Animal Behaviour Biology 4701

last update: February 5, 2025

course outline here

do contact me if you have any comments, questions or want to chat about anything

Seminar presentation instructions (here)

Laboratory schedule and suggested papers for review presentations (will be regularly updated)

January 14 THE classic critique of behavioural ecology and sociobiology (Ian presents)

S.J. Gould and R. Lewontin.  1979.  The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: a critique of the adaptationisty program.  Proc. Roy. Soc. (London) 205: 581-598. here

January 21 Genetics of behaviour – human examples: pair bonding and social attitudes

B Landsborough, DR Wilson, DJ Mennill. 2020.  Variation in chick-a-dee call sequences, not in the fine structure of chick-a-dee calls, influences mobbing behaviour in mixed-species flocks.  Behavioral Ecology 31(1) 54–62. chick-a-dee.pdf presenter: James

Atton N, Galef BJ, Hoppitt W, Webster MM, Laland KN. 2014 Familiarity affects social network structure and discovery of prey patch locations in foraging stickleback shoals. Proc. R. Soc. B 281: 20140579. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2014.0579 presenter: James

January 28 Adaptive control of circadian rhythms

Appenroth et al. 2020. Photoperiodic induction without light-mediated circadian entrainment in a high Arctic resident bird. J Exp Biol 223 (16): jeb220699 presenter: Moira

Foster et al. 2017. Smaller and bolder prey snails have higher survival in staged encounters with the sea star Pisaster giganteus.  Current Zoology 63(6): 633-638. https://www.mun.ca/serg/WC-Foster 2017.pdf presenter: Parker

February 4 Examples of optimality theory testing studies

Morina et al. 2018. While males fight, females choose: male phenotypic quality informs female mate choice in mammals. Animal Behaviour 138: 69-74. presenter: Emily

Lanszki J, Bende Z, Nagyapáti N, Lanszki Z, Pongrácz P. (2023). Optimal prey for red fox cubs - An example of dual optimizing foraging strategy in foxes from a dynamic wetland habitat. Ecology and Evolution 13 e10033. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10033 presenter: Cate

February 11 Communication

A Wheeldon, P Szymański, A Surmacki, TS Osiejuk. (2021). Song type and song type matching are important for joint territorial defense in a duetting songbird, Behavioral Ecology 32(5):883–894. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab030 presenter: Kobe

NL Zweerus, M van Wijk, C Schal, AT Groot. (2021). Experimental evidence for female mate choice in a noctuid moth. Animal Behaviour 179:1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.06.022 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347221002025 presenter: Grace

February 18 Mate choice and sexual selection

no lab this week - study for mid term!

February 25 no lab – winter semester break

March 4 Mating systems

Andrew T. Smith, F. Stephen Dobson. (2022). Social complexity in plateau pikas, Ochotona curzoniae. Animal Behaviour 184:27-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.11.014 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347221003766 presenter: Cassandra

Duchateau S, Chéliz G, Gil JA, López-López P. (2022). Adult coloration of the Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) in the Pyrenees: relation to sex, mating system and productivity. Ibis 164:505-518. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13032 presenter: Meghan

March 11 Parental care, or not

Chabert et al. 2015. Size does matter: crocadile mothers react more to the voice of smaller offspring. Nature-Scientific Reports 5(15547) https://doi.org/10.1038/srep15547 presenter: Tim

Reid et al. (2022). Breeding status shapes territoriality and vocalization patterns in Spotted Owls. Journal of Avian Biology 2022(2): e02952 https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jav.02952 presenter: Teye

March 18 Human Behaviour I 

Jonason et al. 2015. Birds of a “bad” feather flock together: The Dark Triad and mate choice. Personality and Individual Differences 78: 34-38. presenter: Jessica

March 25 Human Behaviour II

L Glowacki. (2024). The controversial origins of war and peace: apes, foragers, and human evolution. Evolution and Human Behavior 45(6):106618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.106618
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513824000941 presenter: Wesley

Larva MA, Rantala M.J. (2024). An evolutionary psychological approach toward BDSM interest and behavior. Archives of Sexual Behaviour 53:2253–2267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02881-x presenter: Michael

Additional papers (could be used for the essay assignment)

Genetics of behaviour – human examples: pair bonding and social attitudes

Chen, N, Liu, YJ, Fan, YL et al. (2022). A single gene integrates sex and hormone regulators into sexual attractiveness. Nature Ecology and Evolution 6:1180–1190. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01808-w

MT Pot, ME Visser, B Helm, JAC von Rönn and HP van der Jeugd. (2024). Revisiting Perdeck's massive avian migration experiments debunks alternative social interpretations. Biology Letters 20:7. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0217

Mills MC, Tropf FC, Brazel DM et al. (2021). Identification of 371 genetic variants for age at first sex and birth linked to externalizing behaviour. Nature Human Behaviour 5:1717–1730. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01135-3

Saunders GRB, Wang X, Chen F et al. (2022). Genetic diversity fuels gene discovery for tobacco and alcohol use. Nature 612:720–724. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05477-4

Long T , Yuan M, Yuan H, Lu W. (2021). Heritability of animal individuality in fish: distribution, behavior, metabolism and stress response. Aquaculture 536:736415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.736415

Justen H et al. (2022). The genetics of bird migration. Current Biology 32(20): R1144 - R1149 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.008 presenter: 

LS Le Clercq, G Bazzi, JG Cecere, L Gianfranceschi, JP Grobler, A Kotzé, D Rubolini, M Liedvogel, DL Dalton. Time trees and clock genes: a systematic review and comparative analysis of contemporary avian migration genetics. Biological Reviews 98:(4)1051-1080 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12943

H Connahs, EJ Tan, YT Ter, E Dion, Y Matsuoka, A Bear and A Monteiro. (2022). The yellow gene regulates behavioural plasticity by repressing male courtship in Bicyclus anynana butterflies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 289:1972
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.2665

McCulloch, G. A., & Waters, J. M. (2023). Rapid adaptation in a fast-changing world: Emerging insights from insect genomics. Global Change Biology 29:943–954. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16512

Adaptive control of circadian rhythms

Feng and Bass. 2016. Singing fish rely on circadian rhythm and melatonin for the timing of nocturnal courtship vocalization. Current Biology 26:2681–2689.

Sbragaglia V, López-Olmeda JF, Frigato E, Bertolucci C, Arlinghaus R. (2021). Size-selective mortality induces evolutionary changes in group risk-taking behaviour and the circadian system in a fish. Journal of Animal Ecology 90:387–403. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13372

BM Tomotani, F Timpen and K Spoelstra. (2023). Ingrained city rhythms: flexible activity timing but more persistent circadian pace in urban birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 290. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.2605

M Martorell-Barceló, E Aspillaga, M Barcelo-Serra, R Arlinghaus, J Alós. (2024). Circadian-related behavioural types in free-living marine fish revealed by high-throughput telemetry. Animal Behaviour 210:255-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.12.019

N Merčnik, MP Povše, D Škorjanc, J Skok. (2023). Chronobiology of free-ranging domestic cats: circadian, lunar and seasonal activity rhythms in a wildlife corridor. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 269:106094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2023.106094

Lazzeri, L., Fazzi, P., Lucchesi, M. et al. (2022). The rhythm of the night: patterns of activity of the European wildcat in the Italian peninsula. Mammalian Biology 102:1769–1782. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-022-00276-w

Examples of optimality theory testing studies

G Piel, DW Tallamy, DL Narango. (2021). Lepidoptera host records accurately predict tree use by foraging birds. Northeastern Naturalist 28(4):527-540. https://doi.org/10.1656/045.028.0410

Sarkar R, B Anirban, D Debsruti, B Rounak, C Poushali, N Abhijit, R Sreelekshmi, R Aritra, S Rituparna, MA Baran, B Anindita. (2023). Eating smart: Free-ranging dogs follow an optimal foraging strategy while scavenging in groups. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 11. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1099543 https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1099543

Sliger R, Grossman GD. (2021). A test of a generalized, optimal habitat selection model for drift-feeding fishes: brook charr. Journal of Zoology 315:313 318. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12926

van Deurs M, Persson A, Nilsson PA, Jørgensen C. (2022). Fish resist temptation from junk food: state-dependent diet choice in reproductive Atlantic cod Gadus morhua facing seasonal fluxes of lipid-rich prey. Oikos https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.08739

WT Gough, DE Cade, MF Czapanskiy, JPotvin, F E Fish, SR Kahane-Rapport, MS Savoca, KC Bierlich, DW Johnston, AS Friedlaender, A Szabo, L Bejder, JA Goldbogen. (2022). Fast and Furious: energetic trade-offs and scaling of high-speed foraging in rorqual whales. Integrative Organismal Biology 4:1. https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obac038

Communication

JB Theberge, MT Theberge. (2022). Triggers and consequences of wolf (Canis lupus) howling in Yellowstone National Park and connection to communication theory. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 100(12): 799-809. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2022-0043

L de Framond, H Brumm, WI Thompson, SM Drabing, CD Francis. (2022). The broken-wing display across birds and the conditions for its evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 289:1971. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0058

L Yu, X Xu, Z Zhang, CJ Painting, X Yang, D Li. (2022). Masquerading predators deceive prey by aggressively mimicking bird droppings in a crab spider. Current Zoology 68(3):325–334. https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoab060

D Alves, M Vieira, M Clara, P Amorim, PJ Fonseca. (2021). Boat noise interferes with Lusitanian toadfish acoustic communication. Journal of Experimental Biology 224(11): jeb234849. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.234849

D Sofya , H Eckhard. (2022). Coordinated singing in Coppery Titi Monkeys (Plecturocebus cupreus): resource or mate defense? Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 10. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.898509 https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.898509

AJ Barker et al. (2021). Cultural transmission of vocal dialect in the naked mole-rat. Science 371:503-507. DOI:10.1126/science.abc6588 https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abc6588

M Lastra, NR Negrín, AC Fuentes et al. (2024). Mantled howler monkey males assess their rivals through formant spacing of long-distance calls. Primates 65:183–190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-024-01120-0

Mate choice and sexual selection

Kneil et al. 2015. Novel mate preference through mate-choice copying in zebra finches: sexes differ. Behavioural Ecology 26(2): 647-655. 

Pine M, Wilson L, Jeffs AG, McWhinnie L, Scuderi A, Radford CA. (2021). A Gulf in lockdown:  how an enforced ban on recreational vessels increased dolphin and fish communication ranges. Global Change Biology 27:4839-4848. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15798

A McQueen, K Delhey, B Szecsenyi, OL Crino, MJ Roast, A Peters. (2021). Physiological costs and age constraints of a sexual ornament: an experimental study in a wild bird. Behavioral Ecology 32(2):327–338. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araa143

Wang D, Forstmeier W, Farine DR et al. (2022). Machine learning reveals cryptic dialects that explain mate choice in a songbird. Nature Communications 13:1630. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28881-w

EM Song, X Wang et al. (2021). Mate choice for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) complementarity in the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia). Avian Research 12:27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-021-00261-w

Kavaliers M, Bishnoi IR, Ossenkopp KP et al. (2022). Odor-based mate choice copying in deer mice is not affected by familiarity or kinship. Animal Cognition 25:241–248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01550-z

Caves EM, Kelley LA. (2023). Proportional processing of a visual mate choice signal in the green swordtail, Xiphophorus hellerii. Ecology Letters 26:575-585. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14179

Sinclair CS, Lisa SF, Pischedda A. (2021). Does sexual experience affect the strength of male mate choice for high-quality females in Drosophila melanogaster? Ecology and Evolution 11:16981–16992. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8334

Mating systems

P Yu, F Miao, Z Kong, R Cao, P Chen. (2023). Genetic evidence for variability in the social mating system of the Midday Gerbil (Meriones meridianus). Journal of Mammalogy, 104(6):1434–1442. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyad080

Heinsohn R, Appleby D, Wilson D, Legge S. (2024). Large, overlapping home ranges reveal male mating strategies in polygynandrous Eclectus parrots. Emu - Austral Ornithology 124(3–4):261–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2024.2368006

Cheng YC, Hsu Y, Chen YH. (2024). Costs and benefits of polyandrous mating to the female emerald treefrog (Zhangixalus prasinatus), a lek-chorusing anuran. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 78:111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03528-6

J Krietsch, M Valcu, M Cragnolini, W Forstmeier, B Kempenaers. (2024). Mutual mate guarding with limited sexual conflict in a sex-role-reversed shorebird. Behavioral Ecology 35(1):arad084. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arad084

LRW McLean, TW Horton, BC Robertson, F Robertson, AL Greer, XJ Nelson. (2023). Reproductive roles as likely drivers of sexual dimorphism in New Zealand’s endangered mountain parrot, the Kea. Ornithology 140:4. https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukad038

Parental care, or not

FD Rogers, CJ Pena, R Mallarino. (2023). African Striped Mice (Rhabdomys pumilio) as a neurobehavioural model for male parental care. Hormones and Behaviour 152:105364 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105364 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0018506X23000624

Stredulinsky et al. 2021. Family feud: permanent group splitting in a highly philopatric mammal, the killer whale (Orcinus orca). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 75(3): 1-17. 

Heyer E, Cimadom A, Wappl C, Tebbich S. (2021). Parental care in the Small Tree Finch Camarhynchus parvulus in relation to parasitism and environmental factors. Ibis 163:137-149. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12845

M Martin, T Gridley, A Immerz, SH Elwen, I Charrier. (2024). Use of acoustic signals in Cape fur seal mother–pup reunions: individual signature, signal propagation and pup home range. Journal of Experimental Biology 227(13):jeb246917. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246917

H Cope, ER Ivimey-Cook, J Moorad. (2022). Triparental ageing in a laboratory population of an insect with maternal care. Behavioral Ecology 33(6):1123–1132. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arac078

Human Behaviour I 

TS Roth, I Samara, ME Kret. (2021). Multimodal mate choice: Exploring the effects of sight, sound, and scent on partner choice in a speed-date paradigm. Evolution and Human Behavior 42(5): 461-468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.04.004
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513821000313

Kleppesto TH, Czajkowski NO, SheehySkeffington J, Vassend O, Roysamb E, Eftedal NH, Kunst JR, Ystrom E, Thomsen L. (2024). The genetic underpinnings of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation explain political attitudes beyond Big Five personality. Journal of Personality 92:1744–1758. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12921

Abdellaoui A, Verweij KJH. (2021). Dissecting polygenic signals from genome-wide association studies on human behaviour. Nature Human Behaviour 5:686–694 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01110-y

D Farrelly, MS Bhogal. (2021). The value of pro-environmental behaviour in mate choice. Personality and Individual Differences 179:110964.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110964
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886921003391

Human Behaviour II

TM Waring, ZT Wood, E Szathmáry. (2023). Characteristic processes of human evolution caused the Anthropocene and may obstruct its global solutions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 379:1893. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0259

Savolainen V, Bailey NW, Diamond L et al. (2024). A broader cultural view is necessary to study the evolution of sexual orientation. Nature Ecology and Evolution 8:181–183. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02273-9

Anikin A. (2024). Why do people make noises in bed? Evolution and Human Behavior 45(2):183-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.02.002
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513824000217

J Fořt, JV Valentova, K Hudáčová, B Kunc, J Havlíček. (2025). An evolutionary perspective on homosexuality: Testing the sexually antagonistic genes hypothesis through familial fertility analysis. Evolution and Human Behavior 46(1):106649 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2024.106649
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513824001259

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