Biology 320: Comparative
Anatomy of Vertebrates (4 credits)
Instructor: Dr. Christopher Rose
Office hours: Mon 1-4, Fri 8:30-10:30; 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
Lecture, lab, exam and
assignment schedule
General description: This course explores vertebrate morphology with the aims of
understanding major events in the history of vertebrate evolution and
integrating the morphology of vertebrates with their ecology, behavior and
physiology (see below for seven specific goals). Lectures provide an
introduction to the comparative method, review of evolutionary concepts including
homology and homoplasy, overviews of vertebrate
phylogeny and vertebrate form, function, and development, and detailed
discussions of major organ systems (skeleton, muscles, respiratory, digestive, urogenital, and cardiovascular systems) as they relate to
locomotion, feeding, breathing and reproduction. While lectures focus on major
transitions in vertebrate evolution including the origin of jawed vertebrates,
the water-to-land transition and the evolution of mammals from primitive tetrapods, students learn about more specific evolutionary
phenomena in library research projects. Labs 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.
Goals and Objectives:
1: help students gain a knowledge base for understanding vertebrate anatomy and evolution by explaining to them the basic structures and organization of anatomical systems, their development and function and their modifications in the major transitions in vertebrate evolution.
2: help students develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills by having them review the rationales, methodologies and conclusions of primary research papers, and weigh evidence for and against conflicting explanations of various functional, developmental, and evolutionary phenomena.
3: help students gain the knowledge base and learning skills for pursuing further educational and career goals including taking more courses in evolution, vertebrate biology and comparative anatomy; teaching courses in general biology, evolution and comparative anatomy; pursuing veterinary and medical programs; and doing postgraduate research in vertebrate comparative anatomy and evolution.
4: help students appreciate comparative vertebrate morphology as a dynamic and integrative science by exposing them to current research by developmental anatomists, functional morphologists, paleontologists, and developmental geneticists, and demonstrating how this research impacts our understanding of vertebrate history and evolution.
5: help students appreciate the importance of comparative vertebrate biology in understanding our own biology by exploring the organization, function and adaptive strengths and weaknesses of our own bodies, and how the history of functional and developmental changes in vertebrate anatomy has shaped the human body.
6: help students appreciate the importance of comparative vertebrate biology to society by illustrating how anatomical adaptations of vertebrate animals have informed engineers and architects in designing devices ranging from airplane wings and optics to submarines and countercurrent exchange systems.
7: help students develop research and communication skills by having them do their own dissections, prepare an outline and oral presentation of a library research paper and lead a brief informal class discussion on the topic afterwards. They are also required to answer most exam questions in essay form.
8: help students develop skills of integrative and synthetic thinking by demonstrating how to organize anatomical details into general explanations based on developmental, functional and evolutionary principles, and how to draw connections between anatomical changes and changes in habitat, lifestyle, and patterns of evolutionary diversification.
Prerequisites: BIO 124 or Bio 290 and Junior standing.
Course time and place: Lectures are scheduled at MW
10:10-11 in Burruss 034 and labs at TTh 2-3:50 in Burruss 349.
Adding/dropping class: Policy and deadlines can be found at http://www.jmu.edu/syllabus/
Disabilities: Policy and deadlines can be found at http://www.jmu.edu/syllabus/
Attendance policy: There is no credit given for attending class and no grade penalty for missing class. To get a good grade in this class, 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 is put on the blackboard. Second, after each class, you review your lecture notes and do the assigned readings in the text, 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.
Required texts and materials:
The required
reference text is "Vertebrates: Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution",
5th edition, by Kenneth V. Kardong, and the required
lab manual is "Comparative Anatomy Manual of Vertebrate Dissection",
2nd edition, by Dale W. Fishbeck and
Aurora Sebastiani. A selection of colored
pens/pencils is recommended for taking notes in lecture and lab.
Grading: Grades are 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 |
5 % |
|
|
Quality and
completion of the dissections |
5 % |
Final letter grades
are 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 are comprised of objective, short answer questions (definitions,
identifications, fill-in blanks, etc.) and short essay questions that may
require the use of diagrams. Lecture exams include material from assigned
readings. Lecture exam III focuses on the final third of the lecture material,
but approximately 1/4 of the questions addresses concepts/themes covered
throughout the course.
Lab
exams 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 are also 3-5 surprise lab quizzes given
on the previous week's lab exercises. The additional 5% is at the instructor's
discretion and is based on the quality and completeness of dissections and
attendance.
The
research presentation is 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 21 and submit an outline of their
paper by April 6. You are requested to attend a brief meeting with the
instructor during the week of April 11-15 to discuss your research outline and
finalize the content of your presentation. You are 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 six references to books
and/or primary literature. Presentations must be given in your own words
and you must reference
all sources used.
Research
presentations are 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, meaning whether there is a clearly
defined introduction, body and conclusion, and whether ideas are 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, good talks
are good because they are interesting, and interesting talks usually require an
enthusiastic 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 if 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.
Class
study notes: Students have the option of making study notes for exams as a
class effort. Students who choose to participate will be required to produce a
1-page study note for 1-2 lectures before an exam. These are due one lecture
before the exam so the instructor has time to assemble and distribute the study
note package. The purpose of making study notes is to summarize and consolidate
the important information of each lecture into an accessible bulleted format on
one side of paper. Students are encouraged to synthesize information by drawing
connections between material covered in different lectures, and comparing
similar phenomena in different systems. The more thinking that goes into
preparing a study note (as opposed to simply listing details from lectures),
the more useful the study note will be in answering thought-provoking questions.
Missed
classes, exams and deadlines: While there is no penalty for missing classes
or labs, students are strongly recommended to come to all classes and labs and
to come to office hours and ask for additional lab time to make up for missed
classes or labs. If you have a valid excuse (school-recognized religious
observation; official school business; job, court or graduate school interview;
sickness with doctor’s note; death or serious illness in family) for missing an
exam or assignment deadline, contact me by email at least three days before the
date in question and you will either be given an extension or 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 three days before the date, your
grade will be zero.
Inclement
weather policies: Missed classes and labs will be made up
at times to be announced at the next class meeting.
Religious
observation accommodations: Policy and deadlines can be found at http://www.jmu.edu/syllabus/.
Laboratory policy: Students must wear
closed-end shoes (no flip flops, sandals or other shoes with open toes or
heels) when attending all labs. Some lab procedures might requite the use of
safety glasses. Most laboratory exercises involve some amount of dissection of
embalmed material. All dissections are done in pairs and both partners are
expected to contribute equally to the endeavor. Gloves and dissection kits are
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
(http://www.jmu.edu/honor/code.shtml). Forms of academic dishonesty include
cheating on tests or homework, lending your work to another person to submit it
as his or her own, reporting false data, selling or uploading unauthorized
documents from a class, 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. Work submitted for this course must be
your own and written for this course. To avoid
plagiarism in writing, paraphrased and quoted materials must be properly cited
in the text and referenced in the bibliography (see above); unnecessary or
excessive use of cited direct quotations will be penalized, uncited
direct quotations will be treated as plagiarism.
For educational rights and privacies, consult
the following:
The Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974
Lecture, lab, exam and
assignment schedule