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Advanced module Behavioral Biology

In the advanced module, we deal with the mechanistic foundations of behaviour, focusing on the physiology of reproduction and stress.  Furthermore, we look at the evolutionary and ecological perspective, for example in relation to forms of organisation, mating systems or selection mechanisms.
In the seminar, we offer students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of a topic and to present it. The focus is on working with review articles and primary literature and independently elaborating a selected topic.
Both the lecture and the seminar prepare students for the exercises. We are pleased to be able to offer this in cooperation with Osnabrück Zoo. Under our supervision, the students work on their own scientific projects in small groups, where they are allowed to choose the design, question and methodology themselves.

From the module description:

In the advanced module Behavioural Biology, students will acquire advanced scientific competencies in the discipline. They will acquire in-depth knowledge of selected topics in behavioural biology with the focus on: Physiological and neuroendocrine mechanisms of behavioural control; evolution and ecology of behaviour. They will be able to apply this knowledge to new issues and derive conclusions. They apply their theoretical knowledge to self-developed behavioural biology problems and use more sophisticated working methods and concepts. They learn to work independently in small groups (including careful data analysis, recording, statistical evaluation, presentation and critical discussion of the results).

Lecture: Introduction to the mechanistic basis of behaviour (e.g., in the context of reproductive and stress physiology); behaviour from an evolutionary and ecological perspective (e.g., selection mechanisms, cooperation, social organization, and mating systems).

Seminar: Review articles and primary literature are used to develop in-depth technical and methodological-theoretical knowledge of the topics covered in the lecture. The selected publications will introduce the methods and topics of the planned exercises. This should give students the opportunity to develop their own small scientific projects for the exercises.

Exercises: Implementation of a scientific project in small groups on a selected topic that has been thematically prepared in seminar and lecture (including elaboration of the study design, formulation of hypotheses to be tested, selection and application of methodology).