Animal behavior investigation

• Careful observations often lead to hypotheses about animal behaviour.
•  These help us to understand the natural history of a species.
• Observations often lead to the formulation of a hypothesis.
• To test the hypothesis, it is usually necessary to obtain quantitative data.
• Statistical tests can then be used to establish confidence levels for the data.

First watch the video clip. Your first observation will last 10 minutes and you will use this time to identify categories of behavior (for example, walking, sleeping, and eating, among others). In these initial observations your goal is to identify and describe categories, not to count (quantify) the number of times each behavior is performed. The descriptions need not be complete structure descriptions, but should be detailed enough to allow someone else to identify your categories unambiguously.

Then write a hypothesis about your animal's behaviour.

...  and design a quantitative recording sheet which will test your hypothesis.

Carry out the recording in real time.

Complete a statistical analysis

Make Conclusions & Evaluations

Present a "poster" to the class.

Example

Initial observation.-Your first observation will last one hour and you will use this time to identify categories of behavior (for example, walking, sleeping, and eating, among others). In these initial observations your goal is to identify and describe categories, and count (quantify) the number of times each behavior is performed. The descriptions need not be complete structure descriptions, but should be detailed enough to allow someone else to identify your categories unambiguously.

First behavior scan.-Your second observation will also last an hour and you will use the behavior scan method and your behavioral categories to construct an ethogram for your mouse. In this method you make a "scan" at regular, brief intervals (say every two minutes) and check off the behaviors that are occurring at the instant you make the scan. The results of the behavior scan method can then be used to construct a "time budget" of behavior (what percentage of time is spent in each category), or to identify the sequence in which behaviors occur. A sample data sheets might look like this (but you'll probably have more categories):

Second behavior scan.-In the third hour (or next lab period) you will join with another group, place your mice together and observe how they interact. We will pick numbers out of a hat so the mice are grouped randomly. Our first grouping will be pairs of males and the next lab period we then pair two females. Following the completion of the each lab, return the mice to the main holding tank and make sure that they have food and water.

Data analysis and presentation of results.-You will present your results in the form of a group lab report, which should include the ethogram that you constructed. The ethogram data can easily be summarized in a graph as shown in the figure below. Include a discussion of some of the problems you encountered, and possible solutions to them. Use your data to draw conclusions about the duration (how long), frequency (how often), and sequences (in what order) of the categories of behavior you identified.

Things to Think about

Are ethograms an efficient way to learn about behavior? Do you think that observations of animals in a laboratory setting produce valid ethograms? Why or why not?  How could you supplement your observations? Are visual observations an efficient way to gather data to construct an ethogram? Would automated recording be possible? What are the advantages and disadvantages of visual observation versus automated recording? What species would you compare to mice using this method to determine if they have evolved from a common ancestor? What would this tell you? Can you think of a better method? What other animals could we observe to construct an ethogram of their behaviors?

Materials Needed

one mouse per group of students (preferably 2­3 students per group) with one or two "spares"cages to house mice between observations aquaria (or large cages, or home-made arenas) in which to do observations water bottles, mouse chow and bedding

Tips for Teachers

If your students would like to see some examples of detailed ethograms, you can have them look at Baboon Ecology by Stuart A. and Jeanne Altmann (University of Chicago Press, 1970) and The Year of the Gorilla by George B. Schaller (University of Chicago Press, 1964). There are also some excellent films/video tapes that you could show to your class before they do their first observations. A favorite of ours is "Mysterious Castles of Clay" (Survival, Anglia), which describes the behavior and ecology of termites in Africa and has some of the best photography (including scenes inside the mound) we have ever seen.