UCL - Ecologie comportementale

[BOE2161]

[24h] 2 credits

Teacher(s): Thierry Hance, Hans Van Dyck

Language: French

Level: Second

Aims
Main themes

Aims

Behavioural ecology adopts an evolutionary approach for the study of behaviour; the relationships between behaviour, ecology and evolution are explored in this field of biology. The general objective is to develop a conceptual framework for studying and understanding animal behaviour from an ecological and evolutionary perspective. Students will be trained to formulate and test hypotheses by carefully analyzing and discussing observational and experimental behavioural ecological studies.

Main themes

1) History of behavioural ecology
2) Major concepts of behavioural ecology
3) Functional and mechanistic aspects of the study of behaviour
4) Theory, applications and discussion about a selection of issues (e.g. Living in group, Fight and assessment, Sexual conflict and sexual selection, Communication and the evolution of signals)
5) Behaviour and conservation biology
6) Behavioural ecology of the human species