Animal Behaviour

About this programme

This course provides you with a broad overview of the field of animal behaviour, covering key concepts, theories, and studies. You will gain vital hands-on experience by completing supervised group research projects on animals. During the initial five weeks of teaching, you will obtain rigorous knowledge of the broad theory of animal behaviour. After this teaching component, the course concludes with a practical project, during which you will be divided into small groups to carry out a behavioural study on real animals (deer, birds, fish, and insects are possible study organisms). This provides the opportunity to apply the methods and concepts covered during the lectures in practice. Please note that this is the same course as the previous course Ethology I. If you have previously taken and passed the course Ethology I, you should not apply for this course, as the content is identical. The first part of the course consists primarily of lectures and readings. Note that you can borrow the text book from us free of charge. The second part of the course consists of a behavioural study that you plan, perform and then present in groups of 3 - 4 students. Before the behavioural studies begin, we will have preparation days, covering the research systems and questions, how to plan and conduct experiments, and how to analyse data. The behavioural studies will be performed over a period of 5 days (see schedule). Students may be required to work and sleep off-campus during the projects (e.g., at Tovetorp research station, ca 90 km from Stockholm), but teachers will be on site durin