Module 9 Behaviors
Resources
Additional activities, a behind-the-scenes gallery, recommended books, and more.
About this Guide
Biology is a Picnic
Mark and I spent our graduate student years partly in the physical sciences. Mark researched wood products and that involved a great deal of chemistry; I was teaching chemistry and physics. But we had undergraduate degrees and field experience in biology, so it was inevitable we would be drawn back to the amazing ecosystems and organisms we started with. Thats not to say we like all biology topics equally. The great thing about co-teaching, is that it’s likely if one of us isn’t keen on a topic; the other thinks its fantastic. There is plenty to love in the life sciences, and every day teaching really is a picnic.
Lesley
Additional Activities
Pet Store Field Trip
If you are in a city or do not have time to head out into the field, pet stores offer amazing opportunities for observations and inferences related to animal structure and behaviors. Now that so many people have smart phones, few stores now limit photography or videos, although it may be polite to ask. Of course the issue develops, that you may want to adopt them all :).
New Vistas
Animals often live in areas that humans have difficulty accessing, like coastal birds nesting on rocky outcroppings. Investing is optical equipment like binoculars or a telephoto lens immerses you in the animal’s habitat safely, with minimal impact on the animals themselves. It is an investment, but equipment can last for many years.
Weather vs. Climate
Weather has a significant impact on fitness. In case you are wondering what the difference is between weather and climate, it is the time scale. Weather is the temperature and precipitation over a short period of time. Climate is the accumulation of those weather events over years, decades, and longer. So we are talking about the weather when we are discussing that day’s temperature and rainfall, but we are talking about the climate if we talk about average seasonal conditions over time. Start collecting weather data on a regular basis now, and in a human lifetime, you can observe climate trends.
Goose Dock
A decade ago a pair of Dusky Canada Geese showed up in one of our recently excavated ponds and Mark built a nesting platform for them the next day. Of course, they immediately left and we haven’t seen the geese land at that pond since. However in the mean time, other animals have come and gone, including thousands of Pacific Tree Frog tadpoles that hid under the protection of the floating platform. So, it ended up being a success, just not in the way we intended.
Build a Farm
Well, the ants will actually do most of the work. Ants can be purchased through the mail in many regions, and only the sterile worker females are shipped to avoid accidental introduction into the wild. Ants are not typically long-lived, but with care, primarily maintaining moisture while avoiding mold, you can extend their adult life span considerably.
Social Animals
Many of the tropical bird species kept as pets flock in large numbers in a wild. Even if they pair bond and separate from the large group for breeding, they often rejoin the group at other times. Most birds kept as pets retain many behavioral (and structural) traits as their wild ancestors. This leads to a conflict: bird owners want to keep their often long-lived pets as healthy and comfortable as possible, but birds are expensive, sometimes loud, and not always socialized with other birds prior to adoption. A bird can be a significant commitment and assistance from enthusiasts, clubs, and online communities may yield helpful information and support.
Just for Fun
Birds exhibit some of the most elaborate structures and behaviors related to mating. Zoos are now including more aviaries and outdoor bird venues to attract visitors.
This macro video shows guppy iridescence and the strong variation of colors and patterns that female guppies can see but is more difficult for us to detect without magnification.
Behind-the-Scenes
Interpretive Centers
We are historically cheap when it comes to paying for outdoor experiences, but have changed our tune now that we are collecting media for this course and are benefiting from information at parks and refuges. This trip was right before the pandemic.
Park Excursions
Some of our favorite photos and videos have been coming from parks where people have been regularly feeding an/or sheltering the animals. The ability to get close to human habituated animals almost feels like cheating.
On the Dock of the Bay
Mark is using a special housing that stabilizes a tablet (in this case an iPad) for video. We are moving to a gimbal system for stability instead, but since we are usually both videoing at the same time, everything gets used.
Wildlife Refuges
We are incredibly lucky to have refuges for Dusky Canada Geese to the north and south of where we live. There are numerous other species that live in these large habitats, making our job taking photos and videos for class a lot easier.
Recommended Books
A used animal behavior textbook is a good starting place if you want to learn more about animal behavior research.
Guppies are a great starter fish that are relatively easy to maintain and breed.
