Primate Ethology, 9 credits

Primatetologi, 9 hp

NBID61

Main field of study

Biology

Course level

Second cycle

Course type

Programme course

Examiner

Matthias Laska

Director of studies or equivalent

Agneta Johansson

Education components

Preliminary scheduled hours: 184 h
Recommended self-study hours: 56 h

Available for exchange students

Yes
ECV = Elective / Compulsory / Voluntary
Course offered for Semester Period Timetable module Language Campus ECV
6METH Applied Ethology and Animal Biology, Master's Programme 2 (Spring 2020) 2 1+2+3+4 English Linköping, Valla C

Main field of study

Biology

Course level

Second cycle

Advancement level

A1X

Course offered for

  • Master's Programme in Applied Ethology and Animal Biology

Entry requirements

Note: Admission requirements for non-programme students usually also include admission requirements for the programme and threshold requirements for progression within the programme, or corresponding.

Prerequisites

Entry requirements for the program and an advanced course in Ethology.

Intended learning outcomes

The student will increase her/his understanding of the evolutionary origins and ecological determinants of primate behavior.
The student will develop a proficiency in finding, evaluating and compiling primary and secondary research literature on a specific topic.
The student will learn to design and conduct behavioral observations on primate social communication, and experiments on primate learning, and to perform proper analysis of the data obtained.
The student will improve her/his skills in summarizing and communicating the results of her/his own experimental results as well as of literature searches in both written and oral form.

Course content

The course is centered around different aspects of primate ethology. Topics include :

  • Primate evolution
  • Primate social systems
  • Primate breeding systems
  • Primate cognition
  • Intelligence and learning
  • Communication with humans
  • Altruism and infanticide
  • The sensory world of primates

Teaching and working methods

The course is composed of formal lectures, literature assignments, and laboratory exercises, each with its own evaluation scheme. The lectures are intended to give an introduction to the different topics outlined below and serve as a starting point for the student´s assignments. The literature assignments in small groups require the presentation of a one-page summary and of an oral presentation to all other fellow students. The laboratory exercises require the writing of a lab report using quantitative methods and of an oral presentation. Extra costs due to travelling and living must be paid by the students.

Examination

LAB1Laboratory reports3 creditsU, 3, 4, 5
UPG1Literature assignments and presentation3 creditsU, 3, 4, 5
HEM1Written examination3 creditsU, 3, 4, 5
The final grade is the average across the score of the three examination aspects in the course.

Grades

Four-grade scale, LiU, U, 3, 4, 5

Other information

About teaching and examination language

The teaching language is presented in the Overview tab for each course. The examination language relates to the teaching language as follows: 

  • If teaching language is Swedish, the course as a whole or in large parts, is taught in Swedish. Please note that although teaching language is Swedish, parts of the course could be given in English. Examination language is Swedish. 
  • If teaching language is Swedish/English, the course as a whole will be taught in English if students without prior knowledge of the Swedish language participate. Examination language is Swedish or English (depending on teaching language). 
  • If teaching language is English, the course as a whole is taught in English. Examination language is English. 

Other

The course is conducted in a manner where both men's and women's experience and knowledge are made visible and developed. 

The planning and implementation of a course should correspond to the course syllabus. The course evaluation should therefore be conducted with the course syllabus as a starting point.  

Department

Institutionen för fysik, kemi och biologi

Director of Studies or equivalent

Agneta Johansson

Examiner

Matthias Laska

Course website and other links

Education components

Preliminary scheduled hours: 184 h
Recommended self-study hours: 56 h

Course literature

Rekommenderade (men inte obligatoriskt) läroböcker: Michael Tomasello & Josip Call: Primate Cognition Oxford University Press, Oxford 1997 Richard Byrne: The thinking ape : Evolutionary origins of intelligence Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995 Frans de Waal: Tree of origin: What primate behavior can tell us about human social evolution Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2001 Noel Rowe: The pictorial guide to the living primates Pogonias Press, East Hampton 1996 Alla böcker finns på TekNat-biblioteket.
Code Name Scope Grading scale
LAB1 Laboratory reports 3 credits U, 3, 4, 5
UPG1 Literature assignments and presentation 3 credits U, 3, 4, 5
HEM1 Written examination 3 credits U, 3, 4, 5
The final grade is the average across the score of the three examination aspects in the course.

Course syllabus

A syllabus must be established for each course. The syllabus specifies the aim and contents of the course, and the prior knowledge that a student must have in order to be able to benefit from the course.

Timetabling

Courses are timetabled after a decision has been made for this course concerning its assignment to a timetable module. 

Interrupting a course

The vice-chancellor’s decision concerning regulations for registration, deregistration and reporting results (Dnr LiU-2015-01241) states that interruptions in study are to be recorded in Ladok. Thus, all students who do not participate in a course for which they have registered must record the interruption, such that the registration on the course can be removed. Deregistration from a course is carried out using a web-based form: https://www.lith.liu.se/for-studenter/kurskomplettering?l=en. 

Cancelled courses

Courses with few participants (fewer than 10) may be cancelled or organised in a manner that differs from that stated in the course syllabus. The Dean is to deliberate and decide whether a course is to be cancelled or changed from the course syllabus. 

Guidelines relating to examinations and examiners 

For details, see Guidelines for education and examination for first-cycle and second-cycle education at Linköping University, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592.

An examiner must be employed as a teacher at LiU according to the LiU Regulations for Appointments (https://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/622784). For courses in second-cycle, the following teachers can be appointed as examiner: Professor (including Adjunct and Visiting Professor), Associate Professor (including Adjunct), Senior Lecturer (including Adjunct and Visiting Senior Lecturer), Research Fellow, or Postdoc. For courses in first-cycle, Assistant Lecturer (including Adjunct and Visiting Assistant Lecturer) can also be appointed as examiner in addition to those listed for second-cycle courses. In exceptional cases, a Part-time Lecturer can also be appointed as an examiner at both first- and second cycle, see Delegation of authority for the Board of Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Forms of examination

Examination

Written and oral examinations are held at least three times a year: once immediately after the end of the course, once in August, and once (usually) in one of the re-examination periods. Examinations held at other times are to follow a decision of the board of studies.

Principles for examination scheduling for courses that follow the study periods:

  • courses given in VT1 are examined for the first time in March, with re-examination in June and August
  • courses given in VT2 are examined for the first time in May, with re-examination in August and October
  • courses given in HT1 are examined for the first time in October, with re-examination in January and August
  • courses given in HT2 are examined for the first time in January, with re-examination in March and in August.

The examination schedule is based on the structure of timetable modules, but there may be deviations from this, mainly in the case of courses that are studied and examined for several programmes and in lower grades (i.e. 1 and 2). 

Examinations for courses that the board of studies has decided are to be held in alternate years are held three times during the school year in which the course is given according to the principles stated above.

Examinations for courses that are cancelled or rescheduled such that they are not given in one or several years are held three times during the year that immediately follows the course, with examination scheduling that corresponds to the scheduling that was in force before the course was cancelled or rescheduled.

When a course is given for the last time, the regular examination and two re-examinations will be offered. Thereafter, examinations are phased out by offering three examinations during the following academic year at the same times as the examinations in any substitute course. If there is no substitute course, three examinations will be offered during re-examination periods during the following academic year. Other examination times are decided by the board of studies. In all cases above, the examination is also offered one more time during the academic year after the following, unless the board of studies decides otherwise.

If a course is given during several periods of the year (for programmes, or on different occasions for different programmes) the board or boards of studies determine together the scheduling and frequency of re-examination occasions.

Registration for examination

In order to take an examination, a student must register in advance at the Student Portal during the registration period, which opens 30 days before the date of the examination and closes 10 days before it. Candidates are informed of the location of the examination by email, four days in advance. Students who have not registered for an examination run the risk of being refused admittance to the examination, if space is not available.

Symbols used in the examination registration system:

  ** denotes that the examination is being given for the penultimate time.

  * denotes that the examination is being given for the last time.

Code of conduct for students during examinations

Details are given in a decision in the university’s rule book: http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/622682.

Retakes for higher grade

Students at the Institute of Technology at LiU have the right to retake written examinations and computer-based examinations in an attempt to achieve a higher grade. This is valid for all examination components with code “TEN” and "DAT". The same right may not be exercised for other examination components, unless otherwise specified in the course syllabus.

A retake is not possible on courses that are included in an issued degree diploma. 

Retakes of other forms of examination

Regulations concerning retakes of other forms of examination than written examinations and computer-based examinations are given in the LiU guidelines for examinations and examiners, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592.

Plagiarism

For examinations that involve the writing of reports, in cases in which it can be assumed that the student has had access to other sources (such as during project work, writing essays, etc.), the material submitted must be prepared in accordance with principles for acceptable practice when referring to sources (references or quotations for which the source is specified) when the text, images, ideas, data, etc. of other people are used. It is also to be made clear whether the author has reused his or her own text, images, ideas, data, etc. from previous examinations, such as degree projects, project reports, etc. (this is sometimes known as “self-plagiarism”).

A failure to specify such sources may be regarded as attempted deception during examination.

Attempts to cheat

In the event of a suspected attempt by a student to cheat during an examination, or when study performance is to be assessed as specified in Chapter 10 of the Higher Education Ordinance, the examiner is to report this to the disciplinary board of the university. Possible consequences for the student are suspension from study and a formal warning. More information is available at https://www.student.liu.se/studenttjanster/lagar-regler-rattigheter?l=en.

Grades

The grades that are preferably to be used are Fail (U), Pass (3), Pass not without distinction (4) and Pass with distinction (5). 

  1. Grades U, 3, 4, 5 are to be awarded for courses that have written examinations.
  2. Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) may be awarded for courses with a large degree of practical components such as laboratory work, project work and group work.
  3. Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) are to be used for degree projects and other independent work.

Examination components

  1. Grades U, 3, 4, 5 are to be awarded for written examinations (TEN).
  2. Examination components for which the grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) may be awarded are laboratory work (LAB), project work (PRA), preparatory written examination (KTR), oral examination (MUN), computer-based examination (DAT), home assignment (HEM), and assignment (UPG).
  3. Students receive grades either Fail (U) or Pass (G) for other examination components in which the examination criteria are satisfied principally through active attendance such as other examination (ANN), tutorial group (BAS) or examination item (MOM).
  4. Grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) are to be used for the examination components Opposition (OPPO) and Attendance at thesis presentation (AUSK) (i.e. part of the degree project).

For mandatory components, the following applies: If special circumstances prevail, and if it is possible with consideration of the nature of the compulsory component, the examiner may decide to replace the compulsory component with another equivalent component. (In accordance with the LiU Guidelines for education and examination for first-cycle and second-cycle education at Linköping University, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592). 

For written examinations, the following applies: If the LiU coordinator for students with disabilities has granted a student the right to an adapted examination for a written examination in an examination hall, the student has the right to it. If the coordinator has instead recommended for the student an adapted examination or alternative form of examination, the examiner may grant this if the examiner assesses that it is possible, based on consideration of the course objectives. (In accordance with the LiU Guidelines for education and examination for first-cycle and second-cycle education at Linköping University, http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/VisaBeslut/917592).

The examination results for a student are reported at the relevant department.

Regulations (apply to LiU in its entirety)

The university is a government agency whose operations are regulated by legislation and ordinances, which include the Higher Education Act and the Higher Education Ordinance. In addition to legislation and ordinances, operations are subject to several policy documents. The Linköping University rule book collects currently valid decisions of a regulatory nature taken by the university board, the vice-chancellor and faculty/department boards.

LiU’s rule book for education at first-cycle and second-cycle levels is available at http://styrdokument.liu.se/Regelsamling/Innehall/Utbildning_pa_grund-_och_avancerad_niva. 

Rekommenderade (men inte obligatoriskt) läroböcker: Michael Tomasello & Josip Call: Primate Cognition Oxford University Press, Oxford 1997 Richard Byrne: The thinking ape : Evolutionary origins of intelligence Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995 Frans de Waal: Tree of origin: What primate behavior can tell us about human social evolution Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2001 Noel Rowe: The pictorial guide to the living primates Pogonias Press, East Hampton 1996 Alla böcker finns på TekNat-biblioteket.

Note: The course matrix might contain more information in Swedish.

I = Introduce, U = Teach, A = Utilize
I U A Modules Comment
1. DISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE AND REASONING
1.1 Knowledge of underlying mathematics and science (G1X level)
X
X
HEM1
LAB1
UPG1
Use of appropriate statistics for evaluation of experimental data
1.2 Fundamental engineering knowledge (G1X level)

                            
1.3 Further knowledge, methods, and tools in one or several subjects in engineering or natural science (G2X level)
X
X
X
HEM1
LAB1
UPG1
Methods in primatology. Selection of suitable method for a given project.
1.4 Advanced knowledge, methods, and tools in one or several subjects in engineering or natural sciences (A1X level)
X
X
LAB1
UPG1
Methods in primatology. Selection of suitable method for a given project.
1.5 Insight into current research and development work
X
X
Lecture on primatological research going on in the Behavioral and Sensory Physiology group.
2. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES
2.1 Analytical reasoning and problem solving
X
X
X
LAB1
UPG1
Selection of appropriate method and statistics for a given experimental assignment.
2.2 Experimentation, investigation, and knowledge discovery
X
X
X
LAB1
Design and execution of experiments to test hypotheses. Data analysis.
2.3 System thinking
X
X
X
LAB1
Design of experiments as a function of scientific problem.
2.4 Attitudes, thought, and learning
X
X
X
LAB1
UPG1

                            
2.5 Ethics, equity, and other responsibilities
X
X
X
LAB1
UPG1
Execution of experiments. Data analysis. Presentation of results.
3. INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: TEAMWORK AND COMMUNICATION
3.1 Teamwork
X
X
X
LAB1
UPG1
Group work with literature assignments and practical lab assignments.
3.2 Communications
X
X
X
HEM1
LAB1
UPG1
Presentation of findings in both written and oral form.
3.3 Communication in foreign languages
X
X
X
HEM1
LAB1
UPG1
Presentation of findings in both written and oral form in English.
4. CONCEIVING, DESIGNING, IMPLEMENTING AND OPERATING SYSTEMS IN THE ENTERPRISE, SOCIETAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT
4.1 External, societal, and environmental context

                            
4.2 Enterprise and business context

                            
4.3 Conceiving, system engineering and management

                            
4.4 Designing

                            
4.5 Implementing

                            
4.6 Operating

                            
5. PLANNING, EXECUTION AND PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS WITH RESPECT TO SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIETAL NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS
5.1 Societal conditions, including economic, social, and ecological aspects of sustainable development for knowledge development

                            
5.2 Economic conditions for knowledge development

                            
5.3 Identification of needs, structuring and planning of research or development projects
X
X
X
LAB1
UPG1
Building of hypothesis. Designing of experiment.
5.4 Execution of research or development projects
X
X
X
LAB1
UPG1
Execution of experiment. Control conditions. Data analysis.
5.5 Presentation and evaluation of research or development projects
X
X
X
LAB1
UPG1
Presentation of results in written and oral form.

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