NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA 
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                         
                      SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 
                                         
                                         
                                         
                                       
                            COURSE CODE: BIO 314 
                                       
                                       
                                       
                      COURSE TITLE: ANIMAL ECOLOGY 
                                         
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                  BIO 314: ANIMAL ECOLOGY 
       Team Writers:                               Dr O.A. Olajuyigbe 
                                                              Department of Biology 
                                                              Adeyemi Colledge of Education, 
                                                              P.M.B. 520, Ondo, 
                                                             Ondo State Nigeria. 
            
                                                               Miss F.C. Olakolu  
                                                                Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and  
                                                                Marine Research,  
                                                                No 3 Wilmot Point Road, Bar-beach Bus-stop,  
                                                                Victoria Island,  
                                                                 Lagos, Nigeria. 
        
                                                           Mrs H.O. Omogoriola 
                                                           Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and  
                                                           Marine Research,  
                                                           No 3 Wilmot Point Road, Bar-beach Bus-stop,  
                                                           Victoria Island,  
                                                            Lagos, Nigeria. 
        
                                  EDITOR:        Mrs Ajetomobi 
                                                           School of Agricultural Sciences 
                                                           Lagos State Polytechnic 
                                                           Ikorodu, Lagos 
        
              
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                               BIO 313 COURSE GUIDE 
                                           
          Introduction 
          
         Animal Ecology (313) is a first semester course. It is a two credit unit elective course which 
         all students offering Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Biology can take. 
         Animal ecology is an important area of study for scientists. It is the study of animals and 
         how they related to each other as well as their environment. It can also be defined as the 
         scientific study of interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms.  
         Since this is a course in animal ecology, we will focus on animals, which we will define 
         fairly generally as organisms that can move around during some stages of their life and that 
         must feed on other organisms or their products. There are various forms of animal ecology. 
         This includes: 
         • Behavioral ecology, the study of the behavior of the animals with relation to their 
         environment and others  
         • Population ecology, the study of the effects on the population of these animals  
         •  Marine ecology is the scientific study of marine-life habitat, populations, and interactions 
         among organisms and the surrounding environment including their abiotic (non-living 
         physical and chemical factors that affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce) 
         and biotic factors (living things or the materials that directly or indirectly affect an organism 
         in its environment). 
         • Evolutionary ecology is the study of how animals evolve over time to meet the demands 
         on them 
         This  course  deals  with  the  historical  concept  of  ecology,  ecology  of  local  and  aquatic 
         animals. The other contents are growth rate, age structure of animal population, Natality and 
         Mortality,  Survivorship  Curves,  Life  Tables  and  K-Factor  Analysis,  Competition,  The 
         Natural  Regulation  of  Animal  Numbers,  Population  Cycles,  Dynamics  of  Predator-Prey 
         Systems, Ecology of African Mammals and Behavioural  Ecology. 
          
         What you will learn in this course 
         In this course, you have the course units and a course guide. The course guide will tell you 
         briefly what the course is all about. It is a general overview of the course materials you will 
         be using and how to use those materials. It also helps you to allocate the appropriate time to 
         each unit so that you can successfully complete the course within the stipulated time limit. 
         The course guide also helps you to know how to go about your Tutor-Marked-Assignment 
         which will form part of your overall assessment at the end of the course. Also, there will be 
         tutorial classes that are related to this course, where you can interact with your facilitators 
         and other students. Please I encourage you to attend these tutorial classes. 
         This course exposes you to Animal Ecology, a sub-discipline and very interesting field of 
         Biology. 
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              Course Aims  
              This course aims to enable you to know/understand the relationship between animals in 
              their ecosystem and environment. 
              Course Objectives 
              To  achieve  the  aim  set  above,  there  are  objectives.  Each  unit  has  a  set  of  objectives 
              presented at the beginning of the unit. These objectives will give you what to concentrate 
              and focus on while studying the unit and during your study to check your progress. 
              The  Comprehensive  Objectives  of  the  Course  are  given  below.  At  the  end  of  the 
              course/after going through this course, you should be able to: 
              1.0  Explain the historical background of  animal ecology 
              2.0 Mention the names of the scientists  involved  and their contribution to the development 
                  of animal ecology 
              3.0  Explain the basic fundamental of ecology and its components 
              4.0  Explain the various relationships influencing the ecological community  
              5.0  State and explain the different type of ecosystem components 
              6.0  Describe the levels of energy flow in ecosystem. 
              7.0  Explain the ecology of different fish species  
              8.0  Explain the ecology of Sea-turtle species 
              9.0     Define demography  
              10.0    Explain the term direct and indirect demographic  
              11.0    List and explain eight methods used in demographics.  
              12.0    List and discuss three ways by which population can be changed 
              Working through the Course 
               To successfully complete this course, you are required to read each study unit, read the 
              textbooks and other materials provided by the National Open University. 
              Reading the reference materials can also be of great assistance. 
              Each unit has self –assessment exercise which you are advised to do. At certain periods 
              during  the  course  you  will  be  required  to  submit  your  assignments  for  the  purpose  of 
              assessment. 
              There will be a final examination at the end of the course. The course should take you 
              about17 weeks to complete. 
              This course guide provides you with all the components of the course, how to go about 
              studying and how you should allocate your time to each unit so as to finish on time and 
              successfully. 
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