Biology 320: Comparative
Morphology and Evolution of the Vertebrates
Instructor: Dr. Christopher Rose
Office hours: MW 1-3:30; look for me in my office and lab; email me for an
appointment outside of office hours.
Office: Burruss 213 Lab:
Burruss 339
Phone: 568-6666 email:
rosecs@jmu.edu
Webpage:
http://csm.jmu.edu/biology/rosecs/BIO320.html
Please BE AWARE of the Class
announcements page since this is where you should look for instructions
regarding class cancellations, unplanned changes in course schedule and any
other "breaking news" that I cannot communicate to you directly.
General description: This course
explores vertebrate morphology with the goals of understanding major events in
the history of vertebrate evolution and appreciating the integration of
morphology with ecology, behavior and physiology in specific phenomena of
vertebrate biology. The course starts with an introduction to the comparative
method, including evolutionary concepts such as homology and homoplasy, and an
overview of vertebrate phylogeny. The next set of lectures provide general
descriptions of vertebrate form, function, and development. Subsequent lectures
are overviews of major organ systems (bones, muscles, respiratory, digestive,
urogenital, circulatory and sensory systems), interspersed with discussions of
particular vertebrate phenomenon that highlight the development, function
and/or evolution of these organ systems. These include the water-to-land
transition, tetrapod locomotion including flight, feeding, and reproduction
including mating and viviparity. Labs will complement lectures with detailed
dissections of four representative species (lamprey, shark, salamander, and
cat), and surveys of specializations in other forms including birds, turtles,
alligators, frogs, bony fish and ungulates.
Prerequisites: BIO 124 or Bio 290
and Junior standing.
Course time and place: Lectures are
scheduled at MW 10:10-11 in Miller Hall G002 and labs at TTh 2:00-3:50 in
Burruss 057.
Registration: Students are responsible for
registering for classes and verifying their class schedules on E-campus. Late
course additions will not be permitted. The deadline for adding a spring
semester class without instructor and academic unit head signature is Tuesday,
Jan. 15. Between Tuesday, Jan. 16 and Thursday, Jan. 24, instructor and
academic head unit signatures will be required to add a class for spring
semester. No student will be allowed to register for a spring semester class
after Thursday, Jan. 24. Tuesday, Jan. 15 is the last day to drop a course
without getting a W grade.
Disabilities: Students with
disabilities who require reasonable accommodations to fully participate in
course activities and/or meet course requirements must register with the Office
of Disability Services (ODS) and contact me to discuss access issues. ODS will
provide you with an Access Plan Letter that will verify your need for services
and make recommendations for accommodations to be used in my classroom. ODS is
located in the Wilson Learning Center, Room 107; Phone: 568-6705
Required texts and materials: The
required reference text is "Vertebrates:
Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution", 4th edition, by Kenneth V.
Kardong, and the required lab manual is "Comparative Anatomy Manual of
Vertebrate Dissection", by Dale W. Fishbeck and Aurora Sebastiani. A
selection of colored pens/pencils is recommended for taking notes in lecture
and lab.
Grading: Grades will be based on the
scores of three lecture exams,
three lab exams, a research paper, and lab performance. The grade breakdown is:
|
|
Lecture exam I |
15 % |
|
|
Lecture exam II |
15 % |
|
|
Lecture exam III (cumulative) |
20 % |
|
|
Laboratory exam I |
10 % |
|
|
Laboratory exam II |
10 % |
|
|
Laboratory exam III |
10 % |
|
|
Research presentation |
10 % |
|
|
Surprise lab quizzes and lab performance |
10 % |
Final letter grades will be assigned using the standard numerical scale
(e.g., > 90 = A, 80-89 = B, etc.). Grades of WP and WF will not be given out
in this class.
Lecture
exams will be comprised of objective, short answer questions (definitions,
identifications, fill-in blanks, etc.) and short essay questions that may
require the use of diagrams (so bring your colored pens/pencils). Lecture exams
will include material from assigned readings. Lecture exam III will focus on
the final third of the lecture material, but approximately 1/4 of the questions
will address concepts/themes covered throughout the course. TO DO WELL on lecture exams, students are recommended to do THREE
THINGS. First, you attend class, pay
attention, and be active note takers, which means that you do not limit this task to just copying what the
teacher writes on the blackboard. Second, after each class, you review
your lecture notes and do the
assigned readings, and if you still don't
understand the material, you seek clarification in office hours at that time.
Third, you prepare and use study notes before each lecture exam.
Lab
exams will involve the identification of developmental anatomy from
dissections, and where appropriate, microscope slides, whole-mounts, and
models. Some questions will pertain to functional, developmental, and
evolutionary relationships, and will draw from lecture material. There will
also be 2-3 surprise lab quizzes (2% each), given on Tuesdays on the previous
week's lab exercises. The additional 4-6% is at the instructor's discretion and
will be based on lab attendance and performance.
The
research presentation will be a 20-25 minute talk on a research topic in
vertebrate anatomy and evolution. A list of topics
is provided, although you may select your own pending my approval. Students are
required to select a research topic by March 12 and submit an outline of their
paper by April 2. You will be requested to attend a brief meeting with the
instructor during the week of April 2-6 to discuss your research outline and
finalize the content of your presentation. You will be required to research
your topic through library searches of primary literature and books. Although
you are encouraged to use the Internet, all presentations must have a
minimum of five references to books and/or primary literature. Presentations must be given in your own
words and you must reference all sources used.
Presentations
will be graded on the basis of their content, organization, effectiveness of
communication, and originality. Content
includes whether the talk addresses the relevant information, concepts and
mechanisms needed to explain the phenomenon in question, plus the depth,
clarity and completeness of the explanation. Organization refers to the overall structure of the talk, i.e.,
is there a clearly defined introduction, body and conclusion, are ideas
presented in a logical sequence and clearly introduced. Effectiveness
of communication refers to conciseness,
coherence of ideas, ability to engage the audience, and efforts to answer
questions and stimulate discussion of the topic. Remember, an interesting talk
is generally a good talk, and an enthusiastic speaker is generally an
interesting speaker. Also, some form of visual aid is essential to any
presentation in biology. You are strongly encouraged to use a Powerpoint
presentation package for computer projection, and the instructor will provide
scanning and powerpoint workshops as necessary; blackboard and overhead illustrations/outlines
are also acceptable. Originality
refers to whether there is any attempt by the author to define the problem in
his/her own terms and to present his/her own synthesis of the information
available.
Missed exams: If you have a valid
excuse (official school business, sickness with doctor’s note, death in family)
for missing an exam, contact me by phone or email before the time of the exam and you will either be given a
make-up exam or have your grade calculated on the basis of the remaining evaluations.
If you do not have a valid excuse or fail to contact me before the
missed exam, your grade will be
zero.
Final exam schedule:.
Laboratory policy: Most laboratory
exercises will involve some amount of dissection of embalmed material. All dissections
will be done in pairs and both partners are expected to contribute equally to
the endeavor. Gloves and dissection kits will be provided. Assuming that a
moderate amount of care is taken, lab coats are deemed not necessary.
Postfixation animals have been saturated with a nontoxic fluid in order to
prevent dehydration. While their dissection does not pose a health risk, it
does pose a risk of stains and odors to clothing. Hence, students are warned
not to wear clothing that is likely to absorb odors or clothing that one is not
prepared to get a little dirty. All students are requested to treat all
laboratory exercises and animals with the respect and maturity befitting
serious scientific inquiry, and to not remove any dissected materials from the
lab room.
Honor Code: All students are
expected to be familiar with and abide by the JMU
Honor Code. Work submitted for this course must be your own and written for
this course. Direct quotations (which are rarely used in scientific writing)
and paraphrased materials must be properly cited in the text and referenced in
the bibliography (see above). Forms of academic dishonesty include lending your
work to another person to submit it as his or her own, deliberately creating
false information on a works cited or reference page; and plagiarism, presenting another person’s writing, ideas or results
as your own, whether intentional or not.
Consult the following websites for information on educational rights and
privacies:
The Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974