The introductory topics will cover various approaches to the study of animals and their behavior. Key concepts in studies of animal behavior, emphasizing ethology, are covered in class and in the assigned readings from Scott (2005), supplemented by selections from other books, especially from classics in the field as well as selected videos. Next, key concepts in sociobiology are covered using readings from Alcock (2001), supplemented by selections from additional books and some video presentations.

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Compare innate and learned behaviorDiscuss how movement and migration behaviors are a result of natural selectionDiscuss the different ways members of a population communicate with each otherGive examples of how species use energy for mating displays and other courtship behaviorsDifferentiate between various mating systemsDescribe different ways that species learn

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The abundant vegetation in forested areas can obstruct the view of potential food sources giving animals that can locate food with senses other than sight an advantage. While researchers hypothesize that fruit aromas evolved to attract primates to effectively disperse the seeds they contain, it’s unclear whether primates can use odor cues to locate fruit outside of their visual range. A recent study tested whether ring-tailed lemurs could detect distant hidden fruit by scent alone. The researchers hid containers holding real and imitation cantaloupe 4-17 m away from a trail routinely used by lemurs. They found that the lemurs were able to locate the real cantaloupe when the wind blew its scent toward the trail but were unable to find the imitation cantaloupe. The lemurs also showed behaviors indicating that they were following the cantaloupe “odor plume..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.