Biology 312 Syllabus

Spring 1999

VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

Instructor: Larkspur S. Morton

Office: Arey 113

Telephone: 872-3789

e-mail: lsmorton@colby.edu

Lecture: MWF 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Arey 110

Laboratory: Thursday 1:00 - 4:00 pm, Olin 223

Office Hours: M 1:00 - 2:00 pm, T 9:00 - 11:00 am & Th 9:00 - 10:00 am

During these hours I will be in my office or will leave a note on my door where I can be reached. If these times are inconvenient, please see me to make an appointment for a mutually agreeable time. Please do not hesitate to stop by at any other time. I will be happy to speak with you if not otherwise occupied. You also should feel free to contact me via e-mail. I will respond as soon as possible (however, I do not check it repeatedly during the day, so if your need to contact me is time sensitive you are better off calling by telephone).

This course will provide you with an introduction to the vertebrates, including important aspects of their evolution, systematics, anatomy, physiology, ecology, and behavior. Emphasis will be given to the characteristics of vertebrate groups that help to explain their diversity and success. We will also cover, mainly through presentations and discussions, the approaches and methods used by zoologists to investigate vertebrate biology. In lab, we will cover the taxonomy and identification of New England vertebrates, and we will investigate specific groups and their morphological solutions to ecological problems. Finally, we will discuss some of the difficult conservation issues facing the vertebrates.

Pough, F.H., Janis, C.M., and Heiser, J.B. 1999. Vertebrate Life, 5^th ed. Prentice Hall, Inc.

Weiner, J. 1994. The Beak of the Finch. Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Alden, P. and Cassie, B. 1998. National Audobon Society Field Guide to New England. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

In conjunction with the material from the texts, journal papers will serve as the basis for discussions both in the lecture and in the laboratory. These will either be distributed to you at least one week prior to the discussion or placed on reserve in the Science Library.

This course will also have a rudimentary web page under Course Pages on the Biology web page. Here you will find links to Vertebrate Zoology related pages. If you locate a great page, please send me the web address and I’ll add it to the class web page.

Your final grade will be based on the following formula:

Lecture Exam I: 20%

Lecture Exam II: 20%

Final Exam: 20%

Discussion Participation, Paper

Lab Practicals: 10%

COURSE TOTAL = 100%

Mar 1-4 First hour exam Monday, March 1 to Thursday, March 4

Mar 18 First Lab Practical (Fish & Herps)

April 5-8 Second hour exam Monday, April 5 to Thursday, April 8

May 6 Second Lab Practical (Birds & Mammals)

May ? Final Exam - TBA

Examinations - Two hour examinations and a final examination will be given. Examinations will consist of short answer and essay questions. You will be expected to synthesize material covered in lecture, assigned readings and study questions. Strict memorization will not suffice on examinations. Hour examinations will be offered on an honor system and may be written beginning between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. any day during the examination period.

Discussion of "Beak of the Finch" - On Fridays for approximately the first half of the course we will discuss this text as it relates to the study of vertebrate zoology. Each discussion will be based on several chapters which you are expected to read prior to the discussion period. These discussions will be student led by up to four students, each of whom will be responsible for a particular chapter. Responsibilities of leading a discussion will include summarizing the main points, identifying problems and formulating questions, responding to other participants and where possible relating issues in your chapter with topics or problems covered in lecture or the main text.

Oral Presentation and Short Paper - Each student will choose an adaptation in a species or larger group of vertebrates, find two articles related to the topic from the primary literature, and write a two to three page paper. The paper should summarize and critically evaluate the methods and results of the two articles. Then, during one of the Friday sessions in the last five weeks of the course, you will orally present your topic based on the articles reviewed. This presentation should be less than 10 minutes in length (and great practice for potential future presentations at professional meetings!).

Lab Practicals - These will test your ability to identify New England species and your knowledge of the higher level taxa to which they belong.

Form & Function Laboratories - For these you will receive a handout prior to the lab. During the lab you will have specimens and other sources of information available to help you to answer the questions in the lab handout. These will be due the following week and I will grade two or three of the questions. One exception to this pattern will be the Species Lists which you will compile over the semester. You will hear more about these on the first day of lab.

Diversity and Conservation Laboratories - The first half of these labs will allow you to familiarize yourself with the diversity, taxonomy and morphology of New England representatives of the group under study that week.

The second half of the period will be devoted to discussion of one to three SHORT papers related to conservation issues for the group. Several people will lead the discussion (know the papers very well, summarize them BRIEFLY, moderate the discussion, and provide questions of their own for the participants). All participants will bring in at least one thoughtful or thought-provoking question related to the reading and will be prepared to discuss.

2/1-5 1 Intro to Lab

2/8-12 2 Vertebrate Phylogeny Reconstruction

2/15-19 3 Fish Diversity & Conservation Discussion

2/22-26 4 N.E. Aquarium (Saturday Trip – 2/20 or 2/27)

3/1-5 5 Herp Diversity & Conservation Discussion

3/8-12 6 Herp Form & Function

3/15-19 7 PRACTICAL I

3/22-26 Spring Break

3/29-4/2 8 Bird Diversity & Conservation Discussion

4/5-9 9 Local Field Observations

4/12-16 10 Bird Form & Function

4/19-23 11 Mammal Diversity & Conservation Discussion

4/26-30 12 Mammal Form & Function

5/3-7 13 PRACTICAL II