BSc Animal Behaviour

The Animal Behaviour programme aims to develop a common core of knowledge, understanding and skills associated with the study of animal behaviour in order to produce graduates who are trained for work with organisations concerned with the welfare, husbandry or conservation of animals. A core strand of modules from level 1 to 3 focuses directly on animal behaviour to draw together the main disciplines which are covered by other core modules on the programme.

The main disciplines are evolution, animal ecology, animal physiology & neurobiology and neuropsychology. These are supported with training in methods for observational studies in behaviour as well as other practical and key skills. Through the options allowing specialisation in particular areas of the main disciplines at levels 2 and 3 (e.g. primate behaviour, conservation biology) and the opportunity to develop additional practical (e.g. census & survey methods) or key skills (e.g. environmental interpretation), we aim to offer a challenging programme that caters for a wide range of interests, enabling students to reach their full potential.

The programme provides opportunities for students to achieve and demonstrate the following learning outcomes.

Knowledge and understanding of:
• fundamental principles of genetics, evolution, ecology, physiology and neurobiology and their role in the behaviour exhibited by animals.
• the diversity of behavioural strategies adopted by animals.
• the concept of inclusive fitness and its significance in the survival and reproductive strategies shown by animals.
• proximate and ultimate explanations of behaviour.
• introductory psychological theory.
• the application of studies in animal behaviour to husbandry, welfare and conservation.

Cognitive (thinking) skills – able to:
• synthesise and summarise information from a variety of sources within the disciplines of animal behaviour.
• critically analyse and interpret data from studies of animal behaviour and relate findings to theoretical principles.
• apply knowledge and understanding to problem solving and hypothesis testing.
• recognise the implications of professional ethics and standards and apply them.

Practical skills – able to:
• employ a variety of recording and sampling methods to gather behavioural data from observational studies.
• use specialist hardware and software to record and analyse behavioural data.
• draw together and integrate disparate data from a variety of sources and analyse the information applying appropriate statistical analysis where relevant.
• undertake effective field and laboratory work.

Key skills – able to:
• manage time and tasks effectively as an individual and as part of a team.
• use appropriate resources (internet, databases, spreadsheets, word processing packages, library) to find and organise information.
• communicate effectively in written, verbal and visual forms.
• apply statistical and numerical analysis to data using appropriate software packages where necessary

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Key

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