Undergraduate Course: Evolution of Social Behaviour (ZLGY10025)

Course Outline
School	School of Biological Sciences	College	College of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	10	ECTS Credits	5
Summary	Cooperation, and therefore complex, stable sociality, is a Darwinian paradox. This course will investigate how, despite this, elaborate social behaviour and advanced cooperation has evolved from teams of genes cooperating within genomes, to the sophisticated extremes of social insect colonies and the peculiarities of human social life. The course will start by identifying the underlying genetic conflicts, both within individuals at the genomic level, and between individuals interacting within a society. It will then examine the strategies adopted by both genes and individuals to maximise their own success while minimising the risk of exploitation by others. This will include detailed exploration of the different forms of cooperation; will examine the gap between theoretical and empirical analyses; will review recent controversies regarding the importance of kin selection; and will assess the role of information exchange within societies in stabilising conflict. The course will culminate by identifying the major unresolved questions in our understanding of social evolution, and the empirical approaches required to provide robust answers.
Course description	Not entered

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2017/18, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: 35
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 30, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 66 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 70 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Centrally arranged examination
Feedback	Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)	Evolution of Social Behaviour		2:00

Learning Outcomes
Focussing on social behaviour, students will gain skills in using empirical evidence to test theoretical ideas, and in the critical assessment of both theory and evidence.