• Understand that DNA codes for the complex hierarchical organization of systems that enable life's functions and that growth and division of cells in complex organisms occurs by mitosis, which differentiates specific cell types.

• Recognize that organisms use matter and energy to live and grow, and that organisms interact with the living and nonliving components of the environment to obtain matter and energy. Explain how matter and energy which are necessary for life, are conserved as they move through ecosystems.

• Understand how a complex set of interactions determine how ecosystems respond to disturbances, and how organisms interact in groups to benefit the species.

• Understand how the  characteristics of one generation are dependent upon the genetic information inherited from previous generations, and that variation between individuals results from genetic and environmental factors.

• Understand how evidence of common ancestry and diversity between species can be determined by examining variations including genetic, anatomical and physiological differences, and that genetic variation among organisms affects survival and reproduction.

• Recognize that environment influences survival and reproduction of organisms over multiple generations, and that as humans, we have complex interactions with ecosystems and have the ability to influence biodiversity on the planet.

When Studying Life Science You May Find Students:

• Analyzing and interpreting data on genes; demonstrating how DNA processes are the same in all organisms; developing, communicating, and justifying an explanation of how cells form specialized tissues.

• Using a model to illustrate the role of cellular division (mitosis) and differentiation in producing and maintaining complex organisms. 

• Planning and conducting an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis. 

• Developing an explanation that shows how ecosystems follow the laws of conservation of matter and energy; analyzing how energy flows through trophic levels (food webs); describing how various cycles work  (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water).

• Using mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.

• Evaluating claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.

Unit 1 Overview 

What is behavior? Why is an understanding of the mechanisms, development, function and evolution of behavior important? What has been the course of scientific research on behavior so far and which approaches have prevailed? How can behavior be studied at all and which methods, concepts and tools are being used in behavioral research? What role does behavioral research play in organismic biology? How and why is behavior modified in the course of evolution, and what is the role of the basic building plan characteristics of a taxonomic group? In the first three chapters, I discuss these questions, among others, in order to provide a basis for the treatment of specific questions, concepts and facts in the subsequent chapters.

Chapter 1 - Behavioral Biology: Content and History – Page 3

Chapter 2 - Methods and Concepts of Behavioral Biology – Page 15

Chapter 3 - Behavior, Evolution and Life Histories – Page 29

Unit 2 Overview 

Survival is a daily concern of all organisms. To ensure their survival, animals have developed a number of adaptations, many of which rely on behaviour or even represent pure behavioural strategies. These adaptations can be divided into those that are based on various physiological mechanisms to maintain the basic functions of the organism, and others that serve to minimize extrinsic mortality risks. The most important problems that an organism faces in connection with its homeostasis concern a sufficient supply of energy, nutrients and water, thermoregulation, the optimal allocation and use of time and energy, and protection from parasites and pathogens. The ability to reliably orientate oneself in space and time is another basic requirement for survival. Finally, adaptations that serve to avoid and ward off predators are of central importance in the struggle for survival. In this evolutionary race between predators and their prey, behaviour is the focus of numerous adaptations on both sides. These factors, which are discussed in detail in the next four chapters, together influence the survival component of inclusive fitness.

Chapter 4 - Basic Functions and Behavior – 51

Chapter 5 - Orientation in Time and Space – 69

Chapter 6 - Habitat and Food Selection – 93

Chapter 7 - Predation – 121

Unit 3 Overview 

Direct reproduction represents the decisive contribution in most animal species to their own individual fitness. Within this context, there is an overwhelming diversity of reproductive systems, reproductive strategies and tactics in the animal kingdom, the constraints and possibilities of which determine the reproductive behavior of individuals. All traits that influence individual reproductive success are evaluated by sexual selection. In the individual chapters of this section, I will outline the diversity of reproductive systems and its consequences for sexual selection. Since sexual reproduction with separate sexes (gonochory) is the most widespread and best studied type, I will discuss the causes and mechanisms of male and female reproductive strategies in detail in separate chapters. Whereas cooperation by both sexes is required for successful reproduction at all organisational levels (genetics, physiology, behavior), it is compromised by a fundamental conflict of interest between the sexes in most species. Its consequences for the evolution of different mating systems are also discussed in this section.

Chapter 8 - Sexual Selection: Evolutionary Foundations – 145

Chapter 9 - Intrasexual Selection: How Males Compete – 167

Chapter 10 - Intersexual Selection: How Females Choose – 199

Unit 4 Overview 

To successfully transmit copies of one's own genes into the next generation, it is not sufficient to survive successfully and to find a mate. If their own offspring do not survive and become sexually mature, the parents will still not gain any fitness. However, parents can invest time and energy to improve the survival chances of their offspring. The type and quantity of parental care is largely determined by cost-benefit aspects, life history and the sex of the parent. In this context, evolutionary conflicts between parents and offspring exist nonetheless. Furthermore, the early phase of development up to sexual maturity represents an important and formative phase of life, raising fundamental questions about the development and control of behaviour. In the following two chapters, these issues, which concern young animals and their behaviour, will be discussed.

Chapter 11 - Parental Care – 243

Chapter 12 - Development and Control of Behavior – 281

Unit 5 Overview 

The central theme of the last three parts of this book was an examination of the determinants of individual fitness (survival, reproduction and parental care). Many aspects of these fitness determinants have a social component, which I would like to explore explicitly in this last section. It is not always obvious as to what is cause and consequence or what is decisive advantage or disadvantage. For example, individuals may reduce their predation risk by forming groups (7.3), but this may also expose them to more intense feeding competition (6.3). A similar area of conflict arises when relatives live together, because, on the one hand, this opens up opportunities for cooperation to increase indirect fitness (11.4). On the other hand, the risk of losing individual reproductive opportunities due to incest avoidance (10.2) or competition (9.5) is also increased. The diversity and complexity of social systems is enormous, ranging from short-lived invertebrates that meet a conspecific for mating only once in a lifetime to large mammals that spend decades with the same individuals in large groups. There must therefore be selection for different forms of coexistence, which, in turn, make different sex-specific reproductive strategies advantageous. The interactions among members of a species or group are largely based on the exchange of communication signals, which mediate different patterns of competition and cooperation, but also serve the purpose of group coordination. In addition, there are species differences in how ecological and social information is cognitively processed, and thus how it influences certain behavioral responses. The causes and consequences of this variability in social systems and social behavior are discussed in the last two chapters.

Chapter 13 - Social Systems – 315

Chapter 14 - Social Structure – 351

High School Language Expectations

High School Science Language Expectations