NEUROETHOLOGY TEACHING WEB SITES

Recently, Jack Pettigrew sent out a request over the ISN Listserv for web sites that he might use for teaching. He received a good response, and has kindly permitted us to republish his edited, and annotated, list in the Newsletter. Without doubt, the list is not complete, but since many ISN members teach neuroethology or closely related courses, we thought that this list might have real use to members. At the same time, we would like to invite other ISN members to send us lists of web sites they may have developed for whole courses, or parts of courses. These will be published in future issues of the Newsletter. However, we ask that anyone submitting lists do as did Jack, and check out each site first to make sure they really work, and that they would have some use in teaching. Our thanks to Jack for sharing his list with us.

Electric fish:

This has a picture of Eigenmania, the weakly electric knife fish, and a description of the jamming avoidance response... the most accurate time discrimination so far known in nature.
http://soma.npa.uiuc.edu/courses/neuroethol/models/jamming_avoidance/JAR.html

Jamming avoidance from Carl Hopkins' course:
http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/Courses/bionb420.07/cdimattina/Bio420/EFINDEX.htm

A picture of Brachyhypopomus, the S. American electric fish studied by Stoddard's group.
http://www.fiu.edu/~stoddard/efish/pinni_fig.jpg

Pictures of Apteronotus in Agonistic Behavior: Could not get the Quick Time movie to work:
http://www.globalserve.net/~nberman/fight.html

Microbat echolocation: Mustached bat: Echolocation calls, brain orgnaization and numerous links to bat sites.
http://soma.npa.uiuc.edu/courses/neuroethol/models/bat_echolocation/bat_echolocation.html

Neuroethology courses: A. Topics in Neuroethology: A great introduction to some of the most widely used model systems. Highly recommended. I already provided links to the most relevant sections on microbat echolocation and electric fish:
http://soma.npa.uiuc.edu/courses/neuroethol/model ystems.html

This site provides access to material for a neuroethology course: BIONB420, at Cornell.
http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/bionb420.07/ModSysHP.html

Fish audition and communication: Nice Summary of Andy Bass' lab. model system: Sexual dimorphism of Brain and Behavior in the Midshipman Fish:
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Feb00/neurochemical.hrs.html

Circadian Clocks:
http://www.lef.org/prod_hp/abstracts/php ab092b.html

Visual Illusions:
http://www.brainconnection.com/BC/BC_GetPrev.pl?item=Illusions

Olfaction in the Bee: An Interesting Demonstration of Odorant Patterns of Activation in the Brain, Converted to Auditory Patterns: Follow Galizia from this site (no direct URL).
http://www.neurobiologie.fu berlin.de/

Rest and Recreation: Here is a site for pleasurable relaxation that has nothing to do with the course, but which may provide some welcome relief from it. The beautiful images are from Oz, in the sense that they were created at the Anglo Australian observatory in the very Australian Warrumbungle Ranges by Australian David Malin
http://www.aao.gov.au/images.html

Colour Vision: Homepage:
http://www.fu berlin.de/backhaus/, with link to:
Book "Color Vision Perspectives from Different Disciplines", eds. Backhaus, Kliegl & Werner. De Gruyter, Berlin, 1998.

Conference "Neuronal Coding of Perceptual Systems", Ischia/Naples, Italy, Oct. 98:
http://www.fu berlin.de/backhaus/circul.html
(Proceedings, eds. W. Backhaus, In: Series of Biophysics and Biocybernetics, Vol. 9, World Scientific, London, announced)

Actual publications: A physiologically adequate photoreceptor model (Becker & Backhaus):
http://link.springer.de/link/service/journals/00422/papers/0082002/00820153.pdf

Chemotaxis in C. elegans:
http://chinook.uoregon.edu

Vision Science: What's Happening in Vision:
http://www.visionscience.com/VisionScience.html

Lobster Cam: Interacting Lobsters Live:
http://www.hms.harvard.edu/bss/neuro/kravitz/gpage/krav.html

Diverse Projects on Avian Auditory Processing and Evolution: Also firefly synchrony,
http://predator.pnb.uconn.edu/beta/faculty/chapple/index.htm
http://predator.pnb.uconn.edu/beta/faculty/Moiseff/moiseff.html
http://www.glue.umd.edu/~buho/
http://www.glue.umd.edu/~carr/
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~daph/science.html

Honeybee neuroethology:
http://www.life.uiuc.edu/robinson/

Neural Control Systems: The movies are good, especially the zebra fish Mauthner Cell response, so long as one has the patience to wait for them to be downloaded; many good links on motor control
http://cnas.ucr.edu/~neuro/courses/neur127.html#Zebrafish

Neuroethology Course:
http://caspar.bgsu.edu/~courses/neuroethology/

Introduction to Cricket Auditory Communication as a Model System:
http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/Courses/bionb420.07/toliver/overview.html

Srini's Visual Sciences Groups: Bees, Fiddler Crabs and Robots:
http://cvs.anu.edu.au/VSG.html

Interesting Site Showing Movies of Devices for Measuring Animal Activity:
http://psychology.okstate.edu/museum/ratus/index.html

Animal Behavior Courses at Davis:
http://www.npb.ucdavis.edu/winter2000/102/
http://www.npb.ucdavis.edu/winter2000/150/

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COURSES, MEETINGS, WORKSHOPS

Electrosensory Satellite meeting:
Gerhard von der Emde, Hans Meek and Kirsty Grant will organize an informal forum on electrosensory systems, to be held on 28-29th July 2001, in the Poppelsdorfer Schloss, Bonn/Germany, as a satellite meeting to the 6th International Congress of Neuroethology at the same location. Over the two days immediately preceding the start of the main Neuroethology Congress, sessions are planned covering electric fish behavior, peripheral electroreceptors, central electrosensory and electromotor networks, the sensorimotor interface and multisensorial integration, and modeling. Posters will be up throughout the meeting and a poster session will take place on the afternoon of Saturday 28th July. It has been arranged that posters can be transferred subsequently to the main Congress. For registration and to provide further information we will establish a web page at www.electrosat.huckepack.com. To express interest and give suggestions for topics or speakers, your input will be welcomed at the following e-mail address: electrosat@huckepack.com.

Acoustic communication
A graduate course arranged by The Center for Sound Communication (CSC), USD Odense University, Denmark. Topic: Methodological problems encountered when studying animal sound communication. Contents: Lectures, practicals and excursions with time for discussion. Special emphasis on equipment and methods used at CSC (laser vibrometry and anemometry, psychophysical methods, and underwater sound recording and location). Part of the course will be held at our marine biological field station (with captive harbor porpoises). Participants: Max 20 priority for graduate students within the field of bioacoustics. Time: August 16th to August 25th, 2000 Fee: DKK 2000 (approximately 300 USD, including tuition, accommodations and meals). Deadline: Apply before June 15th to: Jakob Christensen Dalsgaard,, Center for Sound Communication, Institute of Biology, USD Odense University, Campusvej 55, DK 5230 Odense M, Denmark E mail JCD@DOU.DK, http://www.sdu.dk/nat/biology/neuro/acu comm.html. Immediately following this course (Aug. 26th 30th) is a course on Avian acoustic communication organized by CSC member T. Dabelsteen and P. McGregor, University of Copenhagen. See information at: http://www.zi.ku.dk/animbehav/phdcourses.htm#AvianAcoustic

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POSITIONS - GRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE

A POSTDOCTORAL POSITION is available immediately to study neural mechanisms in the turtle spinal cord and brainstem that control locomotion. Experience in electrophysiology is required. Knowledge of extracellular single unit and/or intracellular recording techniques (sharp electrode or whole cell) is also helpful. At least one year of support is guaranteed from a currently active NSF grant. Send curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, and names of three references to: Dr. Scott Currie, Department of Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, CA, U.S.A. 92521. E-mail: currie@mail.ucr.edu. Website: http://cnas.ucr.edu/~neuro/currie.htm.

A University funded TEACHING POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP is available at Dalhousie University, in Canada. The appointee will join the laboratory of I.A. Meinertzhagen, but will also teach a third year one semester course, currently in developmental neuroscience, largely from prepared materials. The position would suit someone who wishes to gain experience with teaching, starting at the shallow end. Roughly 75% of time will be available for research in invertebrate neurobiology, in one of two areas, either on the visual system of Drosophila or the CNS of the ascidian larva in a laboratory. This lab offers unusual expertise in microscopy, especially EM and confocal, 3 D reconstruction and computer imaging methods, tissue culture and HPLC. Available from March 2000 initially for one year, with renewal likely thereafter. Please contact: I.A. Meinertzhagen, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada; e mail: iam@is.dal.ca. See: http://is.dal.ca/~iam/

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE at the University of California, Riverside. We are studying the orientation of flying insects (mostly moths) to odor sources in wind. These studies involve the manipulation of odor and visual cues in a wind tunnel and recording of flight tracks in 3 D. The odor plume's fine scale structure is determined by photoionization of a surrogate tracer gas. The detection capabilities of these insects are determined with single cell recordings of their response to pheromone. Contact: Ring T. Cardéé, Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521 Voice (909) 787 4492; Fax (909) 787 3681; E mail, ring.carde@ucr.edu; www.darwin.ucr.edu

Predoctoral fellowships are available in a multidisciplinary NSF-sponsored graduate program in NEURO MECHANICAL SYSTEMS at Case Western Reserve University. Neuro mechanical systems include natural, man made, or hybrid systems combining neural controllers and mechanical peripheries. Examples include natural organisms, biologically inspired robots, and neuroprostheses for restoring motor function in the disabled. This program involves eight faculty from four Departments, Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering. We are seeking outstanding students with backgrounds in biology, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, computer engineering and science, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering. We are particularly interested in recruiting under represented minorities. Students must be U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents of the United States. Details of the program can be found at http://neuromechanics.cwru.edu. For further information, please contact Dr. Roy Ritzmann, Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-7080, (216) 368-3554, rer3@po.cwru.edu.

POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN NEUROETHOLOGY, Department of Biology, University of Utah. The position is to study odor mediated behavior and the neurobiology of olfactory discrimination in two closely related species of moth. Research will involve wind tunnel bioassays in conjunction with neurophysiological studies of the male moth antennal lobe to ascertain how attractive/antagonistic odor blends are processed in the primary olfactory neuropil. Prior experience with intracellular recording and staining of neurons within the central nervous system is preferred. Applicants with a Ph.D in a biological science should send CV to Dr. Neil Vickers by e mail (vickers@biology.utah.edu) or letter (Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 South 1400E Rm. 201, Salt Lake City, UT 84112) including names, telephone numbers, and e mail addresses of 3 references. The initial appointment will be for 1 year with the possibility of an additional two years of support. The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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