Esteban Fernández-Juricic

Meeting point: PH2-105

Meeting time: Wednesdays 5-6:50 pm.

Prerequisites: BIOL 350 and either BIOL 351 or BIOL 452/552

Instructor: Esteban Fernández-Juricic

Phone: 562-985-7597 (but you can reach me faster by e-mail)

E-mail: efernand@csulb.edu

Instructor's website: http://www.csulb.edu/~efernand/

Course Website : http://www.csulb.edu/~efernand/abcb/

Office: PH1-226

Office hours: Wednesdays 9:00-11:00 (or by appointment)

Course description:

Application of the theory and methods of animal behavior to conservation biology and wildlife management. Topics include: effects of habitat fragmentation on social behavior, behavioral mechanisms underlying human-wildlife interactions, behavioral manipulations during captive breeding and re-introduction programs, behavioral-based models to predict changes in populations, etc. Oral and written presentations of selected studies and discussion of their relevance/limitation to solving conservation problems.

Evaluation:

1- Attendance to classes and involvement in discussions (200 points).

2- Annotated bibliography of a topic of your interest within this sub-discipline. This bibliography will be later used for the review paper (50 points).

3- Review paper (100 points).

4- Oral presentation of papers and leading discussions (300 points).

 TOTAL: 650 points.

Grading system:

A: 90-100% of the points

B: 80-90% of the points

C: 70-80% of the points

D: 60-70% of the points

F: < 60% of the points

Theoretical framework:

The following papers/books are reviews that address how animal behavior/behavioral ecology can be integrated into conservation biology. You can use them during your presentations as complementary material (e.g., to explain the framework of your paper), but NOT as the main focus of your presentation. 

• Anthony, L.L. & D.T. Blumstein. 2000. Integrating behaviour into wildlife conservation: the multiple ways that behaviour can reduce N-e. Biological Conservation 95: 303-315.
• Bradbury, R.B., Payne, R.J.H., Wilson, J.D. & Krebs, J.R. 2001. Predicting population responses to resource management. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 8:440-445.
• Caro, T. (ed.). 1998. Behavioral Ecology and Conservation Biology. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (it will be available at the Library in one week).
• Caro, T. 1999. The behaviour-conservation interface. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14: 366-369.
• Clemmons, J.R. and R. Buchholz (eds.). 1997. Behavioral Approaches to Conservation in the Wild. Cambridge Univ. Press, New York.
• Curio, E. 1996. Conservation needs ethology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 11: 260-263.
• Fisher, B. L. 1998. Insect behavior and ecology in conservation: preserving functional species interactions. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 91: 155-158.
• Frid, A., and L. M. Dill. 2002. Human-caused disturbance stimuli as a form of predation risk. Conservation Ecology 6(1):11. [online] URL: http://www.consecol.org/vol6/iss1/art11
• Gosling, L.M., and W.J. Sutherland (eds.). 2000. Behaviour and Conservation. Cambridge Univ. Press, New York.
• Goss-Custard, J.D. and W.J. Sutherland. 1997. Individual behaviour, populations and conservation. Pages 373-395 in J.R. Krebs and N.B. Davies (eds.) Behavioural Ecology: an Evolutionary Approach 4th ed. Blackwell Science: Malden, Massachusetts.
• Helfman, G. S. 1999. Behavior and fish conservation: introduction, motivation, and overview. Environ. Biol. Fishes. 55: 7-12.
• Hofer, H. and M.L. East. 1998. Biological conservation and stress. Advances in the Study of Behavior 27: 405-525.
• Lima, S.L. & P.A. Zollner. 1996. Towards a behavioral ecology of ecological landscapes. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 11: 131-135.
• Reed, J.M. & A.P. Dobson. 1993. Behavioral constraints and conservation biology- Conspecific attraction and recruitment. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 8: 253-256.
• Reed, J.M. 1999. The role of behavior in recent avian extinctions and endangerments. Conservation Biology 13: 232-241.
• Shumway, C. A. 1999. A neglected science: applying behavior to aquatic conservation. Environ. Biol. Fishes. 55: 183-201.
• Stephens, P.A. & W.J. Sutherland. 1999. Consequences of the Allee effect for behaviour, ecology and conservation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14:401-405.
• Strier, K.B. 1997. Behavioral ecology and conservation biology of primates and other animals. Advances in the Study of Behavior 26:101-158.
• Sutherland, W.J. 1996. From Individual Behaviour to Population Ecology. Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
• Sutherland, W.J. 1998. The importance of behavioural studies in conservation biology. Animal Behaviour 56: 801-809.
• Ulfstrand, S. 1996. Behavioural ecology and conservation biology. Oikos 77: 183.

Download the "BIG PICTURE" in Power Point or Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format.

General Guidelines:

While reading your papers, please, try to connect the ideas to the broader context of animal behavior and conservation biology. Focus on how the paper solves a problem/answers a question/tests a hypothesis.

General assessment of a study:

1- Identify the novelty of the paper.

2- Identify the hypothesis/es and prediction/s.

3- Identify a flaw in its design or in the analysis or in the interpretation of data.

4- Discuss the relevance of the work to some other research areas.

5- Bring to our attention other recently published work that bears directly on the issues addressed in the paper.

Some specific questions you are expected to ask/answer to lead discussions:

What are the assumptions of the hypotheses being tested? Do the results support the hypotheses or more work is necessary? Are the results consistent with the conclusions of the paper? Are the experimental and statistical methods appropriate? Are there alternative ways of testing the same hypotheses using different methodologies and data? Does the paper provide a novel insight? Why? What are the theoretical and practical implications? Is the paper difficult to understand because it is poorly presented or because you lack sufficient background in the topic area? Does the paper REALLY have conservation or wildlife management implications?

Specific guidelines:
I strongly encourage you to read this excellent guides to “Leading Discussion of a Scientific Journal Article” by T. W. Sherry and "Oral Presentation" by Jeff Radel.

Some topics/key-words: human-wildlife interactions, captive breeding, re-introduction programs, behavioral-based models, Allee effects, ideal-free distribution, behavioral landscape ecology, anti-predator behavior, behavioral indicators of population status or habitat quality, conspecific attraction, spread of diseases.

Selection of papers:

You should select from 1 to 3 papers (primary literature!) to present. Many journals include articles that may integrate behavior and conservation. You can search for these papers in databases (my recommendation: Web of Science). Otherwise, you can browse the following journals (if you do not find a copy of your paper at the Library you could request one directly from the author):

Once you selected your paper/s, you should let me know 10 DAYS in advance. You can drop by my office or send me an e-mail with a copy of the article/s, the reasons why you have chosen it/them, and some special requirements for the presentation (namely, slides, Power Point, etc.).

Important: EVERYBODY is expected to read ALL the papers and participate in ALL the discussions.

Presentation rules:

1. Each presenter has 45 minutes to make a presentation. Afterwards, he/she has to lead a discussion for about an hour.

2. Presenters should provide some background on the topic. The selected paper/s should describe a study in enough detail that its methodology and conclusions can be understood (Science and Nature papers may not always be appropriate). The paper/s should then be made available electronically (send it to me and I will post it on the course website) or as paper copies the week before the seminar.

3. I will evaluate the ability of presenters to provide a novel critique of, or novel perspective on, the literature, and to involve other participants in discussion/debate concerning the issues under consideration. The success of the discussion will depend less on whether the position adopted by the discussion leader is correct, and more on whether it causes all of us to think in new ways about the material and thus to identify and analyze critical issues.

4. Publication date of the paper/s does not matter, nor does sub-discipline or journal.

5. Presentations should be informal but include a general introduction for non-experts, a critical evaluation of the paper (in a positive manner to the greatest extent possible), and some evaluation of the implications of the findings for the field.

6. Non-presenters ought to read the assigned paper/s and be prepared to discuss it/them.

7. If presenters want to change dates they should inform me at least a week in advance and try to propose a substitute.

Review paper

Prepare a thought-provoking review paper with some novel approach to animal behavior and conservation biology. This review must also include an original (yours!) proposal for a study that could be tested empirically (you ought to incorporate an Appendix, at least 500 words, describing in detail hypotheses, predictions, experimental design, statistical analyses, and sample size).

Proposed format for review paper:

Include the following sections:

1- Introduction: describe the specific topic that you have chosen. Explain its significance for conservation biology.

2- Theoretical Framework: main hypotheses explaining the mechanisms that generate the observed patterns.

3- Gaps in the literature: based on your review describe the specific areas within your topic that require more research in order to enhance our understanding of animal behavior and conservation biology. You should mention here briefly the study you propose to partially fill some of these gaps and why it would be relevant (refer to the Appendix for details).

4- Conclusion: what is the take-home message of your review paper?

5- References: cite at least 15 references from primary literature, but not review papers.

6- Appendix: At least 500 words, describing in detail hypotheses, predictions, experimental design, statistical analyses, and sample size.

Some hints:

Although this review does allow room for some speculation and debate, it should be made clear which ideas are supported by previous research and which are not.

Please, emphasize the ideas that make your term proposal NOVEL. 

Limit your term proposal to a maximum of 2,000-2,500 words (all sections but the Abstract).

You may incorporate Figures and/or Tables. If you decide to do so, please provide a legend to help the reader understand the Figure/Table without referring to the main text.

Format for all written work

Handwritten work will not be accepted. Before turning in your work, include your name and e-mail.

The text should be clear, readable, and concise. American spelling should be used throughout, except in references when necessary. Reserve the use of underlining and italics for scientific species names and the symbols for variables and constants.

Use double space (not 1.5 spacing) text and 12pt font size, and number pages (page 1 is title page).

References: All works included in the reference section should be referred to in the text. Citations should be typed alphabetically. They should be referred to in the text by the name(s) of the first author(s) and the year of publication in parentheses, using the following format and punctuation: (Able and Baker, 2000) or Able and Baker (2000). Use the first author's name and "et al." when there are more than two authors. The order for references within parentheses in the text should be alphabetical. For works by the same author(s) in the same year, append a lowercase a, b, c, etc. to the year of publication. The reference list should conform to the following styles:

Journal article
Author AB, Author CD, Author EF, 2001a. Title of article. J Hered 60:128-132.

Paper in a conference proceedings
Author AB, Author IJ, Author KL, 2001b. Title of conference paper. In: Unabbreviated Title of Symposium or Conference, Location, Date (Able ST, ed). City and state or country of publication: Publisher's name; 137-180.

Book
Author GH, Author IJ, 1999a. Title of book. City of publication: Publisher's name.

Chapter in a book
Author GH, Author IJ, 1999b. Title of a chapter: a subtitle. In: Title of book, 2nd ed (Able MN, Baker OP, eds). City of publication: Publisher's name; 200-235.

Thesis or dissertation
Author MN, 2002. Title of thesis or dissertation (PhD dissertation). Location of university: Name of university.

Only published material or material accepted for publication should be listed in the references; personal communications, unpublished data, manuscripts in preparation, etc., should be incorporated in the text in parentheses with the surname and initials of the source, e.g., (Able OP, personal communication).

 Fall 2003: Class schedule

NEWS:

- This is an excellent book to learn more about experimental design and analysis in ecology:

 Underwood, A.J. 1997. Experiments in Ecology: their logical design and interpretation using analysis of variance. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.