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Primatology

Code: 100748 ECTS Credits: 3
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500004 Biology OT 4

Contact

Name:
Aurora Manuela Ruiz-Herrera Moreno
Email:
aurora.ruizherrera@uab.cat

Teachers

Yasmina Avia Garcia
Aurora Manuela Ruiz-Herrera Moreno

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

It is recommended that the basic concepts of Paleoanthropology, Genetics, Evolution and Molecular Genetics be considered.


Objectives and Contextualisation

The course of Primatology shows the panorama of current primates in their biological aspects in general, and in taxonomic and ethological in particular. It also analyzes the phylogeny and evolution of primates and the aspects that affects their conservation. In addition, we analyze the importance of models in biomedical research and paleoanthropological research, to understand ourselves.


Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Analyse and interpret the origin, evolution, diversity and behaviour of living beings.
  • Be able to analyse and synthesise
  • Be able to organise and plan.
  • Characterise, manage, conserve and restore populations, communities and ecosystems.
  • Control processes and provide services related to biology.
  • Design and carry out biodiagnoses and identify and use bioindicators.
  • Develop a sensibility towards environmental issues.
  • Make changes to methods and processes in the area of knowledge in order to provide innovative responses to society's needs and demands.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse a situation and identify its points for improvement.
  2. Analyse the sex- or gender-based inequalities and the gender biases present in one's own area of knowledge.
  3. Analyse the sustainability indicators of the academic and professional activities within the area, integrating the social, economic and environmental dimensions.
  4. Be able to analyse and synthesise.
  5. Be able to organise and plan.
  6. Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
  7. Define the role of the primates in the identification of disease-causing agents.
  8. Develop a sensibility towards environmental issues.
  9. Explain the underlying biological causes of human social behaviour.
  10. Identify the principal natural factors that have intervened in the distribution of human populations.
  11. Interact with and advise government institutions operating in the field of social policy and population and public health policy.
  12. Interpret human variability as a source of individualisation.
  13. Interpret phylogeographic analyses of the human species.
  14. Propose new methods or well-founded alternative solutions.
  15. Propose projects and actions that incorporate the gender perspective.
  16. Propose ways to evaluate projects and actions for improving sustainability.
  17. Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  18. Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  19. Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  20. Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  21. Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  22. Summarise and interpret the biology, evolution and behaviour of the order Primates.

Content

Block 1:

- Definition and evolutionary tendencies. Evolution of Primates.

- Diversification in current primates.

- Biogeography, ecology, and adaptations to the environment.

 

Block 2:

- Chromosomal characteristics, karyotype, and intraspecific variability.

- Mechanisms of chromosomal speciation, breakpoints and synthetic groups.

- Databases and analysis of Primates genomes

 

Block 3:

- Methods for studying primates behavior

- Socio-sexual behavior in primates.

- Primate Cognition. Animal cultures

- Communication in primates.

 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Computer practices 2 0.08 4, 5, 13, 20
Fieldwork 2 0.08 1, 4, 5, 14, 18, 19, 22
Laboratory practices 1 0.04 4, 5, 22
Lectures 19 0.76 4, 5, 7, 22
Seminars 2 0.08 4, 5, 7, 22
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials 2 0.08
Type: Autonomous      
Personal study 45 1.8 6, 11

Lectures are divided into three blocks: 1) Taxonomy and Morphological Evolution 2) Genetic evolution and specific diversification and 3) Ethology. In each one there will be a practice that will be developed within the same block.

At the end of the course, there will be a global seminar with all the students where different topics will be discussed directed by the three teachers.

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Exam 50% 2 0.08 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
Practice assessment 30% 0 0 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22
Seminars 20% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

As it is a continuous evaluation, the course will consider the different activities of the student in the classroom, as well as the practices and seminars. It will be evaluated by means of a written test that includes the three parts of the subject, a test answered by the working group of the seminar, and the practices of each of the 3 sections that the subject consists of. The final result will be the weighted sum of each of the parts.

- There will be a written test to evaluate the theoretical part of the subject (50%).

- The practices will measure 30% of the final mark (10% for each of the 3 practical sessions). Assessment will take into account both the attitude of the students as well as the work carried out in the laboratory itself and the questionnaires required.

-The seminar will have a group assessment that will equal 20% of the final grade. All students in the same group will have the same grade in this test

 To be eligible for the retake process, the student should have been previously evaluated in a set of activities equaling at least two-thirds of the final score of the course or module. Thus, the student will be graded as "No Avaluable" if the weight in of all conducted evaluation activities is less than 67% of the final score.

Attendance to practical or field sessions is mandatory. Students missing more than 20% of programmed sessions will be graded as "No Avaluable".

This subject foresees the single assessment system. The single assessment consists of a single summary test in which the contents of the entire theory program of the subject will be assessed. The grade obtained in this synthesis test will account for 50% of the final grade of the subject. The single assessment test will take place on the same day, time and place as the last continuous assessment test of the subject. The single assessment can be recovered on the day set for the recovery of the subject. The practical classes and the seminar will be assessed in the same way as the continuous assessment.

 


Bibliography

BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY:

FLEAGLE JG.- Primate adaptation and evolution. Academic Press

BOYD R & SILK JB. Como evolucionaron los humanos. Ariel Ciencia


SPECIFIC LITERATURE:

It will be given during the course.


Software

Ensembl (https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Info/Index) and UCSC (http://genome.ucsc.edu/).


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PCAM) Field practices 141 Catalan/Spanish first semester afternoon
(PCAM) Field practices 142 Catalan/Spanish first semester afternoon
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 141 Catalan/Spanish first semester afternoon
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 142 Catalan/Spanish first semester afternoon
(SEM) Seminars 141 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 14 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed