Courses for Graduate Students,
Biology Majors and Non-Science Majors
For Graduate
Students (and qualified undergrads)
Satisfies
the Seminar Requirement for MA students in Biology.
Elective in
Cognitive Sciences Concentration for qualified
undergraduates.
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 course will
consist of a series of introductory lectures, student
presentations and student-led discussions based on
assigned readings. The original scientific literature
will be the primary source of 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
midterm and final exams, class presentations, the
term paper/symposium project, and participation in
discussion. Attendance at a subset of pertinent
Biology Department Seminars will also be required.
For Biology
Majors
Satisfies
the Organismal Biology Requirement for the Biology
Major.
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. Graded
items include lecture essay exams, laboratory
practicals and a short paper on some aspect of the
biology of fishes, amphibians and reptiles.
Satisfies
the Ecology and Evolution Requirement for the Biology
Major
We will explore the
fundamentals of oceanography, the biology and
diversity of marine organisms, and the patterns and
processes that guide the ecological dynamics in
various marine communities. This year, lectures will
focus on the marine biology and ecology of the
Atlantic Ocean as a model system for the study of
fundamental concepts and approaches in marine
biology. This approach will facilitate an integration
of oceanographic and marine biological concepts into
an ecological context familiar to students living on
the east coast of the US. However, pertinent and
unique examples will be drawn from the world's oceans
as appropriate. Lecture topics will roughly follow a
North to South transect through the inshore marine
communities of the New England area (Stellwagen Bank,
kelp beds, rocky intertidal, estuaries, including mud
flats and salt marshes coral reef, deep sea and
hydrothermal vent communities). A consideration of
marine organismal biology will be integrated into
lectures and labs as appropriate and students will be
responsible for being able to identify key marine
species.
Lab sessions (one
lab, 3-hour/week) will accomplish several goals.
Formal lab exercises will provide students with the
opportunity to learn about organismal diversity in
its ecological context. Other lab sessions will take
the form of journal clubs in which papers from the
primary literature are read and critically discussed.
A few lab sessions will also provide opportunities to
view and discuss state-of-the-art video resources
that deal with marine research conducted underwater,
including deep sea research. A Sat. or Sun. field
trip to the New Jersey State Aquarium will be
required. This course fulfills the Writing Enriched
Requirement. Students will be given short writing
assignments and/or lab report assignments and a major
term paper assignment will give students the
opportunity to explore a topic of their choice in the
area of marine biology. This assignment will involve
peer review and a required re-write and will
culminate in a formal student symposium in which
students will present their term papers.
For
Non-Science Majors
- Bio 1705: Life in the Sea - Fall semester,
every year. For non-science majors (Not offered
in several years). Prerequisite: Bio 1505:
Biology for Today
NEXT OFFERED Fall
2006
Satisfies
one semester of the Core Science requirement
(Theme course in Biology).
One of several
theme courses that satisfy the second semester
Natural Sciences requirement of the Core
curriculum. Fundamentals of chemical, physical,
and geological oceanography and their
relationship to the evolution of marine
organisms. The biology and ecology of marine
algae, invertebrates, fishes and marine mammals.
The ecological dynamics of marine habitats
including salt marshes, coral reefs and the deep
sea. Labs will include work on marine diversity,
discussion of scientific issues and field trips.
- Bio 1505: Biology for
Today - Fall semester, every
year. Prerequisite for 2nd semester theme courses
offered in spring semester. For non-science
majors.
Satisfies
the first semester Core Science requirement in
Biology.
The course is a
survey of modern biology that covers the biology of
the cell, Mendelian genetics, animal development and
some aspects of molecular biology, organismal
diversity (including structure and function),
evolution and ecology.Writing assignments on the
interpretation of science presented in reputable
popular media will be an important part of the
course. The laboratory (one 3- hour lab/week) will
include laboratory experiments demonstrating
fundamental biological processes and data analysis,
an exploration of biological diversity, observations
of living embryos in order to explore the dynamic
process of animal development, and dissection of a
fetal pig as a vehicle for active study of mammalian
anatomy.
Satisfies
the first semester Core Science requirement in
Biology.
An introduction to
modern biology through non-text resources. Readings
will be drawn from a variety of genres including
essays, biography, scientific journal papers and
review papers, and original longer works (e.g., Origin
of Species). We will explore a range of topics
in modern biology, taking advantage of timely
developments in the news and will also explore
science as a human endeavor. Writing enriched. Labs
will include experimental work, discussions of the
literature and field trips to Philadelphia area
institutions such as the Philadelphia Zoo, the
Academy of Natural Sciences, Longwood Gardens, Mutter
Museum, NJ State Aquarium.
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