Animal Ethology

Code:

MV114

Acronym:

EA

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Animal Production

Instance: 2021/2022 - 1S (of 04-10-2021 to 14-01-2022)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Behavioural Sciences
Course/CS Responsible:	Integrated Masters Degree in Veterinary Medicine

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIMV	82	Official Study Plan	1	-	4	56	108

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

The curricular unit of ETOLOGY is part of the study plan for the Integrated Master in Veterinary Medicine of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of Abel Salazar of the University of Porto. It is a semester course of the 1st year of this degree, with a workload of four hours per week, divided into two theoretical classes and two theoretical-practical classes.
It is a general training discipline that aims to raise students' awareness of the importance of studying animal behavior in its theoretical and applied aspects, addressing themes that will serve as the basis for subjects taught later.

Learning outcomes and competences

It is intended to encourage the learning of fundamental concepts for understanding the study of animal behavior, with the aim of:
(1) to analyze, in a historical perspective, the beginning of the systematized study of animal behavior;
(2) to present the main behavioral systems which are common to several species and essential to survival that also imply inter-individual cooperation;
(3) to analyze the biological bases of behavior in an ontogenetic perspective;
(4) understand the applications of the knowledge of this science to practical situations;
(5) to know the main behavioral characteristics of some companion and production animals;
(6) understand the importance of animal welfare and its application;
(7) implement the domain of ethical rules in the use of animals.

It is also intended to develop critical thinking, promoting discussions aimed at:
(a) integrate the acquired knowledge;
(b) promoting the capacity for reflection;
(c) promoting animal welfare and an ethical conduct

Working method

Presencial

Program

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF ETHOLOGY:
1. What is Ethology?;
2. Origins of this discipline (The naturalists' works; innate behaviors; the ethological approach; the Comparative Psychology approach);
3. Differences between Ethology and Comparative Psychology.
CLASSIC ETHOLOGY. MAIN CRITICS. CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES:
1. Main classic concepts of Ethology;
2. Organization of instinctive behavior models;
3. Contemporary perspectives.
THE PHILOGENETIC EVOLUTION OF BEHAVIOR:
1. Homologies of the behavior in the philogenetic scale;
2. The ethological perspective in the study of human behavior.
THE STUDY OF BEHAVIORAL SYSTEMS:
1. Agonistic system;
2. Sexual system;
3. Vinculation system;
4. Territorial behavior;
5. Hierarchic behavior.
COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE:
1. Communication;
2. Culture.
THE ONTOGENY OF BEHAVIOR:
1. The controversy nature/nurture
2. Effects of different environmental conditions in development;
3. Development in sensorial deprivation conditions.
COGNITIVE ETOLOGY:
What is Cognitive Ethology: Animal consciousness; Cognition and intelligence; Intention; Game; Teaching
LEARNING:
1. Learning and adaptation;
2. Types of learning: habituation; classical conditioning; operant conditioning; insight learning; social learning.
ETOLOGY AND AREAS OF APPLICATION:
1. Working Animals
2. Pets:
- Dog
- Cat
3. Behavior problems
4. Farm animals
ETOLOGY AND ANIMAL WELFARE:
1. Stress
2. Animal welfare
- Pets
- Farm animals
ETOLOGY AND ETHICS:
1. Ethical concepts
2. Ethics applied to animals

Mandatory literature

Lee Alan Dugatkin; Principles of Animal Behavior, W. W. Norton & Company, 2020. ISBN: 978-0393920451
Katherine A. Houpt ; Domestic Animal Behavior for Veterinarians and Animal Scientists, Wiley-Blackwell, 2018. ISBN: 978-1119232766

Complementary Bibliography

Michael Breed and Janice Moore; Animal Behavior , Academic Press , 2016. ISBN: 9780128015322
Per Jensen; The Ethology of Domestic Animals: An Introductory Text, CABI, 2017. ISBN: 978-1786391650
James Yeates; Animal Welfare in Veterinary Practice, Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. ISBN: 978-1444334876

Comments from the literature

BIBLIOGRAPHY for those who want to know more:
. Tinbergen, N. (1951). The study of instinct. Clarenden Press, Oxford.
. Lorenz, K. (1975). Três ensaios sobre o comportamento animal e humano. Lisboa, Editora Arcádia
. Eibl-Eibesfelldt, I. (1977). Amor e Ódio. Lisboa: Livraria Bertrand.
. de Sousa, L. (1985) Experiências precoces. ICBAS. Porto: Univ. Porto.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical Lectures.
Analysis and discussion of animal behavior videos.
Presentation and discussion of students work.

keywords

Natural sciences > Biological sciences > Zoology > Animal ethology

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	40,00
Exame	60,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	32,00
Estudo autónomo	20,00
Frequência das aulas	56,00
Total:	108,00

Eligibility for exams

1. Work on a theme within the scope of Ethology, carried out in groups
2. Final exam

Calculation formula of final grade

60% - Final exam

40% - Group Work about a theme in Ethology