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Evolutionary Biology Biology 3058/5058 |
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Dr. Nancy E. Todd Office: BR 228 A Phone: 323-5121 Email: [email protected] Web page: http://www.geocities.com/elephaslady |
FALL (2005, 2007) Class: T, F: Office Hours: See webpage |
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This
class provides students with an in-depth understanding of how the scientific
method is used to address questions in the field of evolutionary biology, and
how the application of evolutionary ideas has shaped contemporary thinking
about the history of life on earth. Course material will include discussions of
evolutionary theory and Darwinism, speciation and adaptation, molecular
evolution, phylogenetic analysis, analysis of trends in the evolution of life,
human evolution and adaptation and the evolution of disease. Laboratory
exercises will accompany the topics covered in class and will include
experimental projects, mathematical modeling
exercises, and class discussions of classic papers and theories in evolutionary
biology.
Class Text:
Futuyma, D. J. 1998. Evolutionary Biology.
Lab Text: Will be provided by instructor
Additional reading: (On reserve at library and in lab)
Freeman, S. and
J. C. Herrron. 2001. Evolutionary
Analysis. New Jersey. Prentice Hall Pubs.
Hickman, C. P.,
L. S. Roberts, and A. Larson. 2000. Animal
Diversity. Boston. McGraw-Hill.
Volpe, E. P.,
and P. A. Rosenbaum. 2000. Understanding
Evolution. Boston. McGraw-Hill.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
LECTURE
Reading: Chapters from the text must be read before
coming to the scheduled lecture covering
that material. There may also be
additional handouts or reading assignments
to accompany the reading and lecture material.
Attendance and Class Participation: Students are required to attend two (2)
lectures each week. Good attendance is required and will be
noted. Students are expected to answer
questions and offer discussion when appropriate.
Class exercises: There will be several short assignments to
complement the material covered
in class.
Exams: There will be three (3) exams based on
the lecture material.
LABORATORY
Attendance and lab performance:
Students are required to attend one lab session each
week.
Good attendance is required and will be noted.
Students are expected to actively participate in the laboratory work.
Lab reports and exams: There will be several intensive lab reports
that will be turned in
for
a grade during the course.
BLACKBOARD: Students will be required to enroll in Blackboard
at Manhattanville. This is an online system for downloading assignments,
checking web pages and announcements and discussion. To enroll in the class, go
to http://blackboard.mville.edu/.
If you dont have an account, click on Create account and follow the
directions. Once you have an account, click on Course catalogue.
Select Biology and look for this class in the list. Click on the Enroll
button to the far right. The password is evolve.
LAB SAFETY: All students working in the laboratory must read the Biology Lab Safety Guidelines, which can be found at http://www.mville.edu/biology/biosafety.html. In addition, all students must read, print and sign the Student Safety Contract. This form can be found at http://www.mville.edu/biology/safetycontract.html.
CLASS CONDUCT: Students are expected to do their own work on the exams, written work and lab reports. Even though the lab projects will be done in teams, each student is responsible for his/her own write-up of the project. Copying or plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the class. All students must read, print and sign the Biology Honor Code Contract, which can be found at http://www.mville.edu/biology/honorcode.html.
THERE WILL BE NO MAKEUP EXAMS. If you are going to miss a lecture or
lab exam, you must contact me before
the exam takes place, and you must produce a written excuse from your doctor or
the dean's office. If you miss an exam
and do not contact me before the
exam, you will receive a zero (0)
for that exam.
LATE WORK: All work is due on specified dates.
Late submission will result in a 5 pts.
per day penalty. Work submitted more than 2 weeks beyond the specified due date will not be accepted.
ALL WORK is due on the last day of class. Work submitted beyond this date will not be
accepted.
Graded
Material:
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Lecture
grade = 50% of
overall grade for the course |
3 exams based
on lecture material Short
assignments Attendance and
participation |
% of
Lecture Grade 80% 10% 10% |
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Lab grade = 50% of overall
grade for the course |
Lab reports Article
Discussions Lab attendance
and participation |
% of Lab
Grade 60% 20% 20% |
LABORATORY INFORMATION
Lab Manuals
Students
will work in pairs and are expected to keep detailed notes for each lab
exercise. These notes can be kept in the
lab manual. It is the students obligation to keep up with reading and
exercises that are to be done in lab. A
good set of lab notes will greatly aid in the writing of lab reports.
Lab Reports
There
will be several lab reports and short exercises that will be required during
the course. These lab reports will cover
several groups of organisms and will include summaries of the work done in lab,
internet research and additional literature searches. Students are encouraged to prepare organized
and well-thought out reports documenting their projects. The amount of time spent on this process will
be a direct reflection of the grade the student will receive. Students should
keep up with their notes on the lab exercises because writing the lab reports
is quite time-consuming.
Your grade for
each lab report will depend on the amount of time you put into the dissections,
observations, and writing of the report.
For grade:
A: Detailed
description of each section, well-organized, good comparisons, no spelling
Errors (drawings optional)
B: Basic
overview of each section, no extras
C-D:
Minimal effort, only basics covered,
missing sections
F: Not
turned in, half or less completed
CLASS SCHEDULE
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Class Schedule |
Lecture |
Reading |
LAB MEETS
ON MONDAY |
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Week 1 |
Introduction PLAGIARISM |
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What is
evolutionary biology? |
Chap. 1 |
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Week 2
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VIDEO: Charles Darwin |
Chap. 2 |
Start fruit
flies |
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VIDEO: Galapagos!
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Chap. 2 |
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Week 3 |
Genetics and
development |
Chap. 3 |
Virtual Fly -
homeodomain |
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Environmental
context of evol. Change |
Chap. 4 |
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Week 4 |
Classification
and phylogeny |
Chap. 5 |
Cladistics Start corn
exercise |
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Evolution and
the fossil record |
Chap. 6 |
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Week 5 |
History of
life: Paleozoic |
Chap. 7 |
EXAM #1
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History of life:
Mesozoic |
Chap. 7 |
VIDEO: Survivors and Walking with dinosaurs |
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Week 6 |
History of
life: Cenozoic |
Chap. 7 |
VIDEO: Walking with
beasts |
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History of
life: Cenozoic |
Chap. 7 |
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Week 7 |
Biogeography |
Chap. 8 |
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Variation Paper
Topic/Biblio Due |
Chap. 9-10 |
Variation |
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Week 8 |
Genetic drift |
Chap. 11 |
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Week 9 |
Adaptation |
Chap. 12 |
Environment,
stress and mutation |
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Natural
selection |
Chap. 13 |
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Week 10 |
What are
species? |
Chap. 15 |
EXAM #2
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Speciation
models |
Chap. 16 |
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Week 11 |
Form and function |
Chap. 17 |
Homology, form
and function in the vertebrate skeleton |
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Species
interactions |
Chap. 18 |
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Week 12 |
Evolution of
life histories |
Chap. 19 |
Sex and Betta splendens |
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Evolution of
behavior |
Chap. 20 |
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Week 13 |
Evolution of
genetic systems |
Chap. 21 |
Genetic
engineering |
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Molecular
evolution FINAL PAPERS DUE
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Chap. 22 |
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Week 14 |
VIDEO: The future is
wild!! |
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NO LAB |
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VIDEO: The future is
wild!! |
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Week 15 |
Pattern and
process |
Chap. 24 |
Student
Presentations |
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Extinction and
biodiversity EXAM #3 DUE ON LAST DAY OF
CLASS
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Chap. 25 |
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