Ethogram Project of House Finch’s Chasing Behavior.

Step 1) Generate 4 causal questions, hypotheses, and predictions by using Tinbergen’s 4 levels of analysis (Developmental, Physiological, Evolutionary History, and Adaptive Value) about how or why the chasing behavior is being exhibited. 2) Write down the causal questions, hypotheses and predictions for each of the 4 levels of analysis. 3) Make sure the causal question isn’t a hypothesis in the form of a question. Make sure the hypothesis isn’t a prediction. These are common mistakes. 4) Make sure they are aligned. (Does the hypothesis answer the question you’re asking? Does the prediction propose a method for testing your hypothesis?) 5) Find 4 primary research articles (one for each hypothesis) pertaining to your behavior and your organism. Each article should relate to one of Tinbergen’s levels of analysis as it pertains to your organism or its behavior. 6) Though you may not find exactly what you’re looking for, studies on closely related species or similar behaviors in other taxa can still be useful.(For example, let’s say “I watched a chameleon as it was approached by a cat, and the behavior I focused on was hissing as self-defense. Maybe I can’t find anything on the evolutionary function of hissing as a defensive behavior in chameleons, but I found an article suggesting that the hissing behavior of titmouse on the nest serves to mimic snake hissing, frightening potential predators and increasing survival success”. That would be a totally acceptable paper to cite.) 7) Explain how each paper relates to each question and hypothesis in 300 – 500 words. Please don’t just summarize the paper. We want to know how it supports your hypothesis.