Teaching
Teaching
4 credits lecture + lab, a valid elective for biology majors.
Pre-requisites: BIOL 51 and 61 or consent of the instructor.
It is also possible to earn graduate credits, which will require additional readings and separate exam questions.
This course is all about communication and (good) vibrations: you will figure how hearing (the coolest of the senses) works. And how and why we (vertebrates) make sounds with our vocal folds. You will also examine how the brain processes audio, and why certain animals communicate using ultrasound or seismic vibrations! You will even learn the behavioral strategies that male frogs use to sound sexually appealing to female frogs!!! Interesting?
How about adding to it some hands-on experience? Wouldn′t it be fun to use the latest technologies to measure, for example, your vocal or hearing range? The vibration of the eardrums when they are hit by the sound, or record sounds emitted by the ears? We will also fool our brains with acoustic illusions, compare sounds quantitatively and measure signal evolution.
This course is designed to give you a multidisciplinary view of the main concepts and techniques involved in the study of vertebrate communication. It will train you to integrate across areas such as anatomy, physiology, behavior and evolution in order to interpret experimental results.
Scared of the math involved in acoustics? No worries, this course is designed by and for biologists. We will address the necessary concepts in physics at an intuitive level that will not bother you.