If you have questions about whether your
written work may be considered plagiarism, speak to your TF or the laboratory coordinator before
you submit the assignment.
