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| ZOOL0213-1 | Behavioural ecology
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| Duration : | 15h Th, 15h Pr |
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| Number of credits : |
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| Lecturer : | Mathieu Denoël |
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Language(s) of instruction :
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| French language |
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Organisation and examination :
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| Teaching in the first semester, review in January |
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Course contents :
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| The course is a complement to the general course of ethology given in the first cycle. It focuses on behavioural ecology and gives functional explanations to the complexity of behavioural patterns exhibited in varied environmental situations. The course explains how behaviours contribute to the survival and reproductive success of individuals and how the observed tactics and strategies have been selected. Optimality and maximalisation are of primary importance in this perspective. After a general introduction (first lecture), the course is divided into three main chapters: resource exploitation (lecture 2), reproductive systems (lectures 3 to 6) and interactions (lecture 7).
- Chapter 1: main concepts and methods in behavioural ecology.
- Chapter 2: choice of feeding patches, dietary items, reproductive habitat, and dispersion.
- Chapter 3: sexual dimorphism, mate choice, intra-sexual selection, sex roles, public information, mating systems, alternative mating tactics, and sperm competition.
- Chapter 4: interactions with conspecifics (parental care, life in groups, cooperation, altruism) |
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Learning outcomes of the course :
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| The aim of the course is to explain relations among behaviour, ecology and evolution in a perspective of optimality and selection. It consists in explaining theories in behavioural ecology on diversity of behavioural patterns and in illustrating them with empirical data from varied zoological groups. |
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Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :
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| It is useful to have bases in ethology. |
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Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
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| Depending on the number of students, either a bibliographic report on a specific topic in behavioural ecology or experimental practicals in the lab (with report). |
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Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
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| The lectures are given on Wednesdays morning, the first quadrimester.The schedule for the practicals will be given at the beginning of the year. In this case, the presence at the practicals in the laboratory is mandatory. |
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Recommended or required readings :
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| The Power-Point slides and the table of contents of the lectures are available on the web site of the Behavioural Biology Unit http://www.etho.ulg.ac.be/denoel/cours.html |
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Assessment methods and criteria :
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| The evaluation is based on an oral exam on the lectures and on the practicals/report. |
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Work placement(s) :
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Organizational remarks :
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Contacts :
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| Mathieu Denoël
Behavioural Biology Unit
Institute of Zoology (Bat. I1)
University of Liege
Quai van Beneden 22
4020 Liège
E-mail: Mathieu.Denoel@ulg.ac.be |
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| Items online : |
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| Behavioural ecology |
| This link gives access to the web page of the course of behavioural ecology. The lecture notes in pdf format can be downloaded individually. A detailed table of contents, a bibliographic list and resources for the practicals (reports) are also provided. |
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