2020-2021 / BIOL0859-1

Insect behaviour

Duration

20h Th, 10h Pr

Number of credits

 Master in biology of organisms and ecology (120 ECTS)3 crédits 

Lecturer

Frédéric Francis, François Verheggen

Coordinator

Frédéric Francis

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Insect behavior covers a very wide range of activities, including locomotion, feeding, communication, reproduction, dispersal, flight, learning, migration, host or prey selection, diapause, and various responses to environmental hazards such as temperature, parasites, and toxins.
Through a conventional approach of ethology, the student will be led to discover the strategies of the study of the behavior of the insects: the study of their function, the associated mechanisms, the learning and the evolution of the behaviors. Life in society will be approached, so the important place of the olfaction.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

After the course, the student should be able to apply the issues Tinbergen specific behavioral traits in particular:
-> To present the ontogenetic bases for the development of animal behavior, and insect in particular
-> Describe how changes impact the development of a behavioral trait
-> To present and discuss the function of a behavior
-> Present mechanisms for the expression of an animal behavior, and insect in particular
At the end of the course, the student must also be able to propose a study protocol of a particular behavior, and analyze the results obtained.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Basics in Ehtology
Basics in Entomology

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Lectures
Practical work
Written report

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face lectures or distance lecture

Organisational adjustments related to the current health context

Recommended or required readings

There is no syllabus provided. All powerpoint slides will be provided to the students using ecampus.   Recommanded books:
Ethologie animale - Une approche biologique du comportement (Darmaillacq et Lévy). Editions de Boeck.
Le comportement animal - Psychobiologie, éthologie et évolution (McFarland). Editions de Boeck. 
Tristram Wyatt, Pheromone and animal Behaviour, Eds Cambridge University Press

Assessment methods and criteria

Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.

Scientific protocol development (20%)
Laboratory evaluation (10%)
Written report (40%)
Oral exam including results presentation (30%)

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Ex-Cathedra courses on Sart-Tilman campus
Laboratory work on the campus of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech

Contacts

Prof VERHEGGEN François
Entomologie fonctionnelle et évolutive Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech Passage des Déportés 2 5030 Gembloux  Belgique
+32 81 622662 fverheggen@uliege.be