Biology of the Vertebrates

EEB 2214

Fall 2008

This course will cover the diversity of vertebrates and the evolution of form and function within this group.

Meetings: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30-1:45 in BSP130
Textbook: Pough F. H., C. M. Janis, and J. B. Heiser. 2005. Vertebrate Life, 7th Edition. Prentice Hall.

Instructors

Dr. Elizabeth Jockusch
Office: Biology/Pharmacy 305B
Phone: 486-4452
E-mail: elizabeth.jockusch@uconn.edu
Office hours: Tuesdays, 2-3 pm, and by appointment

Dr. Margaret Rubega
Office: Biology/Pharmacy 500
Phone: 486-4502
E-mail: margaret.rubega@uconn.edu
Office hours: by appointment

Maria Pickering (teaching assistant)
Office: Torrey Life Sciences 480
Phone: 486-1882
E-mail: maria.pickering@uconn.edu
Office hours: Thursdays, 3-4 pm, and by appointment

Grading

Exam 1          30% (100 points)

Exam 2          30% (100 points)

Final Exam      40% (133 points)

There will be two one-hour, non-cumulative, exams scheduled during the lecture hour. The two-hour final will be split into two parts: the first part will cover all material since the second exam, and the second part will be a comprehensive (cumulative) exam covering the entire course.

Missed exams
Any student who does not attend an exam and fails to receive permission in advance will receive a 0 for the exam. Approval of any request to miss an exam requires, but is not guaranteed by, verifiable written documentation of the reason. A student who receives approval to miss an exam will, at the discretion of the instructor, either take a make-up exam or have his or her course grade prorated based on performance in the remainder of the course.

Academic integrity
Plagiarism and cheating are violations of the student conduct code, and may be punished by failure in the course or, in severe cases, dismissal from the University. For more information, see Section IV of the Student Conduct Code available at the web site of the Dean of Students.

Disabilities
If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an accommodation, you should contact a course instructor and the Center for Students with Disabilities (Wilbur Cross Building, Room 201) within the first two weeks of the semester:

New--Link to Tutorial, Practice Quiz, and Study Guide

Go through the powerpointPHYLOGENY TUTORIAL and then test your tree knowledge with this PRACTICE QUIZ
Practice Quiz Answers
Study guide for Exam 1
Practice Multiple Choice Questions
An answer key for exam 1 is posted outside of Dr. Jockusch's Office, BioPharm 305B.

Lecture Schedule, Review Questions, and Video Links

Date	Instructor	Topic	Readings
Aug. 26	Jockusch	Vertebrate diversity Salamanders Feeding Marine Iguana Running Komodo Dragon Walking	---
Aug. 28	Jockusch	Chordates and vertebrate origins	Ch. 1, Ch. 2
Sept. 2	Jockusch	Living jawless vertebrates Hagfish Sliming	pp. 48-53
Sept. 4	Jockusch	Early vertebrate fossils	pp. 43-48, 53-71
Sept. 9	Jockusch	Chondrichthyans Shark Mating Whale Shark Feeding Manta Ray Feeding Eagle Ray Feeding	Ch. 5
Sept. 11	Jockusch	Actinopterygians Paddlefish Feeding Moray Eel Eating Listen to a Black Drum	pp. 124-150
Sept. 16	Jockusch	Fish conservation Leafy Seadragon Babies Hatching Mangrove Killifish in Log Pictures of Deep Sea Fishes Bottom Trawling	pp. 150-155
Sept. 18	Jockusch	Fish conservation, Sarcopterygii Guide to Sustainable Seafood Choices--	pp. 118-124
Sept. 23	Jockusch	The origin of tetrapods	pp. 196-210
Sept. 25	Jockusch	Lissamphibian diversity Salamander Courtship--Headslap Salamander Sperm Transfer Chinese Giant Salamander (Andrias) Frog Eats Frog	Ch. 10
Sept. 30	Jockusch	Exam 1
Oct. 2	Jockusch	Lissamphibian diversity continued Frog defenses-In Snake's Mouth Escape Hatching from Snake Attack	Ch. 10
Oct. 7	Jockusch	Amniote diversity/desert adaptations	pp. 327-336, 341-374
Oct. 9	Jockusch	Evolution of snakes	pp. 336-341
Oct. 14	Rubega	Turtles	Ch. 12
Oct. 16	Rubega	Diapsids: Archosaurs; Crocodilians	pp. 388-396
Oct. 21	Rubega	Archosaurs: Pterosaurs to Dinosaurs	pp. 397-421
Oct. 23	Rubega	Dinosaurs II	pp. 399-421
Oct. 28	Rubega	Birds: Avian origins	pp. 421-432
Oct. 30	Rubega	Birds: Feeding	pp. 456-461
Nov. 4	Rubega	Birds: Morphology and Reproduction	pp.466-480
Nov. 6	Rubega	Synapsida: Mammals Origins	pp. 287-
Nov. 11	Rubega	Exam 2
Nov. 13	Rubega	Mammals: Diversity	pp. 519-544
Nov. 18	Rubega	Mammals: Morphology and Behavior	Ch. 21
Nov. 21	Rubega	Mammals: Primate evolution and human origins	Chapter 24
Dec. 2	Rubega	Vertebrate mass extinctions, past and present	661-667
Dec. 4	Rubega	Vertebrate Conservation	pp. 667-662, 679-683
Dec. 8		Final Exam 3:30-5:30 pm (TENTATIVE)