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Department of Brain, Behaviour and Evolution

About Brain, Behaviour, and Evolution

The Department of Brain, Behaviour, and Evolution (BBE) is a community of staff, postdoctoral fellows, postgraduates and honours students. We believe that many of the most exciting advances in understanding behaviour will come about through interdisciplinary studies, and that a fundamental knowledge of behaviour can make important contributions to fields in which it has typically been ignored.

Research supported by the Department spans temporal and spatial scales. Work on comparative cognition and neuroethology uses natural behaviour as a window on mental processes in non-human animals. Studies of behavioural ecology are concerned with predator-prey interactions and mate choice, using molecular tools to study the evolution of social behaviour. Several of our current projects involve the exploration of sensory processes and the way in which these have shaped the design of animal signals.

We study a diverse array of species in captivity and in the wild. A partial list includes birds, reptiles, insects, and arachnids. In addition to several field sites in Australia, we support overseas research projects in Canada, Tunisia and South Africa.

Undergraduate Program

BBE offers units that take a uniquely integrative approach to the study of behaviour, taught by leading researchers in the area. BBE staff are as enthusiastic about teaching as they are passionate about science. Students will journey through an exciting and intellectually important curriculum.

BBE units include:

  • BBE 100 Introduction to Brain, Behaviour and Evolution
  • BBE 101 Evolution and Human Behaviour
  • BBE 200 Animal Behaviour
  • BBE 303 Independent Research Project in Brain, Behaviour and Evolution
  • BBE 304 Contemporary Issues in Brain, Behaviour and Evolution
  • BBE 305 Animal Communication
  • BBE 306 Brain and Behaviour
  • BBE 307 Behavioural Ecology

Recommended units from Biology, Philosophy, and Psychology round out the program.

For more information, contact Ken Cheng.

For information about the new Brain, Behavior and Evolution major, please see the Animal Behavior program information website.

Honours Program

Honours in BBE is designed to provide students with research training in integrative approaches to Animal Behaviour. Students will acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct independent research, preparing them for research-based careers or to pursue postgraduate studies (PhD or MPhil). BBE provides a dynamic and stimulating research environment that is focused on understanding Animal Behaviour, but which approaches this area from a range of different perspectives using a wide diversity of species. This focus, along with the expertise and resources available in the Department, makes our Honours program unique in Australia.

Scholarships of $4,000 are available for outstanding Honours candidates.

For more details about the program, including a list of potential Honours projects, refer to the Honours program webpage.

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