Details of LS3204 (Spring 2026)
| Level: 3 | Type: Laboratory | Credits: 4.0 |
| Course Code | Course Name | Instructor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| LS3204 | Ecology and Behaviour Laboratory | Anindita Bhadra, Annagiri Sumana, Anuradha Bhat |
| Preamble |
|---|
| This course aims to introduce students to the various methods of quantitatively understanding nature, used in the field of ecology in general and ethology in particular. The class time is dedicated to the introduction to a topic and discussion. The students use the week between classes to collect data for the experiment being discussed, and the following class is used for discussion of their activities, introduction to data curation and analysis. The last month is dedicated to a team project, in which each team performs a study of their own design. This is arrived at through rigorous discussion with the instructors, followed by the students performing the experiment. They need to present their work in a team presentation, which serves as the final assessment. |
| Syllabus |
|---|
| Syllabus
Sampling techniques in Ecology: Quantifying changes in vegetation cover over space and time using imagery data; Introduction to line transect, quadrat, and point sampling methods. This will be done using birds or other model taxa on our campus. Sampling methods in Animal Behavior: Introduction to instantaneous scan, all occurrences sampling and focal animal/group sampling; Ad libitum observations on a focal species to build an ethogram of the species; Behavioral observation in the field on a focal species using Scans and AOS to collect data on time activity budgets and a focal behavior of the species. Foraging behavior: Foraging is an important behavior that can be easily observed in most species. This module will consist of behavioral experiments to understand this important ecological trait of a model system. Project: A project of 4 weeks will be conducted by the students in groups of 2 or 3. |
| References |
|---|
| References
R. Gadagkar (2021). Experiments in Animal Behaviour Cutting-Edge Research at Trifling Cost. Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore. |
Course Credit Options
| Sl. No. | Programme | Semester No | Course Choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IP | 2 | Elective |
| 2 | IP | 4 | Elective |
| 3 | MP | 2 | Not Allowed |
| 4 | MP | 4 | Not Allowed |
| 5 | MR | 2 | Elective |
| 6 | MR | 4 | Elective |
| 7 | MS | 10 | Elective |
| 8 | MS | 4 | Not Allowed |
| 9 | MS ( Biological Sciences ) | 6 | Core |
| 10 | MS | 8 | Elective |
| 11 | RS | 1 | Elective |
| 12 | RS | 2 | Elective |