ADVANCED SEMINAR ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AND ISSUES

1. Is it possible to investigate the function of a behavior pattern without understanding also

its causation, development and evolution?

On the objectives and techniques of ethology, a fundamental work by Niko Tinbergen published in 1963,
set the standard for how to do research in the nascent subject of animal behavior. The paper's most
important contribution is that Tinbergen developed four distinct—though loosely related—approaches
to studying animal behavior, or four distinct categories of queries we might make regarding an observed
behavior.

The four questions are:

1. Function (or adaption): Why is the animal performing the behaviour? In which way does the
behaviour increase the animal’s fitness (i.e. its survival and reproduction)? Examples are
plentiful and include, among many others, nurturing of young to increase their chance of
survival, migration to warmer (and more food rich) habitats, escaping or avoiding attention from
predators etc.

2. Evolution (or phylogeny): How did the behaviour evolve? How has natural selection modified
the behaviour over evolutionary time? This is typically addressed by the comparative approach,
where the behaviour in question is compared among closely related species. Examples include
how flight in birds may have evolved from gliding in dinosaurs or how the vertebrate and
cephalopod eyes have evolved by convergent evolution, with the former having a blind spot,
while the latter does not.

3. Causation (or mechanism): What causes the behaviour to be performed? Which stimuli elicit or
what physiological mechanisms cause the behaviour? Examples include the role of pheromones
and hormones, such as increasing testosterone levels (caused by increasing day length) causing
male display behaviour in many species of birds, moving shadows causing ragworms to
withdraw into their burrows or contrast on beaks causing herring gull chicks to peck.

4. Development (or ontogeny): How has the behaviour developed during the lifetime of the
individual? In what way has it been influenced by experience and learning? Examples include
how courtship behaviour improves with age in many birds and how predators learn to avoid
toxic or dangerous prey with experience.

To answer the question, yes it is possible to investigate the function of behavior patter without
understanding its causation, development and evolution. The questions above are connected to one
another but can be answered without the others. A human can sit on a chair for 24 hours, one can
answer why is the human performing the behavior without answering the evolutionary questions or the
development of this behavior. These questions can be answered individually without answering the
other questions.

2. Discuss the concepts of Ecology of Educational Management. Be able to explain its relevance to you as
future educational managers/ as educational managers.

The area of biology known as ecology is concerned with how organisms interact with one another and
their physical environment. Many scientists still only associate the semantics of the term "ecology" with
research in the natural sciences, namely the study of animal and/or plant ecology and the current
challenges of sustainability and environmental conservation. It is supported by the fact that German
zoologist E. Haeckel brought the term ecology into scientific jargon. Because the ecological paradigm
evolved into a transdisciplinary scientific paradigm during the 20th century, new scientific concepts and
ideas reflecting various sub-trends of human ecology appeared and developed

The conceptual and methodological underpinnings of the major tendencies in contemporary human
ecology served as the foundation for the multidisciplinary trend in human ecology known as ecology of
education. The interdiscipline of ecology of education, which studies the interaction between a human
being as an individual and/or social system and the multidimensional environment from a holistic
perspective, is one of the trends in human ecology. Education is seen as a facilitator of the sphere,
process, outcome, and development of human activity in the aspect of human and environmental
quality/trait.

In order to improve the educational organization's internal and external ecology, the ecology of
educational management takes into account a number of managerial, pedagogical, organizational, and
technical issues in the school system.

It need strategic analysis that is educational to manage the educational ecosystem. When making
decisions, managers should examine both internal and external elements that have an impact on the
process of identifying and evaluating potential approaches and procedures intended to help them
achieve their objectives. From a holistic standpoint, educational administration must take into account a
variety of viewpoints in order to continuously enhance higher education. Managers of education must
make the most of conventional management methods and tools in both management and education.

References:

https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/samples/animal-behaviour-an-introduction-online/index.html

https://www.nairaland.com/5196880/ecology-educational-management

Prepared by:

Mavric Khent R. Sibayan