Go Outside: An Activity in Observing Animal BehaviorGoal: One of the most important techniques employed by ethologists (individuals
that study animal behavior) is the observation of animal behavior. Observing animal
behavior involves systematic recording of the activities of particular animals. We
want you to become temporary ethologists and record an example of animal
behavior, and to propose reasons for the behavior you will observe.
Assignment: You will be responsible for observing animal behavior in nature. There
are many areas you may want to look for animals to observe such as:
Toby Creek (on campus)
Reedy Creek Park (or any park area)
Your backyard (if there is enough natural habitat)
Kings Mountain
Crowders Mountain
Large aquarium (not the small kind you have in your home)
Raptor Center (Charlotte, NC)
Ashboro Zoo (nice day trip)
Lazy 5 Ranch
These are all just suggestions but there are many more places you could look for
wildlife. Since it is just now warm outside there should be a lot of action going on in
the animal world and it’s your job to tell us about it. Birds are a really good animal to
observe, as there are many different varieties with distinct personality differences.
You will need to watch the animal(s) for a minimum of 20 minutes and record in
detail what their behavior is like. You will also want to describe the weather, time of
day and conditions around the observational area. There are two types of behavior
patterns that are often seen in animals that are at opposite ends of a continuum of
behavior, and you will need to record both.
The first type of pattern is called an event.
Events are behavior patterns of relatively short duration, such as discrete body
movements or vocalizations, which can be approximated as points in time. For
example, the number of times a dog barks in 1 minute would be a measure of the
frequency of a behavioral event.
The second type of behavioral pattern is called a state.
States are behavior patterns of relatively long duration, such as prolonged activities,
body postures or proximity measures. For example, the total time a dog spends
asleep over a 24-h period would be a measure of the total duration of a state.
To receive full credit all of the following components MUST be present (50pts total):
1. Paragraph 1: Detailed description of the animal you are observing.
a. MUST take picture of the animal and/or find a representative photo
online (5pts)
b. Describe general information about the species you are observing such
as lifespan, mating behavior, interesting facts, habitat ect. (5pts)
2. Paragraph 2: Detailed description of the environment you are observing the
animals in.
a. Describe the area where the observation is taking place. For example if
it is crowded with people, quiet, loud, wooded, shady ect. Ect. (5pts)
b. Describe the time of day and the weather patterns of that day, be
specific. (5pts)
3. Paragraph 3: Detailed description of the behaviors you observed.
a. Make a graphical representation (or table) of the raw data that you
collected. Be very specific when recording your results. (5pts)
b. Describe the behaviors you saw in a paragraph form. You need to
describe how long activities were happening, how frequent,
interactions with other animals ect. You want to write this so your
instructor can visualize their behavior. (5pts)
4. Paragraph 4: Conclusions that will address the following questions (10pts
total):
a. Why do you think the animal you observed behaved the way it did?
b. Did you see any sexual dimorphisms? Why or why not?
c. Do you think the weather or time of day had anything to do with your
results?
d. Why are these behaviors important?
e. What do these results tell you about the animal you observed?
f. Are the behaviors you observed innate or learned?
g. Any other interesting behaviors you observed?
5. Grammar, Language and Citations.
a. Proper use of grammar, spelling and tone. (5pts)
b. In text citations as well as reference page. (5 pts)
**No citations (in text and reference page) will result in an automatic loss of
10pts**
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