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Unit of study_

BIOL3046: Animal Behaviour

2025 unit information

The unit will provide a broad overview of the scientific study of animal behaviour. It will consider mechanistic and functional explanations of animal behaviour across contexts including kin selection and altruism, sociality, foraging, aggression and competition, sexual selection and mate choice, the behaviour of predators and prey, and communication and signalling. The information presented and discussed in this unit will reflect the most up-to-date research in each aspect of the field of animal behaviour. Practical sessions are closely aligned with the lecture material and will foster the development of key skills by providing hands-on experience of experimental design, data collection and analysis.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Science

Study level Undergraduate
Academic unit Life and Environmental Sciences Academic Operations
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
[12 credit points of BIOL2XXX] or [6 credit points from BIOL2XXX and (MBLG2X72 or GEGE2X01 or GENE2002)]
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
? 
BIOL3946 or BIOL3025 or BIOL3925
Assumed knowledge:
? 
None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. describe and discuss the concepts associated with the scientific study of animal behaviour
  • LO2. identify and discuss some of the current topics in animal behaviour research
  • LO3. design and complete experimental and observational research in animal behaviour
  • LO4. critically read, evaluate and synthesise information from the primary literature
  • LO5. conduct analysis of data and communicate your findings concisely and scientifically in both written and graphical forms.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2025
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Remote

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.