BIO 371 Behavioral Ecology: Avian Reproductive Strategies
An exploration of the reproductive strategies employed by birds, including studies of territoriality, courtship, mating success, sexual selection, mating systems, parental care patterns, alternative reproductive strategies, and cooperative breeding. These topics will be placed in an evolutionary context. How do different reproductive behaviors evolve? Why do some reproductive behaviors work in some environments but not in others? How does the distribution of resources influence reproductive behavior? In order to understand some of these avian behaviors, we will learn some special adaptations and physiology/morphology of the class: Aves. And to put this into a broader context, we will occasionally compare avian behavior to that observed in other taxonomic groups. In our investigations, we will utilize observation, manipulative experiments, game theory and optimization models. We will call upon the disciplines of ecology, evolution, physiology, developmental biology, and genetics. Students completing this course will come away with an understanding of how an avian behavioral ecologist goes about asking questions and designing experiments.