Anyone working in the field of animal behavior must first know what a behavior is, how to define it, and how it may vary across different animals. For this assignment you will practice defining behavior and assigning behaviors to categories by creating an ethogram. Finally, you will compare how behavior may be similar or different across animal species.

• Choose an animal species . Include the scientific name of your animal species ( Genus species ).
• Pick 3 behaviors natural to that species.
• Assign each behavior to a behavioral category.
• Refer to the Mouse Ethogram to get ideas about how to categorize your behaviors.
• Categories might include Exploration Behavior (sniffing or investigating stimuli), Maintenance Behavior (such as feeding or nesting), Social Behavior (such as affiliative, agonistic, or investigatory interactions), Inactive Behavior (sleeping), Abnormal Behavior (stereotypic behavior like excessive grooming or pacing).
• Find a photo or video of each behavior.
• Place images or video links in your document.
• Write a definition of each behavior.
• You should have 3 behavioral definitions.
• The definition should be written in your own words.
• Refer to your video lecture for tips on how to define behaviors.
• Remember to be specific and concise in your definition. Avoid using the word you are defining in your definition. Avoid anthropomorphizing the behavior.
• Species comparison.
• Now pick one of the behaviors you already defined and pick a different animal species that engages in the same behavior.
• For example, if I picked “grooming” in cats I could then pick “grooming” in mice.
• Find an image or video of the second species engaging in that behavior.
• Include a statement as to whether your definition still applies to this second animal or if there are any changes to your definition that need to be applied to fit this animal. If changes need to be made, note what those changes are by writing a second definition.
• Reflection.
• At the end of your document, reflect about the experience. What did you find easy and what did you find difficult about writing behavioral definitions? Did finding images/videos of the behaviors help you write the definitions? Did the behavior you compared between the two animals look similar or different?

This assignment draws from your video lecture and the mouse ethogram website.

This assignment will help give you experience defining and categorizing behavior for your course project.