Workshop II: Biotechnology and the Integration of Behavioral Science; August 15-17, 2000, Arlington, Virginia.

University Of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville TN

Investigators

Abstract

The field of animal behavior has been divided in recent decades. On one hand, those who study laboratory animals like mice and fruit flies have developed sophisticated genetic tools to study problems in learning and drug addiction. On the other hand, studies of natural populations of animals have emphasized behavioral ecology, with very little ability to come to grips with the physiological and genetic factors that influence behavior. The proposed workshop is designed to re-integrate the various fields of animal behavior by developing ways to apply the methods learned in the laboratory to species that have been studied largely in the wild. In particular, we wish to develop ways to exploit the recent explosions of new techniques and knowledge about molecular genetics, which are largely a result of the Human Genome Project. These techniques are becoming so straightforward that it may well be possible to apply them to animals that were too difficult to study genetically in the past. Further, we wish to provide behavioral ecologists with the opportunity to apply their expertise and insights to studies of laboratory species, which could allow laboratory research to address behavioral problems from new perspectives. These goals can be met if molecular biologists are trained in the basics of animal behavior and if behavioral biologists are trained in molecular techniques; such training does not currently exist. The planned workshop has three goals. First we will discuss the techniques from biotechnology that could be applied to animal behavior. Second we will consider the kinds of behavioral problems that are amenable to molecular studies. Finally, we will develop the framework for a training program that will allow scientists in each discipline to learn enough about the other discipline to enable them to develop productive research programs that integrate behavior with biotechnology.