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Many K-16 educators agree that active learning is a key component for student success in life sciences. At the same time, some instructors are frustrated by inconsistent student participation in these activities and may revert to traditional teaching strategies. Horse caregivers face a similar frustration when they lead a horse to water and it will not drink. However, they do not stop offering water. Instead, horse caregivers consider two possibilities: the horse is not thirsty or the water is not good. In this article, we apply horse sense to student engagement. We start by framing common challenges within two larger categories: student mindset ("Are the student's thirsty?") and activity design ("Is the water good?"). For each challenge, we subsequently provide strategies to intentionally increase student learning while also empowering instructors to keep perspective.

I teach an animal behavior course where students conduct independent research projects; however, using live animals for research is challenging at a small university. Often, students choose to conduct a laboratory project over a field project believing that it will be easier to observe animals and control variables, but it can be difficult and expensive to acquire and maintain animals. If students work with vertebrates, there are added complications such as obtaining Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval and training. Additionally, following IACUC regulations often involves resources that we do not have. Because of these complications, I suggest to students that they consider an invertebrate species for their projects. In particular, crayfish are a species that are easy to obtain and care for, have low mortality, and exhibit interesting behavior that can be observed over several weeks. This article describes an inquiry-based research activity examining the influence of habitat complexity on crayfish foraging. This activity is well suited for students in ecology, animal behavior, or invertebrate biology classes and gives students flexibility in the hypothesis they test and the methods they use, while providing a framework that lets them successfully complete a behavior project.

Case studies are valuable tools for instruction but are often limited to a single topic and a single class period. Courses such as evolution that synthesize multiple concepts around a common theme, however, can use a single case study type project that extends over the entire semester to develop and link core concepts. A central theme in evolutionary biology is determining if complex biological traits represent adaptations that arose by natural selection. The instructional model presented here engages students in a step-by-step process to answer this question of adaptation for a trait of their choosing. In this process, the instructor first introduces the major concepts required to address adaptation. As each major concept is developed in class, students apply this concept to their particular trait, using information gathered from published studies. Students then report their research back to the class. At the end of the semester, each group synthesizes their evidence into a paper developing an argument as to whether or not their trait fits the criteria of being an adaptation. This project provides students with ownership of course material, gets students to act as practicing scientists, and helps them integrate and apply theoretical material to real questions.

In this article we discuss, as a proof of concept, how a network model can be used to analyse gaze tracking data coming from a preliminary experiment carried out in a biodiversity education research project. We discuss the network model, a simple directed graph, used to represent the gaze tracking data in a way that is meaningful for the study of students' biodiversity observations. Our network model can be thought of as a scanning signature of how a subject visually scans a scene. We provide a couple of examples of how it can be used to investigate the personal identification processes of a biologist and non-biologist when they are carrying out a task concerning the observation of species-specific characteristics of two bird species in the context of biology education research. We suggest that a scanning signature can be effectively used to compare the competencies of different persons and groups of people when they are making observations on specific areas of interests.

Using the comparative approach, researchers draw inferences about the evolution of cognition. Psychologists have postulated several hypotheses to explain why certain species are cognitively more flexible than others, and these hypotheses assume that certain cognitive skills are linked together to create a generally "smart" species. However, empirical findings suggest that several animal species are highly specialized, showing exceptional skills in single cognitive domains while performing poorly in others. Although some cognitive skills may indeed overlap, we cannot a priori assume that they do across species. We argue that the term "cognition" has often been used by applying an anthropocentric viewpoint rather than a biocentric one. As a result, researchers tend to overrate cognitive skills that are human-like and assume that certain skills cluster together in other animals as they do in our own species. In this paper, we emphasize that specific physical and social environments create selection pressures that lead to the evolution of certain cognitive adaptations. Skills such as following the pointing gesture, tool-use, perspective-taking, or the ability to cooperate evolve "independently" from each other as a concrete result of specific selection pressures, and thus have appeared in distantly related species. Thus, there is not "one cognition". Our argument is founded upon traditional Darwinian thinking, which--although always at the forefront of biology--has sometimes been neglected in animal cognition research. In accordance with the biocentric approach, we advocate a broader empirical perspective as we are convinced that to better understand animal minds, comparative researchers should focus much more on questions and experiments that are ecologically valid. We should investigate nonhuman cognition for its own sake, not only in comparison to the human model.

Whereas previous studies show that children are able to make meaning about evolutionary concepts within read-aloud contexts, little is known about how semiotic resources and interaction influence children's meaning making about evolution. This study investigates children's meaning making about evolutionary concepts during a modelling activity conducted after an interactive storybook read-aloud describing the evolution of a foraging trait of a fictitious mammal (the "pilose"). Forty children (13 groups) were videotaped as they produced a clay pilose model, while explaining how they thought their pilose would appear after inhabiting a 'future' environment (mountainous, snowy or forest). A multimodal analysis focused on how children demonstrated their meanings of seven evolutionary concepts described in the book. An eighth concept, 'adaptation to environment', was also often discussed. While all eight concepts emerged, the most frequent concerned survival and adaptation. The eighth concept appeared to serve as a synthesis of children's interpretation of the storybook that highlighted the visible consequences of evolution. The children engaged five interactional resources, dominated by the interactional resource of communicating the concepts in direct relation to their produced pilose models. The findings shed light on how children's representational and relational practices impact making meaning about evolution.

As researchers, teachers, and practitioners we often encounter young professionals and lay adults who do not understand basics of mammalian body temperature regulation. Often their single solid piece of knowledge is that some vertebrates (mammals and birds) are warm-blooded and some (fish, amphibians, and reptile) are cold-blooded, which is incorrect. There are many thermal capabilities and regulatory strategies. We provide basics of body temperature regulation, including definitions, its evolution, examples of body temperature variability, unique examples of hibernation and torpor, and we explain how a better understanding benefits individuals in personal and professional lives. We suggest a simple replacement of the warm-blooded paradigm that can be used to inform even young students. As a starting point, students young and old are familiar with species of mammals (e.g., platypus and opossums) that do not maintain as constant or as warm of a body temperature as humans and dogs. Students also know that humans do not maintain a constant body temperature over time (they have a "temperature" when sick) or all part of their body (they have cold hands and feet outside in winter).

Evolutionary anthropologists commonly describe humans as a highly cooperative species, based on our evolved socio-cognitive capacities. However, students and the general public may not necessarily share this view about our species. At the same time, fostering our ability to cooperate is considered a key foundation for achieving sustainable development, and students' understanding of the conditions that enable or hinder cooperation is therefore an important learning goal in sustainability education. In this article, we describe a small classroom activity that explored students' and preservice biology teachers' preconceptions about the human capacity to cooperate around shared resources in comparison to the capacity of our closest relative, the chimpanzee. Results indicate that students and teachers had limited knowledge about the evolved human capacity for cooperation around shared resources in small groups, most often viewing chimpanzees as more capable of cooperation and sustainable resource use. Based on the results of this classroom intervention, we highlight important learning opportunities for educators in biology on teaching human evolution and human behavior, particularly as related to current challenges of sustainable development.

Awareness-making (AM) describes a process by which visitors bring with them past experiences and knowledge, all of which help them make sense of museum exhibits. Meaning-making (MM) is when museum visitors' memories transform their museum experience into new knowledge and meaning. This article explores how AM elicits MM in museum visitors. We conducted research at a natural history museum exhibition called "Minnesota Journeys," based on a moose natural habitat display and accompanying touchscreen. The exhibition was developed in Minnesota by the Bell Museum for all ages. We report findings from a mixed-methods study incorporating surveys (n = 243) and interviews (n = 30) with adult museum visitors. The findings of this paper: (1) describe how, after visiting both the moose habitat display and touchscreen, most visitors learned to identify specific moose biology and ecology characteristics, such as behavior and habitat; and (2) demonstrate how in a natural history museum setting visitor awareness-making can facilitate visitor meaning-making. We discuss implications for how to utilize these findings in other museum settings and exhibits.

The aim of the present assay is to provide a simple algorithm as well as a didactic theoretical framework that may serve as an introduction to understanding modern habitat suitability (HS) modelling techniques in Ecology and Biogeography. The proposal is built on classical descriptive statistics and classical ecological theories. Shelford's theory of a bell-shaped curve of tolerance is used to assign suitability values to individual sites, according to their deviations from the optimal requirements of a hypothetical biological species. Liebig's law of the minimum is applied to assess the overall suitability given a multivariate set of environmental factors. To illustrate the algorithms, hypothetical examples are given with small sets of values simulating data extracted from maps with environmental information. The reader/lecturer is invited to reproduce these small-scale examples using common spreadsheet software or to apply them at a large scale using raster datasets in any advanced geographic information system. As didactical outcomes, this algorithm allows introducing students to the general form and applications of bell-shaped exponential equations (with mu and sigma parameters), understanding the convenience of the law of the minimum when analysing multivariate datasets and the philosophical understanding of certainty/uncertainty when working with the multidimensional niche theory.

Information literacy is an essential skill for biologists; however, most biology curricula do not intentionally integrate information literacy into classroom and laboratory exercises. There is evidence that developing information literacy skills in undergraduates improves their research skills, writing, and GPAs. Our objective was to integrate information literacy skills into a first semester introductory biology laboratory with a multi-week, inquiry-based module that leverages primary literature. Here we describe the module, which challenges students to develop and test a hypothesis related to parental care behaviour in birds. Students form hypotheses based on literature searching done during librarian-led information literacy sessions, produce an annotated bibliography, collect and analyse video data of barn swallows feeding their offspring, and present their findings. Analysis of students' annotated bibliographies indicates that 83% of the referenced papers were appropriate for developing their specific hypotheses. The key elements of a successful information literacy training plan include faculty-librarian collaboration, multiple classroom or laboratory sessions that introduce or utilize information literacy, and relevance of the information literacy training to an assignment. By introducing information literacy early in biology curricula, departments can develop tiered information literacy plans that incorporate opportunities for students to use and refine these skills throughout their studies.

A fundamental property of extinction is that the behavior that is suppressed during extinction can be unmasked through a number of postextinction procedures. Of the commonly studied unmasking procedures (spontaneous recovery, reinstatement, contextual renewal, and rapid reacquisition), rapid reacquisition is the only approach that allows a direct comparison between the impact of a conditioning trial before or after extinction. Thus, it provides an opportunity to evaluate the ways in which extinction changes a subsequent learning experience. In five experiments, we investigate the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of postextinction reconditioning. We show that rapid reconditioning of unsignaled contextual fear after extinction in male Long--Evans rats is associative and not affected by the number or duration of extinction sessions that we examined. We then evaluate c-Fos expression and histone acetylation (H4K8) in the hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. We find that in general, initial conditioning has a stronger impact on c-Fos expression and acetylation than does reconditioning after extinction. We discuss implications of these results for theories of extinction and the neurobiology of conditioning and extinction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mathematical needs of biological sciences undergraduate students. Student needs were measured through a needs assessment methodology scheme that included a content analysis of peer-reviewed journals, a nationwide cross-sectional survey, and semi-structured interviews. The research question that guided the study was: what are the mathematical needs of biological sciences undergraduate students as perceived by certain stakeholder groups? The stakeholder groups represented the areas of ecology, evolution, and behaviour, and developmental biology to portray two extremes in the use of mathematics. Major findings included: (1) The use of mathematics to support experimental design is the most consistent need across disciplines. (2) An overall understanding of mathematical models is needed as a minimum for scientific literacy. (3) Evolution and animal behaviour students need descriptive and inferential statistics, stochastic processes, differential equations, and mathematical models in general. Developmental biology students, on the other hand, need only descriptive and inferential statistics, and mathematical models. These needs, however, strongly vary depending on students' career tracks within their subdisciplines, suggesting the necessity of a flexible undergraduate curriculum.

Striving to better understand exemplification, this study examines the types of animal behavior references (anthropomorphic/non-anthropomorphic) and taxonomic groups featured in the examples given by an undergraduate biology instructor during a semester-long course. It is reported that instruction was dominated by anthropomorphic examples of mammals and birds. Further, these dominant examples were found to bias the conceptual knowledge acquired by students who showed a tendency to conceive of nonhuman conduct in terms of mammalian and avian action. It is argued that extending biological exemplification practices beyond mammals and birds is essential to help students develop deep conceptual knowledge and an unbiased appreciation of life.

The study of evolutionary theory and fieldwork in animal behavior is enriched when students leave the classroom so they may test their abilities to think and act like scientists. This article describes a course on evolutionary theory and animal behavior that blended on campus learning with field experience in the United States and in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. The on-campus portion of the course covered Darwin's life and travels, evolutionary theory, natural history of the Galapagos Islands, and field ecology techniques. The travel component was a two-week excursion where the students studied the ecology of the islands directly. Unlike other courses described in the literature, this one was offered to science and non-science majors alike, demonstrating the benefits of offering these kinds of learning experiences to a wide variety of undergraduates. Logistics with regard to planning for the course are discussed in detail, as are important elements to consider when taking students to South America. Considering the many benefits to students and faculty alike, this is an innovative and highly stimulating way to teach science. (Contains 4 tables.)

This laboratory exercise investigates the influence of population density on offspring number and size in burying beetles. Students test the theoretical predictions that brood size declines and offspring size increases when competition over resources becomes stronger with increasing population density. Students design the experiment, collect and analyze the data, and discuss the results in the context of adaptive phenotypic plasticity. (Contains 4 figures.)

This field experiment is designed to test for despotic behavior in Mallards ("Anas platyrhynchos"), and to examine how ducks distribute themselves relative to their resources. Students present Mallards with food patches differing in profitability in order to examine whether ducks distribute themselves ideal freely or ideal despotically. Students also test whether foragers have equal competitive ability, and look for despotic behavior among individuals. Despotic behavior is when certain individuals monopolize resources and prevent others from gaining access to those resources. This exercise is designed to allow students to be involved in every step of the scientific process. (Contains 3 figures.)

This field exercise examines the feeding preferences of Gray Squirrels ("Sciurus carolinensis"). Students present squirrels with a variety of food types in a cafeteria-style arrangement in order to test hypotheses about foraging preferences. This exercise, which is appropriate for introductory biology, ecology, and animal behavior classes, is designed to allow students to be involved in the entire scientific process. Students design the experiment, collect the data, and analyze and interpret the results. (Contains 4 figures.)

Although the practice of giving examples is central to the effective teaching and learning of science, it has been the object of little educational research. The present study attends to this issue by systematically examining the exemplification practices of a university professor and his students' learning experiences during a biology lecture on animal behavior. It is reported that the science instructor provided students with a series of procedural, conceptual, and analytical examples. Each type of exemplification was characterized by a unique focus, form and degree of dialogism. These examples promoted student acquisition of specialized scientific language and engagement in varied types of argumentation: inductive reasoning by parallel cases, inductive reasoning by causation, inductive generalization, and deductive reasoning. Furthermore, students' experiences learning from examples were contingent upon their performance of parallel instructional activities such as text reading and note-taking. Based on these findings, we argue for the importance of promoting student development of exemplification literacy (the ability to critically assess the use of examples in scientific communication) and the need for science instructors to provide students with opportunities not only to learn science concepts through examples but also to learn about the nature of scientific exemplification itself.

In 1963, the Nobel Prize-winning ethologist Niko Tinbergen proposed a framework for the scientific study of animal behaviour by outlining four questions that should be answered to have a complete understanding: causation, ontogeny, function and evolution. At present, Tinbergen's framework is still considered the best way to guide animal behavioural research. Given the importance in science instruction of demonstrating how scientists work and ask questions, we investigated to what extent Tinbergen's questions are addressed in biology textbooks in secondary education in Flanders, Belgium, and represented in upper-secondary and first-year university students' explanations of behaviour in general and of specific animal behaviours. Our results revealed that teaching of animal behaviour mainly addresses ontogeny and causation, and that Tinbergen's framework is not explicitly referred to. Students typically addressed only one or two questions, with the majority addressing causation or both causation and ontogeny when explaining behaviour in general, but function or causation and function when explaining specific animal behaviours. This high prevalence of function may be due to teleological thinking. Evolution was completely neglected, even in university students who had recently completed an evolution course. Our results revealed that transfer of the concepts of ontogeny and evolution was (almost) absent. We argue why Tinbergen's framework should be an integral part of any biology curriculum.

We present a practical field exercise for ecology and animal behavior classes that can be carried out on campus, using urban wildlife. Students document an animal's feeding behavior to study its interactions with the surrounding environment. In this approach, an animal's feeding behavior is quantified at experimental food patches placed within its habitat. Following a lecture on foraging ecology and an outdoor discussion about the animals on campus, students formulate questions and hypotheses. Simple statistical analyses are used to construct results and draw conclusions.

This activity is designed as a primer to teaching population dispersion analysis. The aim is to help improve students' spatial thinking and their understanding of how spatial statistic equations work. Students use simulated data to develop their own statistic and apply that equation to experimental behavioral data for Gambusia affinis (western mosquitofish). This activity can be adapted and conducted at the 9-16 grade levels.

This lesson is designed to teach students that behavior is a trait shaped by both genes and the environment. Students will read a scientific paper, discuss and generate predictions based on the ideas and data therein, and model the relationships between genes, the environment, and behavior. The lesson is targeted to meet the educational goals of undergraduate introductory biology, evolution, and animal behavior courses, but it is also suitable for advanced high school biology students. This lesson meets the criteria for the Next Generation Science Standard HS-LS4, Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity (NGSS Lead States, 2013).

Students will analyze the coevolution of the predator-prey relationships between "Tyrannosaurus rex" and its prey species using analyses of animal speeds from fossilized trackways, prey-animal armaments, adaptive behaviors, bite marks on prey-animal fossils, predator-prey ratios, and scavenger competition. The students will be asked to decide whether "T. rex" was a predator, an opportunistic scavenger, or an obligate scavenger.

Recent reform initiatives in undergraduate biology call for curricula that prepare students for dealing with real-world issues and making important links between science and society. In response to this call, we have developed an issues-based laboratory module that uses guided inquiry to integrate the concepts of animal behavior and population biology into an issue of both local and global relevance. The issue associated with this module is "What should be done about invasive crayfish?" Students investigate plausible reasons why crayfish are often successful invasive species through hypothesis testing, collection of behavioral data on live crayfish, and quantitative reasoning. Students also consider economic and environmental impacts of invasive species on local and global ecosystems. We implemented this module in a large introductory biology course and conducted survey research to evaluate the module's potential to serve as an interesting and valuable learning experience for undergraduate biology students.

In this article , the authors describe an activity in which students in Savannah, Georgia, use handheld GPS devices to record the sightings of bottlenose dolphins, examine spatial data from five pairs of dolphins in the study, and then form hypotheses about the spatial patterns they observe. In the process, they learn not only about the ecology of bottlenose dolphins but also that scientific research is interdisciplinary and can involve subjects such as math and geography. The activity is geared toward high school biology or environmental science classes but can be modified for other grade levels.

We developed an exercise for a university-level ecology class that teaches hypothesis testing by examining acorn preferences and caching behavior of tree squirrels (Sciurus spp.). This exercise is easily modified to teach concepts of behavioral ecology for earlier grades, particularly high school, and provides students with a theoretical basis for examining commonly observed squirrel behavior. Students gain experience in testing hypotheses and revising predictions. They evaluate how well predictions of competing hypotheses are supported by statistically analyzing and interpreting class data using t-tests and chi-square tests.

The aim of this study was to assess the outcome of a zoo visit in terms of learning and retention of knowledge concerning the adaptations and behavior of vertebrate species. Basis of the work was the concept of implementing zoo visits as an out-of-school setting for formal, curriculum based learning. Our theoretical framework centers on the self-determination theory, therefore, we used a group-based, hands-on learning environment. To address this questions, we used a treatment--control design (BACI) with different treatments and a control group. Pre-, post- and retention tests were applied. All treatments led to a substantial increase of learning and retention knowledge compared to the control group. Immediately after the zoo visit, the zoo-guide tour provided the highest scores, while after a delay of 6 weeks, the learner-centered environment combined with a teacher-guided summarizing scored best. We suggest incorporating the zoo as an out-of-school environment into formal school learning, and we propose different methods to improve learning in zoo settings.

This article presents an analysis of the longitudinal consequences of out-of-school science learning with a conceptual framework that connects the intentions of youth to their participation in science. The focus is on one girl's science activities in her home and hobby pursuits from fourth to seventh grade to create an empirical account of how youth gain access to scientific knowledge and science practices in informal learning environments. The analysis uses fieldnotes, videotape recordings, and transcripts centered on the epistemic, social, and material resources related to learning in biology. The focal participant of the study, Penelope, engaged with animal activities in her home and hobby pursuits in ways that overlapped scientific practice. She (1) engaged in observational inquiry, (2) used media to understand animal behavior, (3) tinkered with feeding to keep her animals healthy, and (4) manipulated her animals and animal-related artifacts to create routines and safe indoor habitats. Penelope used these four competencies to gain access to new science learning situations in school and afterschool settings. Yet, as she participated in science practices around animals, she sought to be recognized as uninterested in science. Instead, she used her talk and activities to be recognized in animal caretaking roles in the settings that mattered to her. Penelope's behavior of distancing herself from science while still seeking out experiences to learn about animal biology shows that recognition work is a complex negotiation between aspects of one's self and of science. Implications to theories are drawn related to science education and recognition work. (Contains 4 figures.)

In species that reproduce sexually, an individual's fitness depends on its ability to secure a mate (or mates). Although both males and females are selected to maximize their reproductive output, the mating strategies of the two sexes can differ dramatically. We present a classroom simulation that allows undergraduates to actively experience how differences in parental investment lead to differences in reproductive behavior. Students will understand why males generally compete for mates whereas females generally choose among mates. The activity provides a foundation for exploring advanced topics in animal behavior, or it can be adapted for introductory biology courses.

Here we incorporate recent advances in "Drosophila" neurogenetics and "optogenetics" into neuroscience laboratory exercises. We used the light-activated ion channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) and tissue-specific genetic expression techniques to study the neural basis of behavior in "Drosophila" larvae. We designed and implemented exercises using inexpensive, easy-to-use systems for delivering blue light pulses with fine temporal control. Students first examined the behavioral effects of activating glutamatergic neurons in "Drosophila" larvae and then recorded excitatory junctional potentials (EJPs) mediated by ChR2 activation at the larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Comparison of electrically and light-evoked EJPs demonstrates that the amplitudes and time courses of light-evoked EJPs are not significantly different from those generated by electrical nerve stimulation. These exercises introduce students to new genetic technology for remotely manipulating neural activity, and they simplify the process of recording EJPs at the "Drosophila" larval NMJ. Relatively little research work has been done using ChR2 in "Drosophila," so students have opportunities to test novel hypotheses and make tangible contributions to the scientific record. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of student experiences suggest that these exercises help convey principles of synaptic transmission while also promoting integrative and inquiry-based studies of genetics, cellular physiology, and animal behavior. (Contains 7 figures, 1 table, and 1 footnote.)

This is a set of animal behavior investigations in which students will practice scientific inquiry as they observe crayfish, ask questions, and discuss territoriality, social interactions, and other behaviors. In doing this, they hone their skills of observation, learn to record and analyze data, control for variables, write hypotheses, make tentative conclusions, and then design and carry out original experiments. This set of activities and experiments is designed for middle school through high school life science or biology classrooms.

This article describes the design and implementation of a 1-credit-hour seminar in comparative psychology as a supplement to an introductory biopsychology course. The purpose of the course was to introduce students to the ecological and evolutionary aspects of animal behavior by building on topics that are introduced in many biopsychology courses. This article provides suggestions for course assignments and course reading materials. The current approach of introducing undergraduate students to comparative psychology by attaching a seminar to an existing course offers a framework that could possibly be used with many other undergraduate psychology courses. (Contains 2 tables and 2 notes.)

Zoos can provide exciting educational opportunities for students to learn about a wide range of science subject matter. Zoos and similar nonschool sites have the added advantage of getting students out of school and into another environment, demonstrating that science learning can take place anywhere--not only in formal school settings. Through the animal behavior project described in this article, high school biology students can be challenged to apply their scientific-inquiry skills to the study of animal behavior. Students conduct a content-rich scientific inquiry using authentic ethological methods. The result is an exciting learning experience for everyone involved. After participating in the project, students are able to see the zoo and science learning in a whole new light. (Contains 3 figures.)

We studied economic choice behavior in capuchin monkeys by offering them to choose between two different foods available in variable amounts. When monkeys selected between familiar foods, their choice patterns were well-described in terms of relative value of the two foods. A leading view in economics and biology is that such behavior results from stimulus-response associations acquired through experience. According to this view, values are not psychologically real; they can only be defined a posteriori. One prediction of this associative model is that animals faced for the first time with a new pair of foods learn to choose between them gradually. We tested this prediction. Surprisingly, we find that monkeys choose as effectively between new pairs of foods as they choose between familiar pairs of foods. We therefore, propose a cognitive model in which economic choice results from a two-stage mental process of value-assignment and decision-making. In a follow-up experiment, we find that the relative value assigned to three foods in sessions in which we tested them against each other combine according to transitivity.

In this interrupted case study, based on a journal article on the parenting behavior of American coots, students are given information and data from which they must develop hypotheses and design experiments, mimicking the way that scientists conduct research. The case is appropriate for courses in biology, especially those focusing on evolution and ecology, but can also be used to great effect in non-science majors' courses as an example of the scientific method.

Conducting observational investigations of behaviors and processes is an important method for generating scientific knowledge. This article describes a methodology for assisting students in the processes of observational inquiry and theory articulation and its instantiation in a set of digital video tools. We describe a high school biology curriculum where students use these tools to investigate video clips of animal behavior and develop theories about how and why these behaviors evolved. We focus our discussion on an investigation model that scaffolds students through the processes of observing and explaining video as data and the computational and curricular supports that were designed to make these processes explicit. We conclude with a presentation of preliminary results to illustrate the types of explanations that emerged from working with the software and curriculum and a discussion of issues that emerged during the course of the research.

On the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountain range in Washington State, high school biology students have a unique opportunity to study the elusive cougar ("Felis concolor"), a large cat native to the area. Nestled in the Cascade foothills is the city of Cle Elum, a small rural community that is expected to soon experience considerable growth from development of a large resort. The community provides an excellent model for scientific study of native animals; students can study and compare the cougar's habitat and behavior before, during, and after resort development. From an instructional perspective, the study of cougars provides an ideal way to engage both introductory and advanced biology students in interdisciplinary science inquiry and problem solving. In this article, the authors describe the design and implementation of the Cougar Conservation Project (CCP), a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum that provided students and community members with valuable interdisciplinary learning experiences. (Contains 2 figures.)

A simple and effective field exercise that demonstrates factors affecting predation on bird nests is described. With instructor guidance, students in high school biology or college-level biology, ecology, animal behavior, wildlife management or ornithology laboratory courses can collaborate to design field experiments related to nest depredation.

Despite the seminal studies of response differentiation by the method of successive approximation detailed in chapter 8 of "The Behavior of Organisms" (1938), B. F. Skinner never actually shaped an operant response by hand until a memorable incident of startling serendipity on the top floor of a flour mill in Minneapolis in 1943. That occasion appears to have been a genuine eureka experience for Skinner, causing him to appreciate as never before the significance of reinforcement mediated by biological connections with the animate social environment, as opposed to purely mechanical connections with the inanimate physical environment. This insight stimulated him to coin a new term (shaping), and also led directly to a shift in his perspective on verbal behavior from an emphasis on antecedents and molecular topographical details to an emphasis on consequences and more molar, functional properties in which the social dyad inherent to the shaping process became the definitive property of verbal behavior. Moreover, the insight seems to have emboldened Skinner to explore the greater implications of his behaviorism for human behavior writ large, an enterprise that characterized the bulk of his post-World War II scholarship. (Contains 4 figures and 1 footnote.)

The widely used Pavlovian fear-conditioning paradigms used for studying the neurobiology of learning and memory have mainly used auditory cues as conditioned stimuli (CS). The present work assessed the neural network involved in olfactory fear conditioning, using olfactory bulb stimulation-induced field potential signal (EFP) as a marker of plasticity in the olfactory pathway. Training consisted of a single training session including six pairings of an odor CS with a mild foot-shock unconditioned stimulus (US). Twenty-four hours later, the animals were tested for retention of the CS as assessed by the amount of freezing exhibited in the presence of the learned odor. Behavioral data showed that trained animals exhibited a significantly higher level of freezing in response to the CS than control animals. In the same animals, EFPs were recorded in parallel in the anterior piriform cortex (aPC), posterior piriform cortex (pPC), cortical nucleus of the amygdala (CoA), and basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) following electrical stimulation of the olfactory bulb. Specifically, EFPs recorded before (baseline) and after (during the retention test) training revealed that trained animals exhibited a lasting increase (present before and during presentation of the CS) in EFP amplitude in CoA, which is the first amygdaloid target of olfactory information. In addition, a transient increase was observed in pPC and BLA during presentation of the CS. These data indicate that the olfactory and auditory fear-conditioning neural networks have both similarities and differences, and suggest that the fear-related behaviors in each sensory system may have at least some distinct characteristics. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)

In this interrupted case, students read about the alarm-calling behavior of a certain type of ground squirrel and then work in groups to develop hypotheses to explain the behavior and describe data that might be used to test their hypotheses. Students are then given real data and asked to interpret the evolutionary relevance of the results. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

These activities allow students to investigate behavioral responses of the large Milkweed bug, "Oncopeltus fasciatus," and the mealworm, "Tenebrio molitor" or "Tenebrio obscurus," to external stimuli of light, color, and temperature. During the activities, students formulate hypotheses to research questions presented. They also observe insects for a period of time, record observations, analyze the data, and draw conclusions. Important outcomes include experience with critical and analytical thinking and appreciation for the process of science as well as the biology of living things. The activities described herein are appropriate for upper elementary grades, middle school, and high school biology classes. (Contains 6 Figures.)

Lab activities using live specimens always seem to catch students' attention faster than those using inanimate materials. For example, many teachers are familiar with the activities using goldfish to study the effect of temperature on respiration rate. Insects are particularly useful because they are cheap, easy to find, and have a certain "yuck" factor included. This article presents a lab activity that allows students to investigate animal behavior and design their own experiments using an ideal study subject for the classroom: eastern tent caterpillar ("Malacosoma americanum"). (Contains 6 figures.)

Biology teachers in introductory and upper level high school courses generally present principles of taxonomy as part of the curriculum. Students learn about classification systems that categorizes species into recognized taxonomic groups based on their degrees of structural divergence or derived ancestral traits. References made, hereafter, to specific higher taxa do not assign a particular ranking, because the designation of status or ranking to such groups is in a state of flux. Despite the ongoing questions about hierarchical ranking, teachers can introduce representative groups to students through purposeful activities that are planned within the limits of required curricula and available instructional time. There are a number of effective classroom tactics and instructional plans that biology teachers can employ to expose their students to Earth's biodiversity while developing observation and critical thinking skills. This article presents one plan which utilizes an instructional approach that integrates student inquiries of select higher taxa with their study of other topics taught during a biology course. (Contains 6 figures.)