Sensory Biology will be offered in Fall 2003

For more information, e-mail: Dr. Webb.

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Biology 7921 - Sensory Biology
Instructor: Dr. Webb.
Weekly teaching schedule: 3 hours lecture/discussion
Schedule: Spring semester, even years (generally).
Credits: 3.
Category: None.

••This is a graduate course, but qualified undergraduates are welcome.••

Vertebrates, including humans, detect the world around them using a variety of sensory systems that have evolved over hundreds of millions of years, first in water and then in terrestrial environments. This course will examine the anatomy, physiology, development, evolution of several of the sensory systems in aquatic vertebrates, which may include vision, olfaction, taste, hearing, vibration detection (lateral line) and electroreception. Fishes and amphibians are extensively-used model systems for the descriptive and experimental study of sensory biology and behavior; they provide fundamental insights into the physiology and functional evolution of sensory systems in all vertebrates, including humans.

This course should be of interest to students interested in various aspects of organismal biology, evolution, animal behavior, comparative and developmental anatomy, functional morphology, neurobiology and neurophysiology, physiological psychology and cognitive sciences.

The original scientific literature will be the primary source of readings. The course will consist of a series of introductory lectures, student presentations and student-led discussions based on assigned readings. Each student will write a term paper on a topic of his/her choice within the broad realm of “sensory biology” (with topic approval and peer review of draft) and will present this paper in a formal symposium format at the end of the semester. Grades will be based on participation in discussion, class presentations and the term paper and symposium presentation.

Additional information will be available shortly.