|
BIO 593 Topics in Biological Sciences - Sensory Biology
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 and neurobiology.
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 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 exams, class presentations, the term paper/symposium project, and participation in discussion.
BIO 412X/512X Evolution and Diversity of Fishes
This course will explore the patterns of evolutionary diversification of fishes (the most speciose group of vertebrates, with 30,000+ spp.), and their structural, functional and behavioral adaptations in both freshwater and marine habitats. A major goal of this course will also be to learn how to identify fishes belonging to prominent marine and freshwater taxa.
BIO 360 Marine Biology
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 and carry out experiments using marine organisms. 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. Students will be given short writing assignments and/or lab report assignments.
|
