This course focuses on the study of primate social behavior. It explores the basic theoretical principles that guide primatologists.

Topics covered include: evolutionary theory, primate diversity, social and mating systems, sexual selection, life history, cooperation, competition, intelligence, communication, and human behavior.

Comparative Primate Ecology will explore the following topics with respect to primates: population ecology, community ecology, feeding adaptations, foraging strategies, ranging behavior, and life history strategies.

Comparative Primate Ecology will explore the following topics with respect to primates: population ecology, community ecology, feeding adaptations, foraging strategies, ranging behavior, and life history strategies.

This course is one of two physical anthropology graduate core courses.  The goal is to provide an overview of behavioral ecology, molecular anthropology, and biological variation in human and nonhuman primates.  The course provides an introduction to grouping patterns, reproductive strategies and mating systems, socioecology, cooperation, and sex differences in behavior.  Students are introduced to genomics, population genetics, and evolutionary genetic theory in relation to human and nonhuman primates. The course also explores biological variation in genetic, physical, and behavioral traits within and between populations of humans and nonhuman primates, exploring both microevolutionary and cultural processes that have shaped these traits.

This course focuses on the study of primate behavior and the methods by which animal behavior is observed and documented.  Students will learn how to conduct library research, formulate hypotheses and predictions, devise research projects to test these predictions, collect and analyze data, and write comprehensive research reports describing these results.

1 lecture hour and 3 lab hours per week.

This course focuses on the study of primate social behavior. It explores the basic theoretical principles that guide primatologists. Topics covered include: evolutionary theory, primate diversity, social and mating systems, sexual selection, life history, cooperation, competition, intelligence, communication, and human behavior.

Comparative Primate Ecology will explore the following topics with respect to primates: population ecology, community ecology, feeding adaptations, foraging strategies, ranging behavior, and life history strategies.

WGS 323 PRIMATE SOCIAL BEHAVIORLEWIS, REBECCA JThis course focuses on the study of primate social behavior. It explores the basic theoretical principles that guide primatologists. Topics covered include: evolutionary theory, primate diversity, social and mating systems, sexual selection, life history, cooperation, competition, intelligence, communication, and human behavior.

This course focuses on the study of primate behavior and the methods by which animal behavior is observed and documented.  Students will learn how to conduct library research, formulate hypotheses and predictions, devise research projects to test these predictions, collect and analyze data, and write comprehensive research reports describing these results.

1 lecture hour and 3 lab hours per week.

WGS 323 PRIMATE SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
LEWIS, REBECCA J

This course focuses on the study of primate social behavior. It explores the basic theoretical principles that guide primatologists.

Topics covered include: evolutionary theory, primate diversity, social and mating systems, sexual selection, life history, cooperation, competition, intelligence, communication, and human behavior.

This course focuses on the study of primate behavior and the methods by which animal behavior is observed and documented.  Students will learn how to conduct library research, formulate hypotheses and predictions, devise research projects to test these predictions, collect and analyze data, and write comprehensive research reports describing these results.

1 lecture hour and 3 lab hours per week.

Anthropology 348K [30520]

Primate Social Behavior

Fall 2009

Instructor:               Becca Lewis

                                    Department of Anthropology

Office:  EPS 1.104

Phone:  232-5386

e-mail:  rjlewis@mail.utexas.edu

Office hours: Wednesdays 2 – 4 pm

TA:                             Katherine Bannar-Martin

                                    Office:  EPS 2.104

Phone:  232-3905

e-mail:  kbannarm@mail.utexas.edu

Office hours: Mondays 1-3 pm

.

Textbooks:               Required (1):

                                    Alcock Animal Behavior, 8th edition

Additional readings will be available on Blackboard

Course Description and Objective:

This course focuses on the study of primate behavior and why primates do what they do. It is essentially a course on animal behavior with a focus on primates.  Thus, this class will explore the basic theoretical principles that guide primatologists and other zoologists.  As we examine some of the models used to explain primate behavior, we will explore the behavior of the four radiations of primates in detail. 

The objective of this course is for students to understand the major theoretical concepts of primate behavior.

Course Format and Requirements:

Prerequisite: ANT 301

This class will generally follow a lecture format.  There will be projects assigned for outside of the classroom to be “presented” either on Blackboard or in the classroom.  Project assignments presented/posted after the deadline will not be accepted.  Discussion will be encouraged during lectures and we will be discussing the outside projects in class. It is difficult to participate if you are not present in class and so attendance is highly recommended.  Plus, the majority (but not all) of the test questions will come from lectures.

Grades will also be based upon 3 in-class exams (no comprehensive final exam).  Exams may include multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer questions. 

Assignments                                      %Grade                     Date

Exam I                                                 30%                             Oct 2

Exam II                                               30%                             Nov 6

Exam III                                              30%                             Dec 4

5 Projects (2 points each)                    10%                             TBA

Final grade calculation = (Exam I *0.3) + (Exam II *0.3) + (Exam III *0.3) + Total # project points

Re-grading policy:

Grade disputes must be turned in to the instructor in writing within 1 week of when the exam is returned.  The student must include a 1 page explanation per question of why (s)he thinks that his/her answer is correct.  Simple errors in addition can be corrected immediately.  Students wishing to appeal a grade for one of the writing assignments have 1 week to appeal their grade with the professor by turning in a 1 page explanation of why (s)he thinks that his/her paper should be re-graded.

Credit/No-Credit:

For those of you enrolled on a Pass/Fail basis, a requirement for receiving a passing grade in this course is to show up and take the exams.  You may choose not to study and fail the exams, but you must physically turn in the exams to receive credit. 

Grades do not use +/-. The following guidelines are used to assign final grades:

A         90-100

B         80-89

C         70-79

D         60-69

F          59 or less

Etc.

After you turn in a project assignment, I have the right to use that information in future classes or publications unless you submit in writing a request otherwise.

Be sure to regularly check Blackboard for class materials and information.  Power Point slides will not be made available on Blackboard.  Class handouts will be available on Blackboard.

Please turn your cell phones off while in class.  No cell phone use during class will be tolerated.

Hats with rims are not permitted to be worn during exams.

Academic Integrity

If you are caught plagiarizing, I will be following the university guidelines for disciplinary actions: (deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/academicintegrity.html), see also (www.academicintegrity.org/).

Each student in this course is expected to abide by the University Code of Academic Integrity (see attached).  Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student’s own work.  You are encouraged to study together and discuss information and concepts covered in lecture.  You can give “consulting” help to or receive “consulting” help from such students.  However, this permissible cooperation should never involve one student having possession of a copy of all or part of work done by someone else, in the form of email, email attachment file, disk, or hard copy.  Should copying occur, both the student who copied from another student and the student who gave material to be copied will both be automatically receive a zero for the assignment.  Penalty for violation of this Code can also be extended to include failure of the course and University disciplinary action. 

During examinations, you must do your own work. Talking or discussion is not permitted during the examinations, nor may you compare papers, copy from others, or collaborate in any way.  Any collaborative behavior during the exams will result in failure of the exam, and may result in failure of the course and University disciplinary action.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:

In compliance with the UT Austin policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that may be required for students with disabilities.  Requests for academic accommodations are to be made during the 1^st 3 weeks of the semester, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made.  Students are encouraged to register with Student Disability Services to verify their eligibility for appropriate accommodations (see attached).

Tentative Course Schedule:

The University of Texas Honor Code

The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility.  Each member of the University is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.

Notice about students with disabilities

The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities.  For more information contact the Division of Diver

ANTHROPOLOGY 348K [30525]
COMPARATIVE PRIMATE ECOLOGY
FALL 2009

INSTRUCTOR:        Dr. Becca Lewis
            Department of Anthropology
Office:  1.104 EPS
Phone:  232-5386
e-mail:  rjlewis@mail.utexas.edu
Office hours: Wednesdays 2 – 4

TEXTBOOKS:        Required (1):
Cowlishaw G & Dunbar R (2000) Primate Conservation Biology. University of Chicago: Chicago.

Additional readings will be available through the library e-journals (online article) and via Blackboard         

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
All primates are a part of a broader ecological system that includes other primates as well as other animal and plant species.  This class will cover the basics of ecology (the study of how organisms interact with their environment).  We will examine how the basic principles of animal ecology can help us understand primate behavior.  We will look at a wide range of primates from a comparative perspective as we explore primate habitats, diets, life histories, and communities, as well as the concept of the niche, environmental influences on reproductive strategies, plant-animal interactions, cognitive ecology, and much more.  Because most primate species are threatened, endangered, or even facing extinction, we will also focus on how various aspects of ecology are used in the conservation of primates.

COURSE FORMAT AND REQUIREMENTS:
Prerequisite: ANT 301

This class will follow the general format of lecture on Mondays and Wednesdays and discussion on Fridays.  Thus, participation is an important part of your grade.  It is difficult to participate if you are not present in class and so attendance is highly recommended and will be recorded. 

Grades will also be based upon 3 in-class exams (no comprehensive final exam).  Exams may include multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer questions.  Each student in this class will become an “expert” on his/her species of choice.  You will be responsible for gathering information about your species and putting it together in a visual format.



Grades will be based upon                %Grade    Due Date
Exam I                            20%        Oct 5
Exam II                        20%        Oct 30
Exam III                        20%        Dec 4
Participation                        15%       
Poster Presentation                    25%        Nov 9-11


RE-GRADING POLICY:
Grade disputes must be turned in to the instructor in writing within 1 week of when the
exam is returned.  The student must include a 1 page explanation per question of why (s)he thinks that his/her answer is correct.  Simple errors in addition can be corrected immediately.  Students wishing to appeal a grade for one of the writing assignments, have 1 week to appeal their grade with the professor by turning in a 1 page explanation of why (s)he thinks that his/her paper should be regarded.


CREDIT/NO-CREDIT:
For those of you enrolled on a Pass/Fail basis, a requirement for receiving a passing grade in this course is to show up and take the exams.  You may choose not to study and fail the exams, but you must physically turn in the exams to receive credit. 

Grades do not use +/-. The following guidelines are used to assign final grades:
A    90-100
B    80-89
C    70-79
D    60-69
F    59 or less

ETC.
Be sure to regularly check Blackboard for class materials and information.  Power Point slides will not be made available on Blackboard.  Class handouts will be available on Blackboard.

Please turn your cell phones off while in class.  No cell phone use during class will be tolerated.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
If you are caught plagiarizing, I will be following the university guidelines for disciplinary actions: (deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/academicintegrity.html), see also (www.academicintegrity.org/).

Each student in this course is expected to abide by the University Code of Academic Integrity (see attached).  Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student’s own work.  You are encouraged to study together and discuss information and concepts covered in lecture.  You can give “consulting” help to or receive “consulting” help from such students.  However, this permissible cooperation should never involve one student having possession of a copy of all or part of work done by someone else, in the form of email, email attachment file, disk, or hard copy.  Should copying occur, both the student who copied from another student and the student who gave material to be copied will both be automatically receive a zero for the assignment.  Penalty for violation of this Code can also be extended to include failure of the course and University disciplinary action. 

During examinations, you must do your own work. Talking or discussion is not permitted during the examinations, nor may you compare papers, copy from others, or collaborate in any way.  Any collaborative behavior during the exams will result in failure of the exam, and may result in failure of the course and University disciplinary action.

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
In compliance with the UT Austin policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that may be required for students with disabilities.  Requests for academic accommodations are to be made during the 1st 3 weeks of the semester, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made.  Students are encouraged to register with Student Disability Services to verify their eligibility for appropriate accommodations (see attached).



TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE:

Dates    Topic    Work to do at home
Readings to be completed before class
Aug 28    Evolutionary Theory
Poster Assignment    Strier Ch. 4 (pp. 94-116)
Aug 31-   Sept 2    Primate Diversity    Fleagle Ch. 1
Cowlishaw & Dunbar Ch. 2
Sept 4    Biomes & Habitats    Richard Ch. 2
Sept 9-11    Food    Richard Ch. 4
Lambert (2007) Primates in Perspective
Sept 14    Disc: Food    online article: Glander KE (1977) Poison in a monkey's Garden of Eden. Natural History 86(3):34-41
Sept 16-18    Diet    Richard Ch. 5
Sept 21    Disc: Diet    online article: Powzyk JA and Mowry CB (2003) Dietary and feeding differences between sympatric Propithecus diadema diadema and Indri indri. International Journal of Primatology 24(6):1143-1162.
Sept 23    Activity Budgets    Dunbar Ch. 6
Sept 25    Disc: Food Seasonality    online article: Lewis RJ and Kappeler PM (2005) Seasonality, body condition and the timing of reproduction in Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi. American Journal of Primatology 67:347–364.
Sept 28    Temporal Distribution of Food    online article: Lambert JE, Chapman CA, Wrangham RW, and Conklin-Brittain NL (2004) Hardness of cercopithecine foods: Implications for the critical function of enamel thickness in exploiting fallback foods. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 125:363–368.
Sept 30    Cognitive Mapping    Byrne (2000)
Oct 2    Cognitive Ecology    Garber (2000)
Oct 5    Exam I   
Oct 7    Group Size    Chapman et al. (1995) Ecological constraints on group size: An analysis of spider monkey and chimpanzee subgroups. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 36(1):59-70.
Oct 9    Disc: Folivore Paradox    online article: Steenbeek R and van Schaik CP (2001) Competition and group size in Thomas’ langurs (Presbytis thomasi): the folivore paradox. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 49:100-110.
Oct 12    Dispersal/Philopatry    Pusey A and Packer C (1987)
Oct 14    Spatial Distribution of Food    online article: Pruetz JD and Isbell LA (2000) Correlations of food distribution and patch size with agonistic interactions in female vervets (Chlorocebus aethiops) and patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) living in simple habitats. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 49:38-47.
Oct 16    Disc: Intraspecific Competition    online article: Sterck EHM, Watts DP, van Schaik CP (1997). The evolution of female social relationships in nonhuman primates. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 41(5):291-309.
Oct 19-21    Life History    Dunbar Ch. 4
Leigh & Blomquist (2007) Primates in Perspective
Oct 23    Disc: Life History    online article: Altmann J and Albert SC (2003)
Variability in reproductive success viewed from a life-history perspective in baboons. American Journal of Human Biology 15(3):401-409
Oct 26    Primate Communities    Janson CH and Chapman CA (1999)
Oct 28    Interactions with Other Primates    Waser PM (1987)
Enstam & Isbell (2007) Primates in Perspective
Oct 30    Exam II   
Nov 2-4    Primate Distribution Assignment    Cowlishaw & Dunbar Ch 5
Nov 6    Disc: Primate community ecology    online article: Shreier et al. (2009) Interspecific
 competition and niche separation in primates: A Global
Analysis. Biotropica 41(3):283-291.


Nov 9-11    Poster     Presentations
Nov 13    Disc: Guilds    online article: French & Smith (2005) Importance of body size in determining dominance hierarchies among diverse tropical frugivores. Biotropica 37(1):96-101.
Nov 16    Interactions with Plants     Chapman & Russo (2007) Primates in Perspective
Nov 18    Interactions with Other Animals    Richard Ch.11 (pp.440-463)
Cowlishaw & Dunbar Ch 4
Nov 20    Disc: Primates Eat Primates    online article: Stanford CB (1995) To catch a colobus. Natural History 104(1):48-54.
Nov 23    Conservation    online article: Chapman CA and Peres CA (2001) Primate conservation in the new millennium: The role of scientists. Evolutionary Anthropology 10:16-33.
Nov 25    No class   
Nov 30    Conservation    Cowlishaw & Dunbar Ch 10, 11
Dec 3    Disc: Bushmeat    online article: Wilkie DS, Carpenter JF (1999) Bushmeat hunting in the Congo Basin: an assessment of impacts and options for mitigation. Biodiversity and Conservation 8:927-955.
online article: Milius S (2005) Bushmeat on the menu. Science News 167(9):138-140.
Dec 5    Exam III   

 
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HONOR CODE
The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility.  Each member of the University is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.
NOTICE ABOUT STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities.  For more information contact the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities at (512) 471-6259.  Students who require special accommodations need to get a letter that documents the disability from the Services for Students with Disabilities area of the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6529; 471-4641 TTY. This letter should be presented to the instructor in each course at the beginning of the semester and accommodations needed should be discussed at that time.  Five business days before an exam the student should remind the instructor of any testing accommodations that will be needed.  For more information: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/ssd/providing.php
NOTICE ABOUT MISSED WORK DUE TO RELIGIOUS HOLY DAYS
Religious holy days sometimes conflict with class and examination schedules.  If you miss an examination, work assignment, or other project due to the observance of a religious holy day, you will be given an opportunity to complete the work missed within a reasonable time after the absence.  It is the policy of The University of Texas at Austin that you must notify each of your instructors at least fourteen (14) days prior to the classes scheduled on dates you will be absent to observe a religious holy days.
USE OF BLACKBOARD IN CLASSES

This course uses Blackboard, a web-based course management system in which a password-protected site is created for each course.  Blackboard will be used to distribute course materials, to communicate and collaborate online, to post grades, to submit assignments, and to take online quizzes and surveys.  You will be responsible for checking the Blackboard course site regularly for class work and announcements.  As with all computer systems, there are occasional scheduled downtimes as well as unanticipated disruptions.  Notification of these disruptions will be posted on the Blackboard login page.  Scheduled downtimes are NOT an excuse for late work.  However, if there is an unscheduled downtime for a significant period of time, I will make an adjustment if it occurs close to the due date.  Blackboard is available at http://courses.utexas.edu.

UNIVERSITY E-MAIL NOTIFICATION POLICY

All students should become familiar with the University’s official e-mail student notification policy.  It is the student’s responsibility to keep the University informed as to changes in his or her e-mail address.  Students are expected to check e-mail on a frequent and regular basis in order to stay current with University-related communications, recognizing that certain communications may be time-critical.  It is recommended that e-mail be checked daily, but at a minimum, twice per week.  The complete text of this policy and instructions for updating your e-mail address are available at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.html.

In this course e-mail will be used as a means of communication with students.  You will be responsible for checking your e-mail regularly for class work and announcements.  Note: if you are an employee of the University, your e-mail address in Blackboard is your employee address.

This course focuses on the study of primate behavior and the methods by which animal behavior is observed and documented.  Students will learn how to conduct library research, formulate hypotheses and predictions, devise research projects to test these predictions, collect and analyze data, and write comprehensive research reports describing these results.

1 lecture hour and 3 lab hours per week.