Dr. Jeff Kopachena  Science, Rm 260 (Phone 903 468-8730) 
Office hours:   M 8:30 - 9:30  
                      TR 9:00 - 11:00 

Textbook: Kerebs, J.R. and N.B. Davies. 1997. Behavioural Ecology: An Evollutionary Approach, 4th Edition. ISBN: 0-86542-731-3

Course Synopsis:
 The objective of this course is to provide students with a thorough understanding of the evolutionary and ecological contexts of animal behavior.  The course covers the following chapters in the textbook: Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 14. For each chapter there will be a test and class chapter. In addition, for each chapter each student will select a peer-reviewed paper dated no earlier than 2000 that deal with a topic covered in that chapter. Students will also be expected to write an essay dealing with a current topic in Behavioural Ecology and, at the end of the semester, will do a class seminar on that topic.

Grade Distribution Chapter Texts                  25%  Chapter Related Article;   Review Papers               20%    Presentations                   5% Essay                               30% Essay Presentation           10% Class Participation           10% Total                            100%

    You will be required to use information from contemporary articles in behavioral ecology.  You will be required to comprehend these articles and this comprehension will evaluated through your written assignments and oral presentations.  I appreciate that you may not be familiar with all the terminology or concepts in these papers.  However, I expect that you will use the internet to find the necessary background information to allow you to become familiar with this material.  You cannot expect to simply read and regurgitate the articles.  You must make sure you set aside enough time to go through the article and do the necessary research to develop full comprehension of the material. 
   For each chapter, you will be expected to write a detailed evaluation of a primary source article taken from a high quality peer-reviewed journal, such as some of those listed at these links.  The class is scheduled such that you will have read the relevant chapter the week prior to the time that your article review is due.  This should give you plenty of time to find an appropriate article and write a succinct review.  Your review should be no more than 5 pages.  It should be organized as follows:  1) provide a brief introduction to the topic of the paper (with some background information), 2) state the objectives of the study and how they relate (ie are important) to the general field of study, 3) describe the methods used and evaluate the suitability of these methods (suggest better approaches if possible), 4) describe the results and the author’s interpretation of those results and their significance as a contribution to the topic in general.  Finally, append a copy of the article to the back of your review. 
      Your article must be relevant to some aspect of Behavioral Ecology and must have been published no earlier than 2000.  A list of some periodicals is available here also check the library databases.  Try to find articles that do not have to be ordered through interlibrary loan.  Often articles that are not availaable through the journal web page or through a library database can be found by search through Google Scholar.  If you have even the slightest doubt about the suitability of a paper, do not hesitate to consult me. 
       Your review should be no more than 5 typewritten pages (double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman, 1" margins).  People often lose points for failing to properly cite their sources of information.  You must cite all sources of information.  Copying of material, whether, whether parts of sentences, whole sentences, paragraphs, or entire articles, will result in a score of zero for your essay.  Cite all references in the body of your paper and in a literature cited section at the back  Use scientific journal format.  Consult a journal or consult me to see how this is done.  Do not use direct quotes (you will lose marks for doing so).  Your mark will be based largely on how thoroughly you have tackled the assignment.  Therefore, be very concise and avoid verbosity and redundancy.  Pay attention to your spelling and grammar.  If you have questions, please talk to me. 
     Forty percent of your grade is based on an essay and accompnying presentation that you will do on some contemporary issue in behavioral ecology.  In part your grade will be based on how relevant and how current your selected topic is.  Therefore, you want to make sure that you select a recent topic.  At least four of your cited sources of information must be less than 5 years old.  For a really good topic you will find that most of your sources of information will have been published in the last 5 years.  Make sure your topic can be adequately written within the page limit of the assignment (essay should be 15 - 25 pages).  If you have even the slightest doubt about the suitability of a topic, do not hesitate to consult me.
     Your final paper should be between 15 and 25 typewritten pages (double-spaced, 12 point type, 1" margins).  You must cite all sources of information including sources used for figures and tables.  There should be at least 1 reference per typewritten page (i.e. if you write a 20 page essay you should have about 20 different sources of information), but this will vary according to topic.  Cite all references using scientific journal format.  Consult a journal or consult me to see how this is done.  Make the fullest possible use of the library facilities.  Do not use material taken from popular books and magazines that do not contain peer reviewed articles, or that are not edited by a professional in the field.  Use ample figures and tables (figures and tables do not count in determining the page length of the paper).  Past experience has shown that students who include figures and tables are most likely to get the highest grades.  Furthermore, your essay grade will be based largely on how thoroughly you have covered your topic.  Therefore, be very concise and avoid verbosity and redundancy.  Pay attention to your spelling and grammar.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to talk to me.

Obligatory Statements:

 Plagiarism is a criminal activity.  You must cite all sources of information.  Copying of material, whether parts of sentences, whole sentences, paragraphs, or entire articles, will result in a score of zero for your assignment and can result in further disciplinary action. 

 Students with Disabilities:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities.  Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation fo their disabilities.  If you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact:

 All student enrolled at the University shall follow the tenets of common decency and acceptable behavior conducive to a positive learning environment.  See Student's Guide Handbook, Policies and Procedures, Conduct. 

Students who are disruptive to class activities will be dropped from the class and may face further disciplinary action.