| Responsible Department | Department of Large Animal Sciences | ||||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | BSc. 3 year to MSc. 2 year | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | One block | ||||||||||||||
| Credits | 7.5 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||||
| Level of Course | Joint BSc and MSc | ||||||||||||||
| Examination | Final Examination written examination Written Exam in Lecturehall All aids allowed Description of Examination: Individual written report and a 4 hour written exam Weight: Written exam: 50% Report: 50% 7-point scale, internal examiner Dates of Exam: 11 November 2011 | ||||||||||||||
| Organisation of Teaching | The teaching consists of lectures and seminars that with an active participation on the part of the students. | ||||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 1 Week Structure: B | ||||||||||||||
| Language of Instruction | English | ||||||||||||||
| Restrictions | Ingen | ||||||||||||||
| Course Content | |||||||||||||||
| . Levels of explanation in ethology: ultimate and proximate explanations (Tinbergen's 4 questions) . Motivation: models of motivation, measuring motivation, practical consequences of motivational mechanisms, behavioural needs . Hormones and behaviour: the physiological cause of motivation . Emotions: theories of emotion, emotion in animals, measuring emotions . Fear: how to measure fear, welfare and production consequences of fear . Learning: classical and operant conditioning, use of learning theory in production settings, consequences of conditioning . Ontogeny: development of behavioru patterns, effect of early experience on normal and abnormal behaviour . Stress: types of stressors, chronicla and acute stress, physiological consequences . Communication: functional models, forms of communication, intra- og interspecies communication . Social behaviour: types of social groups, effect of large groupsizes . Aggression: forms of aggression, practical consequences of aggression . Reproductive behaviour: theories of partner choice, periparturient behaviour, mother offspring interaction | |||||||||||||||
| Teaching and learning Methods | |||||||||||||||
| The course is based on lectures, seminars and a written report. It covers mainly production, companion and laboratory animals, but also includes examples from other species when pertinent. The focus of the lectures is on theories and lines of reasoning that are common for all species. Students working in groups are expected to give presentations on specific subjects, these will form the basis for the seminars. The topics are typically welfare related. Finally the student is expected to write a report on a subject related to animal behaviour and/or animal welfare. | |||||||||||||||
| Learning Outcome | |||||||||||||||
| The main aim of the course is to give a theoretical introduction to the main areas of Animal Behaviour. These include ontogeny, motivation, communication, social organisation and learning theory. The behaviour of production, companion and laboratory animals will be described The purpose of this is to make the student capable of reflecting on the behaviour and welfare of animals. When the course is finished the student is expected to: Knowledge: -Describe the normal behaviour of animals, and their basic behavioural needs -Understand key concepts in ethology and learning psychology -Understand the theoretical basis for the basic needs of animals Skills: -Be able to analyse the welfare of animals in differing production or laboratory environments -Explain causal relationships of the development of abnormal behaviour. -Use scientific principles of learning and motivation to explain and evaluate different training methods -Analyse results from behavioural tests for motivation and emotions Competencies: -Work independently and effectively in a group on a joint project -Search for scientific literature on specific topics related to animal behaviour and welfare | |||||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||||
| Björn Forkman, bjf@life.ku.dk, Department of Large Animal Sciences/Populationsbiology, Phone: 353-33581 | |||||||||||||||
| Study Board | |||||||||||||||
| Study Committee V | |||||||||||||||
| Work Load | |||||||||||||||
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