Hormones & Animal Behavior Lab
Description
The Hormones & Animal Behavior Lab is an interactive virtual biology module built for undergraduate students studying behavioral endocrinology. Structured as a seven-part journey through the endocrine system, students click through an explorable gland map, run a simulated stress response along the HPA axis, drag hormone molecules to visualize steroid and nonsteroid signaling pathways at the cellular level, and match real hormones to real animal behaviors — from aggressive stickleback fish to caste polymorphism in honeybees. Two further modules turn textbook data into hands-on charts, letting students trace hormone fluctuations across the estrus cycle and see how a competitive outcome can shift testosterone levels in winners and losers alike. A running Lab Score and an optional lab notebook keep the experience gamified and reflective, culminating in a scored recap quiz that ties every behavior back to its underlying hormone.
Learning Outcomes
By completing this lab, students will be able to identify the major endocrine glands and the hormones each releases; explain the sequence and negative-feedback regulation of the HPA stress axis; distinguish between steroid and nonsteroid hormone signaling mechanisms at the molecular level, including receptor location and downstream effects; connect specific hormones to the animal behaviors they drive, such as aggression, parental care, molting, and caste differentiation; interpret cyclical hormone data, such as the rise and fall of estrogen and progesterone across the estrus cycle; and recognize that the relationship between hormones and behavior is bidirectional, with social and behavioral outcomes capable of altering hormone levels in turn.