PSY 2364 Animal Communication PSY 2364 Animal Communication Instructor: Dr. Peter Assmann Class meetings: MW 11:30-12:45 AM Classroom: GR 4.301 Office: GR 4.118 Tel: 972-883-2435 Office hours: Wed 10:30-11:30 AM Email: assmann@utdallas.edu Course web page: http://www.utdallas.edu/~assmann/psy2364/ Course Description Animal Communication is a Psychology elective for students interested in animal behavior and the nature of communication. This course will investigate the design features of communication systems, as well as the unique adaptations that are required in different environmental settings. Sensory and neural mechanisms that underlie the production and perception of communication signals will be considered, as well as the evolutionary and ecological forces that have shaped these systems in their natural environments. Textbook L.A. Dugatkin (2013). Principles of Animal Behavior. 3 rd edition. W.W. Norton & Co. Additional readings may be placed on reserve at McDermott Library or made available on the class web page. Course Requirements Midterm exam (40%). Exams will include short-answer, multiple choice and medium-length questions. Study questions will be made available on the class web page. No makeup exams will be provided. Final exam (40%). Same format and conditions as the midterm. The final exam is not cumulative, i.e. it will mainly cover material covered after the midterm. Course Requirements Class participation, homework and quizzes (20%). Several classes will include a brief unannounced quiz or a homework assignment (due one week after the assigned date) covering material from preceding classes. No makeup quizzes are provided. Extra credit assignment (up to 5%). Optional extra credit assignment on a topic of your choice (topic must be cleared with instructor by Oct. 14). Due same day as the final exam. 1
Extra Credit Assignment Investigate or read about an aspect of animal communication. Write a short paper on the topic (suggested length: 4-5 pages). Earn bonus points (up to 5%) toward your final grade. Niko Tinbergen (1907-1988) The Dutch ethologist Niko Tinbergen proposed that the scientific study of animal behavior proceeds by asking four questions. Tinbergen s four questions 1) Mechanism 2) Function 3) Ontogeny 4) Phylogeny African Elephants Tinbergen, N. 1963. On aims and methods of ethology. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 20: 410-433 2
Laughing Gull colony Bird Song Uirapuru (Musical Wren) Infant vocalizations Proximate causes mechanism Ultimate causes function Syrinx Songbirds have a unique mechanism for producing sound, called the syrinx. Proximate vs. ultimate causation How do cicadas produce their songs? What causes the song to change as the temperature goes up? Why do cicadas sing in synchronized choruses? 3
Theory of communication Signals and noise Source Transmitter Destination Receiver Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) Information (bits) Redundancy Channel Noise Key properties of communication (Peter Marler) Non-constancy communication signals have a clear start and endpoint Specialization adaptations for signal production, transmission, or reception Internal processing signals must picked up and interpreted by the receiver. Types of information Interactional intention to attack, escape, initiate courtship or mating; care-giving, attentiveness Identity species identity; individual identity; neighbor; sex of signaler; maturity/age class; breeding state Context a given signal may be interpreted in different ways depending on the situation and audience. 4
Ethology and communication Ethology study of animal behavior Developmental and evolutionary origins of behavior Natural environments Specialization of function Adaptation / ecology of behavior Detailed descriptive methods Ethogram 5