Next offered Spring 2005

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Bio 3555: Lower Vertebrates
Instructors: Drs. Bauer and Webb.
Weekly teaching schedule: 2 hours lecture and 5 hours laboratory.
Schedule: Spring semester, odd years.
Credits: 4.
Category: Organismal Biology.

Introduction to the biology of fishes, amphibians and reptiles. Lecture material covers systematics, anatomy, physiology, development, ecology and behavior. In addition, topics such as zoogeography, human interactions with lower vertebrates, and the biology of dinosaurs and other fossil reptiles are briefly treated. Laboratories emphasize the diversity of the groups and highlight selected features of the biology of the organisms. Laboratory exercises include identification of specimens, recording and analysis of frog calls, practice of field techniques and faunal surveys and short field trips. Field trips to the New Jersey State Aquarium, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia Zoo and optional trips to more distant localities are also scheduled. The goal of this course is to apply many approaches of organismal biology to a particular group of vertebrates. This holistic approach complements more traditional courses that emphasize a single approach to biology in a comparative context. Graded items include lecture essay exams, laboratory practicals and a short paper on some aspect of the biology of fishes, amphibians and reptiles.