Animal Behaviour BAG203

We assume all animal behaviour is an adaptation for survival, but this isn't always the case. Animals can behave self-destructively, out of habit, or out of boredom, or for other reasons: just as humans can.

This course focuses on mainly understanding how animals think (all types), but it also has more of a practical application, looking at things such as training, handling and dealing with abnormal behaviours.
 

Course Structure: Animal Behaviour BAG203

1. Introduction: Influences and motivation.
   • What is behaviour
   • Causes of behaviour (eg. genetics, learning, external and internal influences)
   • Reactive, active and cognitive behaviour
   • Conditioning
2. Genetics and Behaviour.
   • Understanding biology
   • Natural selection
   • Genetic variation
   • Development of behaviour
   • Behavioural genetics
3. Animal Perception and Behaviour.
   • How animals perceive things
   • What stimulates them and how do those stimuli function
   • Instinct
   • Neural control
   • Sensory processes, sight, sound, hearing etc.
4. Behaviour and the Environment.
   • Coordination
   • Orientation
   • Homeostasis
   • Acclimatisation
   • Circadian rhythms
   • Biological clocks
   • Reproductive cycles etc.
5. Social Behaviour.
   • Animal Societies
   • Aggression
   • Social constraints
   • Social order
   • Play
   • Biological clocks
   • Communication
6. Instinct and Learning.
   • Conditioning and learning
   • Extinction and habituation
   • Instrumental learning
   • Reinforcement
   • Operant behaviour
   • Biological and cognitive aspects of learning
7. Handling Animals.
   • Psychological affects of different handling techniques
   • Training animals (horses, cats, dogs, etc).
   • The student has a choice of which types of animals to focus on, though a variety will still be covered.
8. Behavioural Problems.
   • Abnormal behaviour (eg. Psychotic, neurotic);
   • Domestication of animals
   • Reducing human contact
   • Reducing human dependence

Aims: Animal Behaviour BAG203

• Explain the role of marketing in business and the importance of marketing in the business plan.
• Assess the relative importance of marketing planning and to determine marketing strategies in relation to farming.
• Identify target markets to select suitable marketing methods.
• Explain the physical handling of products in the marketing process, including packaging, labelling, presentation and transportation.
• Plan to maintain sound customer relations in an agricultural business.
• Conduct market research into a product or service in the agricultural industry.
• Plan to manage the promotional program for an agricultural business.
• Develop strategies to manage the marketing of an agricultural enterprise.

What you will do during this Course

• Observe an animal in the zoo, in the wild, or a domestic animal.  Try to observe what you consider to be an example of operant conditioning. Make notes.
• Talk with an animal breeder (amateur or professional). This may be a pet owner whose cat or dog has given birth; or it may be a farmer, dog breeder, horse breeder, bird breeder or some other animal breeder.
• Write a paragraph describing the behaviour of an animal (real or contrived) which utilizes the different words you learnt under terminology in this lesson
• Classify the following animals according to whether they are endo-therms or ecto-therms; a dog, a penguin, a single celled protozoa, a lizard.  How is heat lost from endo-therms to the environment, and how can this heat loss be reduced?
• Observe an animal while it is on its own. Make notes of how it behaves. Observe the same animal or species of animal in a group situation or in the presence of one other animal of the same species.  Make notes on its behaviour and pay attention to any noticeable differences compared to its solitary behaviour.
• Visit a zoo, wildlife park or farm where animals are being confined in some way, and observe the behaviour of one particular type of animal over the course of an hour. This can be any animal you choose to study. Make notes on its behaviour, and any problems that you would anticipate with handling.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the Academy, marked by the Academy's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.