BIOLOGY 222 - INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

"Higher Invertebrates"

FALL 2004

 

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Instructor: Stephen M. Shuster

Office: BS 302

Office Hrs: Tuesday and Thursday 12:30-1:30

 Phone: 523-9302, -4641, -2381; Email: stephen.shuster@nau.edu

Website: http://www2.nau.edu/~shuster/Courses/BIO222/222main.html

College: Arts and Sciences; Department: Biological Sciences

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and BIO 190 or BIO 181-182, or consent of instructor.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This 4-credit course includes lecture (TTh 11:10-12:20 in BS 265) and laboratory components (W 1:00-3:50 or 4:10-7:00. It is a survey of the so-called "higher invertebrate" phyla (Annelida, Mollusca, Lophophorata, Arthropoda, and related phyla), using selected taxa to illustrate concepts in evolution, systematics, physiology, morphology, life history, ecology and behavior. Note that "higher" (as opposed to "lower") in this course refers neither to relative complexity nor similarity to vertebrates for the organism in question; rather, this term refers to the order in which a taxonomic group appears to have arisen over evolutionary time within the taxon we call Animalia. Using this convention, vertebrates and their chordate relatives are indeed "lower" animal taxa.

Lectures will concentrate on organizing and interpreting information about invertebrate animals to illustrate (1) evolutionary relationships within and among taxa, and (2) adaptations that permit species to inhabit particular environments. Laboratories will provide living and preserved examples of taxa described in lecture and in reading assignments, as well as experimental procedures that will permit students to explore invertebrate organization, behavior and body function. A required field trip to a local fossil site will provide students with experience with extinct invertebrate species. An optional field trip to a local invertebrate habitat will underscore this course's emphasis on living species. Outstanding students will have the opportunity to participate in another course (BIO 227, Intertidal Invertebrates of the Gulf of California) which includes a field trip to the Gulf of California.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

The two primary objectives of this course are to provide students with (1) an understanding of the conceptual framework that unifies biological science, and (2) an appreciation for the diversity and abundance of a group of organisms that comprises over 95% of the animal species on Earth. These two objectives are emphasized because (a) conceptual understanding of biological science is fundamental to creative thought in this field, and (b) the diversity of invertebrate species provides excellent examples of these central principles. An understanding of this framework will permit students to comprehend (and propose their own) scientific explanations for the distribution, abundance and diversity of invertebrates species. Description and classification of species can then become an exercise in scientific exploration, rather than simply one of rote memorization.

 

COURSE APPROACH:

Class meetings (in BS 265, TTh 11:10-12:20) will consist of lectures by the instructor, combined with audio-visual materials relating to current lecture topics. Students will be expected to prepare for lectures by reading from required texts and primary literature available on reserve in the library. The laboratory (in BS 328, 1:00-3:50 or 4:10-7:00 W) will consist of displays of preserved or live invertebrates, hands-on inspection and dissection of preserved specimens, and field trips to local invertebrate habitats for instruction in observational and collection techniques.

 

OFFICE HOURS:

Students are encouraged to make use of the instructor's and teaching assistants' office hours. The pace and volume of information introduced in this course makes it easy to get behind. If you begin to feel overwhelmed, do not hesitate to get some help.

 

TEXTBOOKS AND REQUIRED MATERIALS:

1. Brusca, R. C. & G. J. Brusca. 2003. Invertebrates, 2nd ed.. Sinauer Assoc., N.Y. (required).

2. Reserve readings (available on class website; required).

3. Biology 222 Laboratory Manual (available at the NAU Bookstore for a nominal cost; required).

4. Brusca, R. C. Common Intertidal Invertebrates of the Gulf of California. Univ. of Arizona Press. 1980 (optional; this book is currently out of print).

5. BIO 222 Dissection kits (required; available in the NAU Bookstore; ask for them by name).

6. Laboratory notebook (loose leaf binder with white, unlined paper; required)

7. Clipboard (recommended).

 

EVALUATION:

Lecture Exams: The lecture portion of the course will require three lecture exams given during lecture periods, and a comprehensive final exam at the end of the semester. Each lecture exam will be worth 100 points, the final exam is worth 200 points. You must take ALL of these exams (see Make-up below).

Laboratory Exams: The laboratory portion of the course will require two, one-hour practical exams and a comprehensive final practical exam at the end of the semester. As with the lecture exams, you must take ALL of these exams. Each laboratory (excluding weeks with scheduled field trips; see syllabus) will begin with a 10-point quiz covering material from the previous as well as the present laboratory. Other credit given in laboratory will be explained in the laboratory manual.

Field Trips: One and possibly two field trips are planned for this course; the first will be to Kohl’s Ranch on the day of the scheduled laboratory period. Excused absences will be available to students wishing to go. All others will examine material on their own during lab. More details will be provided during laboratory. The field trip to Mexico (BIO 227) scheduled for 27-31 October 2004 is not required. However, space on this trip is limited to 12 students. To determine which students will be allowed to participate, students' total accumulated scores from lecture and laboratory material will be ranked after the second lecture and practical exams and the students with the 12 highest scores will be invited to go on the field trip. You must make a commitment to go or not go at least one week before the trip as individuals opting not to go will relinquish their seat on the van to students further down the list. If you register for BIO 227 and cancel at the last minute, your fees will not be refunded. See the laboratory manual for more details.

 

Total points for the course will be allocated as follows:

Lecture exam points                  400                                        

Laboratory points                     350

                                               __________

 

                                                750 total points

 

Grade Assignment: Grades will be assigned by one of two criteria. The most rigorous one is on a straight scale: 90% -100% of the total points = A; 80%-89% = B; 70%-79% = C; 60%-69% = D; 59% or lower = F. The less rigorous criterion will be based on the highest score received by a student in the class. That score will be considered "100%" and all lower scores will be adjusted to that scale. In cases in which students' total scores are extremely close to the next higher score (e.g., within 1.0 point), grades may be adjusted to account for enthusiastic class participation. All other adjustments will not be considered.

Make-up Exams, Attendance and Cheating: Students will not be allowed to retake examinations under any circumstances. Students may take an exam in advance of the exam date if they know they will be absent. However, such arrangements must be made at least one week in advance of the scheduled exam. If an exam is missed, students must be able to document their reasons for missing the exam, and only extreme catastrophes will be considered as valid excuses. The highest exam score possible for an excused absence will be equal to the average class score. All other missed exams will be counted as zero toward the student's total score.

Regular attendance is strongly recommended given the amount of material introduced only in class. To excel in this class you will need to understand, integrate and apply information from lecture, laboratory and reading material. Academic honesty is the ONLY policy in this course. Evidence of plagerism or cheating is justification for failure on an exam, expulsion from the course, and dismissal from the University, as stated in the Departmental policy for cheating and plagerism (available on the Departmental website). CHEATING IS A SERIOUS ACADEMIC OFFENSE! EXPECT NO LENIENCY WHATSOEVER!


BIOLOGY 222 - INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

"Higher Invertebrates" - FALL 2004

COURSE OUTLINE

 

                                                                           Suggested

Wk Date     # Lecture Topic                                   Reading *                   Laboratory of the Week

 

 

 1   8/31     1   Introduction                                  Ch. 1 (review)              Laboratory techniques   

       9/02     2   Science and Evolution                   Ch. 2   

 2   9/07     3   Evolutionary Signatures                 Ch. 3; Reserve #1       Field trip: Fossils

       9/09     4   Phylogenetic Systematics             Ch. 4        

 3   9/14     5   Metazoan Phylogeny                     Ch. 21                        Lophophorate phyla 

       9/16     6   Phoronida                                     Reserve #2  

 4   9/21     7   Bryozoa & Brachiopoda                                                  Practical Exam I

                 

       9/23     Lecture Exam I

 

 5   9/28     8   Coelomate Protostomes                Reserve #3                 Coelomate Worms

       9/30     9   Annelida I                                     Ch. 13                       

6    10/05    10   Annelida II                                                                     Mollusca I

      10/07    11   Annelida III                                                                   

 7   10/12    12   Other Coelomate Worms               Ch. 14                        Mollusca II             

 

      10/14    Lecture Exam II                                                                                 

 

8    10/19    13   Mollusca I                                    Ch. 20                        Practical Exam II

      10/21    14   Mollusca II                                    Reserve #4  

9    10/26    15   Mollusca III                                                                   Optional Review

 

      10/28    No Lecture – Gone to Mexico                                           

 

10   11/02    16   Mollusca IV                                  Ch. 15                        Mollusca III

      11/04    17   Mollusca V                                   Reserve #5        

11   11/09    18   Arthropoda I                                  Ch. 16                        Arthropod Diversity  

      11/11    Veterans’ Day – No Lecture                                                       

12   11/16    19   Arthropoda II                                 Reserve #6                 Crustacea I 

 

      11/18    Lecture Exam III                                                                                                                

    

13   11/23    20     Arthropoda III                                                               Optional Review

 

      11/25    Thanksgiving – No Lecture

 

14   11/30    21   Arthropoda IV                               Ch. 17                        Crustacea II

      12/02    22   Arthropoda V                                Ch. 18

15   12/07    23   Arthropoda VI                               Ch. 19                        Final Practical Exam               

      12/09    24   Arthropoda VII                               Reserve #7

 

16   12/16    Final Exam 10:00-12:00 in BS 265                 

_____________________________________________________________________________          

* Chapters in Brusca & Brusca; Reserve readings available online at: http://www2.nau.edu/~shuster/Courses/BIO222/222main.html

Biology 222 – Invertebrate Zoology II- Higher Invertebrates

Reserve Reading List - Fall 2004

 

Reserve #1:

Conway Morris, S. 1993. The fossil record and the early evolution of the Metazoa. Nature 361: 219-225.

Field, K. G. et al. 1988. Molecular phylogeny of the Animal Kingdom. Science 239: 748-753.

Gould, S. J. 1999. Darwin’s more stately mansion. Science 284: 208.

Gould, S. J. and Eldredge, N. 1993. Punctuated equilibrium comes of age. Nature 366: 223-227.

 

Reserve #2:

Conway Morris, S. 1996. Lophophorate phylogeny. Science 272: 282.

Conway Morris, S. 1995. A new phylum from the lobster’s lips. Nature 378: 661-661.

Funch, P. and R. M. Kristensen. 1995. Cyliophora is a new phylum with affinities to Entoprocta and Ectoprocta. Nature 378: 711-714.

Helanych, K. M. et al. 1995. Evidence from 18S ribosomal DNA that the lophophorates are protostome animals. Science 267: 1641-1644.

Reserve #3:

Cary, S. C., T. Shank and J. Stein. 1998. Worms bask in extreme temperatures. Nature 391: 545-546.

DeRobertis, E. M. 1997. The ancestry of segmentation. Nature 387: 25-26.

De Robertis, E. M. and Y. Sasai. 1996. A common plan for dorsoventral patterning in Bilateria. Nature 380: 37-40.

Lutz, R. A. et al. 1994. Rapid growth at deep-sea vents. Nature 371: 663-664.

 

Reserve #4:

Fedonkin, M. A. and B. M. Waggoner. 1997. The late Precambrian fossil Kimberella is a mollusc-like bilaterian organism. Nature 388: 868-871.

Marshall, N.J.U., and J. B. Messenger. 1996. Colour-blind camoflage. Nature 382: 408-409.

Terlau, H, K-J. Shon, M. Grilley, M. Stocker, W. Stuhmer and B. M Oliviera. 1996. Strategy for rapid immobilization of prey by a fish-hunting marine snail. Nature 381: 148-151.

Tegner, M. J., L. V. Basch and P. K. Dayton. 1996. Near extinction of an exploited marine invertebrate. TREE 11: 278-279.

Reserve #5:

Poinar, Jr., G. 1996. Fossil velvet worms in baltic and dominican amber: onycophoran evolution and biogeography. Science: 1370-1371.

Popadic, A. et al. 1996. Origin of the arthropod mandible. Nature 380: 395.

Shear, W. A. 1992. End of the ‘Uniramia’ taxon. Nature 359: 477-478.

Telford, M. J. and R. H. Thomas. 1995. Demise of the Atelocerata? Nature 376: 123-124.

Vogel. G. 1996. Viewing velvet worms in amber. Science 273: 1340.

 

Reserve #6:

Caldwell, R. L. 1979. A unique form of locomotion in a stomatopod – backward somersaulting. Nature 282: 71-73.

Duffy, J. E. 1996. Eusociality in a coral reef shrimp. Nature 381: 512-514.

Shuster, S. M. and M. J. Wade. 1991. Equal mating success among male reproductive strategies in a marine isopod. Nature 350: 606-610.

Ziebis, W. S. Forster, M. Huettel and B. B. Jorgensen. 1996. Complex burrows of the mudshrimp, Callianassa truncata and their geochemical impact in the sea bed. Nature 382: 619-622.

 

Reserve #7:

Evans, T. A, E. J. Wallis and M. A. Elgar. 1995. Making a meal of mother. Nature 376: 299.

Gwynne, D. T. 1981. Sexual difference theory: Mormon crickets show role reversal in mate choice. Science 213: 770-780.

Savory, T. H. 1966. False scorpions. Sci. Amer. 214: 95-100.

Schneider, J. M. and Y. Lubin. 1996. Infanticidal male eresid spiders. Nature 381: 655-666.