This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Ethnology and Ethology

Code: 103539 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Veterinary Medicine FB 1

Contact

Name:
Francisco Javier Manteca Vilanova
Email:
xavier.manteca@uab.cat

Teachers

Ramon Casals Costa
Francisco Javier Manteca Vilanova
Maria Teresa Paramio Nieto
Maria dels Dolors Izquierdo Tugas
Susana Le Brech
Marta Amat Grau
Ricard Pares Casanova
Ahmed Salama Fadali
Pol Llonch Obiols
Carmen Loreto Manuelian Fuste

Teaching groups languages

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


Prerequisites

As it is a first course subject, there are no mandatory prerequisites. Nevertheless, students are advised to go over their knowledge of animal biology and zoology.


Objectives and Contextualisation

The subject includes two well differentiated parts: ethnology and ethology, which also includes animal welfare. The ethology part includes activities in English, identified in this teaching guide as DA.

Ethnology, which will address the different types of domestic animals and their breeds, has the following objectives:

  1. To understand and use properly the productive and ethnologic terminology.
  2. To know the external features of the different domestic species, which will enable the students to identify them and group them in breeds, as well as to evaluate their productive characteristics.
  3. To differentiate the main breeds of domestic species and, in the case of those used in animal production, relate them with concrete production systems (extensive, intensive, etc.) and/or with certain production objectives (milk, meat, eggs, etc.) according to their production potential.

Ethology, which is the study of animal behaviour, is important because it contributes to the knowledge of the normal functioning of the animal organism. From a professional point of view, ethology is relevant for the following reasons:

  1. Usually, the first disease signs in animals are changes in their behaviour. For that reason, knowing the normal behaviour of animals and how this behaviour is modified when animals are ill is important to diagnose diseases.
  2. Many aspects of farm animal behaviour have important effects on their production. That is the case, for example, of sexual and maternal behaviour (which condition reproductive efficiency), feeding behaviour (which affects consumption of food and thus the production of meat, milk and eggs) and social behavior (as aggression, which is part of social behaviour, has negative effects on production).
  3. The so-called “behavior problems” of companion animals are very frequent and constitute one of the main causes of abandonment and euthanasia of dogs and cats. Furthermore, one of the main behavior problems of dogs is aggression towards people, which is a public health problem in many countries.

In this context, the main objectives of ethology are as follows:

  1. To know the normal behaviour of domestic animals and their control mechanisms, and to understand how this behaviour is modified by diseases.

  2. To know the relationship between feeding, sexual, maternal and social behaviour, and the production of farm animals.

  3. To understand the mechanisms responsible for the so-called behaviour problems of companion animals and the basis of their diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

Animal welfare is an important aspect of the veterinary profession. For example, the European Union has approved several directives that set up the conditions for the protection of agricultural animals on farm, during transport and at slaughter. These directives have had a very important effect on farm animal production. On the other hand, animal welfare is closely link to animal health and production performance, as well as to product quality. Animal welfare is also important in the use of animals in teaching and research procedures, as well as in companion animals.

In this context, the main objectives of ethology in relation to animal welfare are:

  1. To understand the concept of animal welfare and its scientific basis.

  2. To understand how animal welfare can be assessed with science based, objective indicators.

  3. To understand the legal and economic implications of animal welfare.

  4. To know the main welfare problems of domestic animals.


Competences

  • Comunicar la informació obtinguda durant l'exercici professional de manera fluïda, oralment i per escrit, amb altres col·legues, autoritats i la societat en general.
  • Demonstrate generic knowledge of animals, their behaviour and the bases of their identification.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the aspects of organisation, finance and management in all fields of the veterinary profession.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of English to communicate both orally and in writing in academic and professional contexts.
  • Recognise ethical obligations in the exercise of responsibilities in terms of the profession and society.
  • Treat and handle animals in a safe and humanitarian manner, and instruct other people to properly employ these techniques.
  • Work effectively in single or multidisciplinary teams and show respect, appreciation and sensitivity for the work of others.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Communicate information obtained during professional exercise in a fluid manner, orally and in writing, with other colleagues, authorities and society in general.
  2. Define the physiology of the stress response and adaptation mechanisms of animals.
  3. Define the productive and reproductive parameters of domestic species and their variability between races, choosing the most appropriate race for the different production systems.
  4. Demonstrate knowledge of English to communicate both orally and in writing in academic and professional contexts.
  5. Identify behavioral changes caused by disease and explain the mechanisms responsible for these changes.
  6. Identify the main problems of animal welfare in different production systems and the use of animals for experimental purposes.
  7. Identify the mechanisms controlling behavior in mammals and birds.
  8. Recognise personal limitations and know when to ask for professional advice and help.
  9. Recognize aspects of the behavior of pets that are related to animal production and veterinary medicine.
  10. Recognize domestic species, domestication process and the formation of its main races, as well as the productive capacity of these and their morphological differentiation.
  11. Recognize the ethical, legal and economic implications of animal protection.
  12. Recognize the external morphology of pets and identify different animals morphotypes and their relationship with productive capacity.
  13. Using the productive and ethnological terminology correctly and properly, as well as the most important sources of information about the different breeds of domestic animals.
  14. Work effectively in single or multidisciplinary teams and show respect, appreciation and sensitivity for the work of others.

Content

The contents below may be subjected to changes based on the instructions given by the health authorities.

As explained before, this subject includes two different parts: ethnology and ethology, which also includes animal welfare.

Ethnology

Lectures

Ethnology and exterior:

1. Ethnology and breed concept:

Ethnology: concept, contents and objectives. Domestication: concept, origins and conditioning factors. Formation and evolution of farm animal breeds. Breed concept and variety. Breed standards: advantages and disadvantages.

2. Morphological types:

Morphotypes and Biotypes. Productive characteristics and capacity. Ambiental morphotypes. Constitutional Biotypes: meat, milk and others. Barons systematics. Haloids.

 3. Animals exterior and phaneroptics:

Morphology: concept and interest. Animals exterior and body regions. Beauty, defects and tares.

Phaneroptics. Classification and study of coats. Coat particularities. Genetics of coat colour.

4. Milk cow breeds and selection criteria:

Ethnology of milk cows.

5. Meat cow breeds and selection criteria:

Ethnology of meat cows. Breed selection.

6. Pig ethnology and genetic lines

7. Bird ethnology and genetic lines

8. Main meat sheep breeds:

Worldwide origin and distribution of the different sheep types. Breeds derived from Merino, French breeds, British breeds, prolific breeds, and Spanish breeds. Productivity improvement. Industrial crossbreedings.

9. Main milk sheep breeds:

Classification of main milk sheep according to area of origin and type of tail. Sheep breeds of high and low milk production, indigenous and foreign species. Possible crossbreeding to increase production.

10. Goat breeds:

Basic types of domestic goats: Alpine, Mediterranean or Asiatic branch. Goat breeds specialized in milk (exotic and autochthonous). Goat breeds with other purposes.

11. Equine breeds:

Equine taxonomic identification. Origin and evolution of horses. Hybrid horses. Productive capacities: saddle and sport, meat and traction. Breed classification of horses: warm blood, cold blood and ponies.

12. Equine breeds (1):

“Arabian” breed and its importance. “English pure breed”. “British-Arabian”. Spanish saddle horses and other saddle horses. Trotting horses and jumping horses.

13. Equine breeds (2):

Traction horses. Ponies and Spanish ponies. Donkey breeds. Donkey hybrids.

14. Dog breeds (1):

Canine taxonomic classification. Canine origin and evolution. Breed clusters. Canine International Federation (C.I.F.) dog breed classification. Groups I, II, III and IV.

15. Dog breeds (2):

Groups V, VI, VII, VIII, IX i X. Spanish breeds not recognised by the C.I.F.

16.  Cat breeds:

Feline taxonomic classification. Feline origin and evolution. Feline breed classification: Cobby and Exotic types. Breeds recognised by the Feline International Federation (F.I.F.). Breeds not recognised by the F.I.F.

Practical teaching and workshops

 
A) Practical teaching

1. External morphology and zoometry (Practical session 1)

Body regions of domestic animals and morphometric measures: application to equine, bovine, ovine and caprine species. Important particularities and defects of the corporal regions.

2. Chronometry (Practical session 2)

Assessment of animals’ age and their variation factors. Dental chronology. Live age determination of several species.

3. Morphological and breed standards assessment (Practical session 3)

Breed standard and morphological assessment of an individual and its relationship with its productive features. Application to the bovine and ovine species.

4. Animal identification (Practical session 4)

Animal identification: importance and evolution. Use of natural features: report making. Identification through artificial methods: ear tags and electronic identification. On farm traceability.

B) Workshops

- Presentation of cooperative learning (Workshop 1)

- Meeting of specialist students with the head teachers of each species (Workshop 2) 

Ethology

 

Topic 1. Objectives and methods of ethology. Relationship between ethology and veterinary medicine.
Topic 2. Control of behaviour.
Topic 3. Ontogeny of behaviour.
Topic 4. Animal welfare: concept. Relationship between stress and animal welfare.
Topic 5. Animal welfare assessment. Abnormal repetitive behaviours.
Topic 6. Thermoregulatory behaviour. Welfare problems caused by thermal discomfort.
Topic 7. Feeding behaviour.
Topic 8. Sexual and maternal behaviour. Neonatal mortality. Effects of neutering on behavior.
Topic 9. Social behaviour.
Topic 10. Behavioural changes caused by disease. Pain assessment through behavioural observation.
Topic 11. Behaviour and welfare of companion animals: specific topics.
Topic 12. Behaviour and welfare of farm animals: specific topics.


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Laectures 39 1.56
Practical session Ethology (dogs) 4 0.16 6, 9, 14
Practical teaching and workshops ethnology 9 0.36
Workshops on practical cases Ethology 4 0.16
Type: Autonomous      
Cooperative learning Ethnology 15 0.6
Practical cases Ethology 20 0.8
Self-learning 55.5 2.22

Theoretical lectures will be given on-line, with several scheduled sessions to answer students' questions.

The teaching methodology used in this subject will be different in each of the two parts (ethnology and ethology).

Ethnology:

The pillar of the learning process is the students’ work, whereas the mission of the teacher is to help students in their learning by (1) giving them information or showing  them the resources where to find it and (2) guiding them to achieve an efficient learning process. According to these ideas, and bearing in mind the objectives of the subject, the course development is based on the following activities:

a. Lectures:

The student will acquire his / her knowledge of the subject attending the lectures and complementing them with his / her own work.

b. Practical sessions:

There will be 4 practical sessions which will be held on the Teaching Farm of the Vet School. During these practical sessions, students will have hans-on experience with animals, learning their morphologic features and identification.

c. Workshops:

A workshop will be devoted to explaining how the cooperative learning works and will enable students to acquire the necessary knowledge about breed identification. Students will be individually and collectively assessed on this knowledge.

In a second workshop the students will gain further knowledge on topics that have not been thoroughly dealt with in lectures, and they will discuss the results of the cooperative learning.

d. Cooperative learning:

In order to acquirethe required knowledge on breed identification, students will work in groups to learn the features of the main breeds of one given species. Thebreed list of each species will be proposed by the teaching staff. There shall be a tutor teacher for each species, and he / she shall meet at least once with students.

Ethology

Two different teaching methodologies will be used: lectures and workshops with small groups of students. Three lectures and two workshops will be in English.

Lectures (22 hours in total) will be used to expose the fundamental contents of the subject. Lectures will be done with visual support (including videos when appropriate). Both the videos and the PowerPoint documents used in lectures will be available in Veterinària Virtual. All lectures will begin with an outline and a list of teaching objectives and will end with a summary of the most important points. As far as possible student participation will be promoted. Three lectures will be in English.

The workshops with small groups of students (4 hours) will be used to discuss the practical cases that the students will have studied previously. These cases (a total of 4) will be given to the students at the beginning of the course. Two workshops will be in English.

At the end of the course, the students must submit a work done in groups of two persons. The students will have to choose the topic in between 20 possible topics that will be recommended at the beginning of the course. The students that want to make the final work about another topic, will have to discuss it with the teaching staff.

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
Group exam on cooperative learning 5% 0.5 0.02 1, 3, 12, 10, 14, 13
Individual test on breed identification 7,5% 0.5 0.02 3, 12, 10
Test exam 87,5% 2.5 0.1 3, 2, 4, 5, 7, 6, 9, 12, 10, 11, 8, 13

Regardless of whether you choose continuous or one-day evaluation, your final mark for the subject “Ethnology and ethology” will be the average of the mark you will get for Ethnology and the mark you will get for Ethology. However, to pass the subject, each of the two marks must be equal or higher tan 5 out of 10.

Marking procedure for students choosing continuous evaluation

ETHNOLOGY

Your mark will result from two activities:

Exams: you will do a theoretical, individual exam covering the whole course amb with a weight of 70% of the final mark of Ethnology. You must obtain no less than 4 out of 10 to average the mark of this exam with the other evaluation activities. Besides, you will do another individual exam on breed identification where you Will be asked to identify the breeds of domestic animals shown through pictures and this will have a weight of 20% of the final mark of Ethnology.

Marking of the cooperative learning: there Will be a group session where you Will be asked to identify breeds of animals shown through pictures. The mark Will be the same for all the students in the group and will have a weight of 10% of the final mark of Ethnology.

You will be considered as “Not evaluable” if you have done marking activities below 85% of the potential final mark of Ethnology.

Practical sessions are compulsory and, unless properly justified, the final mark of Ethnology will be decreased by 0.5 points for each practical session that has not been attended.

ETHOLOGY

The final mark of ethology will be obtained from the grades of two exams, one of which will be held in December and the other when classes have finished. Each exam will include multiple-choice questions as well as question that require a written answer. The second exam will cover all the contents of the course.

The final grade will be obtained as follows:
(0.25x grade of the first exam) + (0.75 x grade of the second exam)

Students who do not reach 5 when applying the previous formula will be able to take the retake exam.

Students who do not take either exam (December and February) or the retake exam will be considered "non-assessed".

 

Marking procedure for students choosing one-day evaluation

 

ETHNOLOGY

The final mark of Ethnology will be obtained from two exams to be done on the same day. Both exams will be like those for students choosing continuous evaluation, but in this case the theoretical exam will have a weight of 75% and the breed identification exam will have a weight of 25% of the final mark of Ethnology.

 

ETHOLOGY

The final mark of ethology will be the mark of the final exam, which will include multiple-choice questions as well as questions that require a written answer.

Students who do not take the final exam nor the retake exam will be considered “non assessed”.

 

In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed as an integral part of the development of the work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution of the student in the analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.


Bibliography

Etnologia:

 Llibres d’Exterior:

  • Aparicio G. 1974. Exterior de los grandes animales domésticos. Ed. Imp. Moderna, Córdoba. : Llibre clàssic d’exterior en llengua castellana. Bàsic per a entendre molts conceptes.
  • Miquel P., Puche C. 1994. Pelajes del caballo. Ed. Ediciones el Caballo, Barcelona. : Llibre actual sobre el tema de colors i pelatges del cavall.
  • Oteiza J. 1983. Introducción al estudio del exterior del caballo y del toro. Ed. CECSA, México. : Llibre d’exterior d’equins i bovins.
  • Sánchez A. 1981. Identificación Animal. Ed. Publicaciones de Extensión Agraria, MAPA, Madrid. : El llibre més complert en castellà sobre metodologies d’identificació clàssiques. No contempla la identificació electrònica.
  • Selga I. 1991. Identificació equina per ressenya descriptiva i gràfica. Departament d'Agricultura, Ramaderia i Pesca de la Generalitat de Catalunya. Quaderns de Divulgació 29. : Llibre d’exterior en català, que pot ajudar a l’alumne en les qüestions terminològiques i de identificació del cavall.

 Llibres d’etnologia General:

  • García M.A., Martínez S., Orozco F. 1990. Guía de campo de las razas autóctonas de España. Ed. Alianza, Madrid. : Llibre sobre les principals races autòctones espanyoles.
  • Mason I.L., 1984. Evolutionof domesticated animals. Ed. Longman, Londres. : Un llibre clàssic i força interessant sobre les teories filogenètiques de les diverses races de les espècies domèstiques.
  • Sañudo C., Forcada F., Cepero R., Thos J. 1986. Manual de diferenciación etnológica. Ed. Librería General, Zaragoza. : Manual senzill, moltajustat a l’assignatura, ja que es tracta d’una publicació pensada per a estudiants de Veterinària.
  • Sotillo J.L., Serrano V. 1985. Producción Animal: Etnología zootécnica. Tomos I y II. Ed. Tebar Flores, Madrid. : Probablement l’obra més complerta sobre Etnologia en llengua castellana. S’adapta molt bé als continguts de l’assignatura.

 Llibres de races per espècies:

  • Blanc H.L. 1987. Guía del caballo y del poney. Ed. Omega, Barcelona
  • Sánchez A. 1984. Razas bovinas españolas. Ed. Publicaciones del Servicio de Extensión Agraria, MAPA, Madrid.
  • Sánchez A., 1986. Catálogo de razas autóctonas españolas. I. Especies bovina. Ed. Servicio de Publicaciones Agrarias, MAPA, Madrid.
  • Sánchez A., Sánchez Mª.C. 1986. Razas ovinas españolas. Ed. Publicaciones del Servicio de Extensión Agraria, MAPA, Madrid.
  • Esteban C., Tejón D. 1986. Catálogo de razas autóctonas españolas. I. Especies ovina y caprina. Ed. Servicio de Publicaciones Agrarias, MAPA, Madrid.
  • Gondrexon A., Brownie I. 1982. Guía de los perros delmundo. Ed. Omega, Barcelona.
  • Orozco F. 1989. Razas de gallinas españolas. Ed. Servicio de Extensión Agraria, MAPA, Madrid.
  • Pugnetti G. 1985. Guía de gatos. Ed. Grijalbo, Barcelona. 

Etologia:

 

Appleby M C, Mench J A, Olsson I A S and Hughes B O (2011) Animal welfare (2ª Ed.) Wallingford: CAB International
Broom D M 2021 Broom and Fraser’s Domestic Animal Behaviour and Welfare, 6ª ed. CABI Publishing: Wallingford
Houpt K A (2005) Domestic animal behavior (4ª Ed.) Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
Jensen P 2017 The Ethology ofDomestic Animals: An Introductory Text, 3ª ed. CABI Publishing: Wallingford
Manteca X (2009) Etología veterinaria Barcelona: Editorial Multimédica.
Manteca X (2020) Bienestar animal Barcelona: Editorial Multimédica.
http://www.awec.org

 


Software

See section "Continguts"


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 3 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 2 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 3 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 4 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 5 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 6 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 7 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 2 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 3 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 4 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 5 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 6 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 7 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed