UGA Bulletin

Course Description

Familiarizes students with avian biology, including anatomy and physiology, behavior, ecology, evolution, and conservation. Lab and field exercises will emphasize taxonomy and identification, ecology, and behavior of North American birds. A semester-long research project emphasizing experimental design and field data collection is required.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate student participation and involvement are graded more rigorously than undergraduates. The research project required of all students is scrutinized more heavily by instructors (and graded more rigorously) for intellectual design, such as hypotheses, experimental design, statistical analyses, and writing quality. Whereby undergraduate students conduct this project in teams, graduate students work independently. Graduate students are additionally required to prepare material for a verbal presentation and help lead lab field exercises.

Athena Title

Ornithology

Non-Traditional Format

Overnight field trip required.

Prerequisite

(BIOL 1104 and BIOL 1104L) or BIOL 1108-1108L or permission of school

Semester Course Offered

Offered spring

Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

Student Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, students will be able to place birds in their respective orders based on characteristics and identify birds in the field
At the end of this course, students will be able to understand the anatomic and physiologic characteristics unique to birds
At the end of this course, students will be able to understand the evolutionary history of birds
At the end of this course, students will be familiar with the current theories that explain avian intelligence, behavior, migration
At the end of this course, students will be able to understand the trade-offs in life history strategies, including mating
At the end of this course, students will be able to understand the efforts made across scales (state, federal and NGOs) to conserve birds

Topical Outline

Introduction/General avian characteristics
Feathers
Avian skeleton and muscles, flight physiology
Digestive system and feeding
Origin and evolution of birds
Darwin’s finches
Speciation
Systematics
Song & communication
Annual cycles
Migration & navigation
Social behavior
Reproduction
Mating systems
Habitat relationships
Demography
Population ecology
Community ecology
Tropical ornithology
Agriculture and birds
Forest management and birds
Monitoring bird populations
Avian disease issues
Value of birds
Partners in flight

Institutional Competencies

Analytical Thinking

The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.

Syllabus

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