Biology 115

Evolution, Behavior, & Ecology

Fall 2005

SYLLABUS

Purpose: This course is intended to provide an introduction to the basic concepts of evolution, ecology, and animal behavior. All upper level biology courses at Austin College are built upon this course and its successor, Cell Biology (Biology 116).

Why focus on these topics in your first biology course? All organisms and biological processes, from nutrient cycling in ecosystems to the structure of the enzymes involved in chromosome replication, are the products of past evolution. Consequently, evolution provides the fundamental conceptual framework for all of biology. Because of this fundamental importance, our curriculum begins with study of evolution

Why include ecology and behavior in the same course? Evolution, as you will learn, is driven by ecological interactions, interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environments. Those ecological interactions result in Darwin’s survival of the fittest. Some individuals live to pass on their genes and some do not. Many of those interactions involve animal behavior. Thus, to understand the processes of evolution one needs to understand the basics of ecology and animal behavior.

The opposite is also true. To really understand ecological and behavioral phenomena one must recognize that the features of organisms are the products of evolution that occurred in the past. When a sunfish strikes at a Chaoborus (an insect), it either succeeds or fails. Whether the fish gets to eats depends largely upon the fish’s adaptations and the prey’s adaptations. Those adaptations are the result of the evolutionary history of the fish and the prey. Thus, while an understanding of ecology and behavior fosters and understanding of evolution, the reverse is also true and the three topics thus go together naturally.

Today there is an additional reason to focus on ecology and ecological processes. Humans have always had an utter dependence on the planet’s life support systems, but humans now also put those support systems at risk. By driving species extinct we constrain the future course of evolution. By transforming natural ecosystems to human-dominated places, and degrading many of those, we whittle away at the planet’s potential to support future generations. Biologists (like you) have a responsibility to understand these issues and educate others. We will not focus on so-called environmental issues in this class, but we will draw connections to them at appropriate points in the course.

Instructor Peter Schulze, Moody Science 320, Ext. 2284, Box 61588, pschulze@austincollege.edu

Office hours: M 2:30-4:00, Tu 8:30-10:00 and by appointment.

NOTE: I do not check my e-mail every day. If you wish to reach me rapidly, please call my office phone, x2284.

Schedule Class meetings: MWF 9:00-9:50, MS room 302

Text: Raven & Johnson, 2002, Biology. 7^th edition.

Academic integrity policy No student may unfairly advance his or her academic performance or impede the performance of other students. Any activity that unfairly gives an advantage to a student or group of students is a violation of academic ethics.

Examples of violations include, for example, using unauthorized notes on an exam, plagiarism, failure to give credit to someone who has assisted with your work, failure to give credit to an author whose work is cited, fabrication of data, and removing items from the library in violation of library policy.

Each item that you submit for a grade in this course must include the following statement along with your signature. This work was prepared in accordance with the Austin College academic integrity policy. ____Signature______ (Name typed or printed after signature).

If you have any questions about academic integrity issues please let me know.

Assignments: This class will have a quiz, five exams, and a requirement that you submit your notes for a grade.

Quiz and Exams: There will be five one-hour exams and a preliminary quiz. Each hour exam will be worth 100 points. Your lowest hour exam score will be dropped when calculating your semester grade. The fourth exam will be on the last regular day of class and the fifth exam will be during the course’s final exam time period. In other words, there will be no new material to study between the 4^th and 5^th exams. The first four exams will focus on the material that has been discussed since the beginning of the course (1^st exam) or since the previous exam (2^nd – 4^th exams). The fifth (final) exam will be comprehensive. There will be no makeup exams for inexcusable absences or for excusable absences that you failed to have approved ahead of time. If you miss an exam without making prior arrangements with me, then a score of zero will be recorded. If this happens just once, then that exam will be the one that is dropped when your final grade is calculated. If I excuse you from taking an exam at the normal time due to circumstances beyond your control, your makeup exam will differ from the exam given to the rest of the class.

The quiz will precede the first hour exam. It’s purposes are to familiarize you with the exam format question types, and help you assess your preparation. The quiz will be worth 30 points.

Note preparation: It has been my experience that one of the greatest barriers to success in this and similar courses is poor note-taking ability (usually due to little note-taking experience). Therefore, I will teach you how to take good notes and then grade handwritten copies of your notes on 3 occasions over the course of the semester. Each submission will be worth 10 points each for a total of 30 points.

Grades: Your grade will be based on the total number of points for your four best exams, your quiz, and your notes. A total of 460 points are available.

Letter grades will be assigned on the basis of grade totals. Letter grades are defined in the Austin College Bulletin as:

A Unusual and superior achievement

B Intelligent, articulate achievement, above-average in fulfilling course requirements

C Passing work, representing graduation average

S Satisfactory achievement

D Passing work below the standard required for graduation

F Failure without privilege of re-examination

U Unsatisfactory work

Letter grades will not be assigned to individual tests. There will be little if any “curve” in the end of semester letter grades. You should assume there will be no curve, and that, for example, A’s (A-, A, A+) will be assigned to averages from ≥90% to 100%, B’s will be assigned to averages from ≥80% to <90%, and so on.

Attendance policy: It has been my experience that individuals fail to do well if they do not attend class regularly. Also, the older I become the more I become convinced that success at college depends largely upon developing a professional attitude to your education. Therefore, I expect attendance at every class session unless you are really sick or some other campus commitment that is beyond your control creates a conflict.

I will assign seats and check attendance. If you miss a class session, you will be required to complete a makeup assignment. Absence for any reason (excused or unexcused) will require the makeup assignment. After three absences, each additional absence that is not due to a required, conflicting campus event (e.g. athletic road trip, choir performance) will result in the loss of two percentage points off your final grade.

The makeup assignment is to turn in a photocopy of a set of handwritten, detailed notes on the lecture that you missed. You will need to borrow lecture notes from a classmate, organize the notes, study the relevant material in the textbook, and turn in a summary written in complete sentences in your own words. The summary must be detailed and thorough. Summaries that are not satisfactory will be returned without credit for revision. If the makeup assignment is not completed within one week of your absence, your semester grade will be reduced by two percentage points. Arriving late to class (after attendance is taken) will count as half an absence. If all of this is not sufficient incentive to inspire attendance and you nevertheless miss class regularly, I will drop you from the course. I will warn you once before doing so.

Learning disabilities: It is your responsibility to make me aware of any learning disabilities for which you request accommodation (e.g. extra time on tests). Students with learning disabilities should contact Laura Marquez, the Director of the Academic Skills Center, Room 211, Wright Campus Center. College policy prohibits instructors from accommodating learning disabilities without first having received the proper written instructions from the Director of the Academic Skills Center.

Schedule

Wed 31 Aug	Why evolution, behavior, & ecology? How do you know what you know.
	Evolution
Fri 2 Sep	1. How to take notes & study them. 2. Evolution – the basic idea	Ch. 1 & Handout: study hints
Mon 5 Sep	1. Pre-Darwinian ideas 2. Darwin’s contributions
Wed 7 Sep	Evidence for evolution: Direct observations of evolution Handwritten, copied notes due. Submit your notes for the previous lecture.	Ch. 22
Fri 9 Sep	Evidence for evolution: Indirect evidence for evolution
Mon 12 Sep	How traits are passed from generation to generation Terminology: cell division and genetics Cell division = mitosis (just the fundamentals) Gamete production = meiosis (just the fundamentals)	p. 207-217 p. 227-239 Handout: List of terms
Wed 14 Sep	How traits are passed from generation to generation Mendelian inheritance Non-mendelian inheritance	p.241-260
Fri 16 Sep	Quiz (20 minutes) and catch up
Mon 19 Sep	Genetics of populations Non-evolving populations Populations evolving without natural selection mutation, gene flow, genetic drift	Ch. 21
Wed 21 Sep	Genetics of populations Random mating, outbreeding, and inbreeding depression Adaptive evolution directional, stabilizing, and disruptive selection Maintenance of genetic diversity in natural and captive populations
Fri 23 Sep	Catch up, review, discussion
Mon 26 Sep	EXAM #1
Wed 28 Sep	Applied population genetics Artificial selection Early agriculture and its consequences Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) Sustainable agriculture?
Fri 30 Sep	Speciation (how new species arise) What is a species How systematists identify species Allopatric speciation Sympatric speciation	Ch. 23

Mon 3 Oct	History and future of biological diversity 3 domains of life and the endosymbiont hypothesis	Ch. 25
Wed 5 Oct	History and future of biological diversity Biological diversity over evolutionary history Mass extinctions & extinction due to humans Handwritten, copied notes due. Submit your notes for the previous lecture.	Ch. 24
Fri 7 Oct	Fall break - no class
Mon 10 Oct	Evolutionary ancestry of humans	6^th edition Ch. 23 (on reserve)
	Ecology and Behavior
Wed 12 Oct	Population Ecology The fundamental niche Dispersal, distributions, and metapopulations Demography & life history	Ch. 53
Fri 14 Oct	Catch up, review, discussion
Mon 17 Oct	EXAM #2 [Last day to drop a course without a grade or change grading system (A-F vs. S/U).]
Wed 19 Oct	Population Ecology Population growth
Fri 21 Oct	Population Ecology Intraspecific competition Human population size and growth
Mon 24 Oct	Community Ecology The realized niche Interspecific competition	Ch. 54
Wed 26 Oct	Community Ecology: Predation
Thu 27 Oct	11:00 Hoxie-Thompson Auditorium – Bill McKibben	Required
Fri 28 Oct	Community Ecology Succession Disturbance
Mon 31 Oct	Behavioral Biology Why animals behave the way they do Innate behaviors Learned behaviors Handwritten, copied notes due. Submit your notes for the previous lecture.	Ch. 52
Wed 2 Nov	Behavioral Biology Communication
Fri 4 Nov	Behavioral Biology Interaction between evolution, ecology, and behavior
Mon 7 Nov	Dynamics of Ecosystems Cycles of elements	p. 1183-1189
Wed 9 Nov	Catch up, review, discussion
Fri 11 Nov	EXAM #3
Mon 14 Nov	Dynamics of Ecosystems Energy flows	p. 1190-1202
Wed 16 Nov	The Biosphere Climates and biomes	Ch. 56
Fri 18 Nov	Bison and prairies vs. cattle and degraded range Behavior, community ecology, and the ecosystem The Sneed prairie restoration project An experiment in conservation biology
Mon 21 Nov	Conservation biology Ecosystem services Sustainability Habitat protection and restoration	Ch. 31
Wed 23 Nov	Human environmental impacts.	Ch. 30
Fri 25 Nov	[Thanksgiving Break]
Mon 28 Nov	What to do about human environmental impacts. http://www.ncseonline.org/conference/jared_diamond_report.pdf	Read lecture at web site to left ß
Wed 30 Nov	Catch up, review, and discussion
Fri 2 Dec	EXAM #4
Mon 5 Dec	Review day [Last day to drop course WP, WF, or WU]
Wed 7 Dec	FINAL EXAM 12:00-2:00