Description Class Project Summary: ? 4-10 page paper ? Observe ONE behavior out in the wild ? Report on the behavior from each of the four Tinbergen levels ? Due December 2, 2021 The goal for this assignment is to observe an animals behavior (a single behavior, not multiple) and discuss it with respect to the four Tinbergen levels, proposing experiments to test your own hypotheses. Behavioral observations: I would like you to get out into nature, or visit a zoo and keep your eyes open for interesting behaviors. These behaviors may involve feeding, mating, social interplay, hunting, etc. The more of the same behavior you are able to record, the better (to document some of the natural variation, or lack thereof). Therefore, I encourage you to make multiple visits on different days if possible. Effort is rewarded. The Paper: Your paper should start off with a detailed description of the behavior you observed, and the conditions under which you observed them. Also, note whether your own presence may have had an influence on what you observed. Next, Id like you to dissect the behavior, addressing it from the Tinbergens levels as discussed in class (and in the text). I would like you to interpret how the behavior might be explained at each level (i.e., speculate which mechanisms and abilities are necessary for the behavior, how this behavior may have come about developmentally, how the behavior may affect the fitness of the animal, and briefly discuss potential phylogenetic origins). In addition, at each of these levels, I would like you to propose some experiments that could be used to test your explanations. These experiments may be presented briefly, but you are expected also to discuss factors that would need to be controlled, and how you might go about doing it Observations can be done with friends, but the write-ups must be completely solo. VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NRU6iH5lzs
