Szent István University Applied Ethology Department
General ethology
The course gives a basic knowledge to understand the behaviour of animals. We talk about the history and the different schools of ethology. We illustrate the structures and function of the inherited and learned forms of behaviour by appropriate examples. Main topics of the subject are: regulation of behaviour, genetic and physiological background of behaviour; biological rhythms; motivation; ontogeny of behaviour; learning; social behaviour. In the second part of the semester we discuss the behaviour of some important farm animals: cattle, horse, pig, sheep, and poultry.
Ethology I.
During this course students are introduced to the main topics of animal behaviour science. After a review of the history of ethology and the fundamental ideas of this science they can hear about the evolutionary background of animal behaviour. Then we discuss the major mechanisms – genetic, neurological and hormonal effects - of behavioural regulation. We continue with the ontogeny of behaviour, animal learning and cognition, introducing some amazing experiments and results in this field. The following main topic is about social behaviour, including the spatial distribution and the structure of animal groups. We talk about the communication, aggression and altruistic behaviour among animals. In the second part of the semester we discuss the main features of sexual and parental behaviour and in the end we finish the course with the basic principles of orientation and migration of animals.
Ethology II.
During this course – taking Ethology I. course as a basis - students can get a comprehensive knowledge of the behavioural biology of farm animals. First we discuss the effects of domestication on animal behaviour, than we continue with the species specific behaviour of animals. We compare the natural behaviour of the wild ancestor (if possible) with the behaviour of the domesticated form. We talk about the sense-organs and the different forms of communication of the certain species. We discuss the feeding habits of farm animals, concentrating on their inherited demands, social-, sexual- and parental behaviour. We compare the different keeping technologies referring to the ethological aspects and problems. Deliberated species are the following: cattle, horse, pig, sheep and goat, poultry, fur animals, cats and dogs.
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