Biological Investigations (BSC 204)
The goal of the course is to increase student knowledge of the scientific research process and to develop skill at reading, analyzing, and communicating scientfic information.
Animal Behavior (BSC 286.01)
Mechanisms and adaptive significance of behavior. Emphasis is placed on understanding animal behavior in an evolutionary context.
Hormones, Brain and Behavior (BSC 327.01)
Exploration of relationships among hormones, brain, and behaviors associated with reproduction, aggression, stress, parenting, affiliation, homeostasis and development in animals.
Graduate Seminar: Animal Behavior – Proximate Mechanisms (BSC 420.04)
A survey of the effects of hormones and the nervous system in generating and regulating natural behavior in vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Introductory lectures and discussions will focus on the historical development of the fields of behavioral endocrinology and neuroethology from their roots in classical ethology and comparative psychology, as well as on key concepts in these research areas. The remainder of the course will consist of student presentations on self-selected topics related to the neural and endocrine regulation of natural behavior in animals.
Graduate Seminar: Animal Behavior – Biology of Birdsong (BSC 420.04)
This seminar will survey birdsong from multiple biological perspectives. Topics may include mechanisms of production and perception, behavioral and neural development, endocrine influences on song, sex-specific functions of song, sensory ecology of acoustic signaling, molecular/genetic cascades in the brain, sexual selection, mechanisms underlying seasonality of song, song learning and regional variation, vocal mimicry, song learning in brood parasites, sex differences in brain and behavior, disease resistance and song, developmental stress and signal quality, and the evolution of vocal learning.
Graduate Seminar: Neurobiology – Genes, Brains and Behavior (BSC 420.34)
This course explores the genetic and neural basis of natural behavior. Introductory discussions address animal behavior and the different levels of enquiry available for its study. The remainderof the course consists of student presentations on self-selected topics related to the genetic and neural underpinnings of behavior. Co-taught with Dr. Adrés Vidal-Gadea.