Biology360:Evolution
Spring,2016
Instructor: Office:
OfficeHours:
Email:
Lecture:
Text:
LectureNotes:
CourseWebsites:
VanessaKoelling,Ph.D.
Thompson257C
F,10:00AM-1:00PM,orbyappointment
vkoelling@pugetsound.edu
MWF,9:00AM-9:50AM,TH197
Evolution(1stedition).CarlT.BergstromandLeeAlanDugatkin.
W.W.NortonandCompany.2012.
ProvidedonlineafterclassasaPDF.
AMoodlesitewillbeusedtodistributelecturenotes,labsand
othermaterials.http://moodle.pugetsound.edu/
COURSEDESCRIPTIONANDLEARNINGOBJECTIVES
Evolutionisanelectivecoursecoveringthemajorprinciplesofmodernevolutionarytheory.
Thiscoursewillexaminethemechanismsofevolutionandhowithasshaped,andcontinues
toshape,thediversityoflifeonEarth.Whenyoufinishthecourseyoushouldhaveathorough
groundingin:
-howtheprocessofevolutionoccursinpopulations
-majortransitionsinthehistoryoflifeonEarth
-howevolutionisstudiedatboththemicroandmacroscale
-importantconceptswithinmajorsubfieldsofevolutionarybiology
Thiscoursewillalsogiveyoutheopportunitytofurtherdevelopyourabilitytoreadprimary
scientificliteratureandcommunicateinwritingandotherforms.
RESPONSIBILITY
Iwillfacilitateaneffectivelearningenvironmentinwhichyoucanexplorethefundamentals
ofevolution.Noquestionisunreasonable.However,ultimatelyyouareresponsibleforyour
owneducation.Youmustdedicateampleenergyandtimetolearnthematerialonyourown.
Youareresponsibleforobtaininginformationonanyschedulechangesaswellasonclass
materialsyoumaymissduringabsencefromclass.
TIMEREQUIREMENTS
Pleasebeawarethatassessmentinthiscoursewillbebasedoncomprehensionand
applicationofbiologicalknowledge.Assuch,youwillneedtoplanonSIGNIFICANTadditional
timeoutsideoflecturesothatyoumaymovebeyondsimpleacquisitionofknowledge.
EMAIL
Iwillregularlyuseemailtosendoutannouncements,changesinthesyllabus,reminders
abouttestsorduedates,etc.IwilluseyourPugetSoundemailaddress.Itisyour
BIO360,Spring2016,V.A.Koelling 1
responsibilitytocheckthisemailaccountregularlytokeepup-to-datewiththese
announcements.
Iwillrespondtoemailwithin24-48hours.
READINGS
Thisisanupper-divisioncourseinwhichyouareexpectedtoacquirecontentknowledgeof
greaterdepthanddetailthaninlower-divisioncourses;therefore,youareexpectedtodoa
closereadingofthetextbook.Followingeachlecture,itisimportantthatyouintegratethe
informationinthetextwiththatfromlecture.Irecommendthatyouusetheglossaryand
practiceproblemsforeachchapter.Theseaidswillhelpyouidentifyimportantconceptsand
termsassociatedwiththetopicsandhelpyouorganizeandapplyyourlearning.
Youshouldalsoexpectsupplementalreadingassignments(e.g.,newsarticlesorscientific
journalarticles).Assignmentsmaybeassociatedwiththisreadingmaterial.Inallcasesyou
shouldconsiderthereadingmaterialrequiredunlessIstateotherwise.
CLASSPARTICIPATION
Iexpectyourregularattendanceandattentioninclass.Participationduringclassorlab
discussionsofprimaryliteratureisrequired.Youwillearnpointsbasedonyourparticipation
inpaperdiscussions.
EVOBEAKERLABASSIGNMENTS
YouwillbeassignedanumberofEvoBeakerLabsfromSimBio.Thesearesimulation
experimentsbasedonrealworldexamplesofevolution.Theyaredesignedtohelpyou
understandfundamentalevolutionaryprinciplesandwheretheycomefrom,aswellas
practicesolvingproblemsinevolutionarybiologyusingthescientificmethod.Wewilluse
somein-classtimefortheEvoBeakerLabs,butyouwillalsobeaskedtocompletesomeon
yourownoutsideofclass.AttheendofeachEvoBeakerLab,youwillbeaskedtocomplete
gradedquestions,awritingassignment,orboth.
YoumustpurchaseasubscriptiontotheSimUTextforthecoursethatcontainstheEvoBeaker
Labs.Thecostis$40.Ifyouwishtousefinancialaid,youmaypurchasearegistrationvoucher
atthePugetSoundbookstore.Youwillthenneedtoregisterviaemailinstructionsfromme.
PAPERS
Youwillwrite1-2shortpapers.Furtherinstructionsforthesepaperswillbegiveninclass.
Ifyouneedassistancewithresearchforthesepapersorotherassignments,pleaseconsultthe
ScienceLibrarian.Heisavailableforone-on-onemeetingsandeagertohelpstudentsfindthe
informationtheyneedintheCollinsLibrary.Hiscontactinformationisasfollows:
BIO360,Spring2016,V.A.Koelling 2
EliGandour-Rood,ScienceLibrarian
CollinsLibrary,Room1117
Phone:253-879-3678
Email:egandourrood@pugetsound.edu
EVOLUTIONVIDEOPROJECT
Yourfinalprojectinthiscoursewillbetomakeavideo(3minutesoralittleless)that
explainsatopicinevolutionarybiology.ThisassignmentisbasedontheEvolutionFilm
Festivalthattakesplaceeveryyearattheannualprofessionalconferenceforevolutionary
biologists(theEvolutionmeeting).Examplevideosandtheguidelinesformakingthevideo
arefoundhere:http://filmfestival.nescent.org/
Youhavetheoptionofworkingaloneorinpairsforthisassignment.
EXAMS
Therewillbetwomid-termexamsandafinalexam.
Iwillnotdiscussanexamorexamgradewithin24hoursofreturningthegradedexamtoyou.
Ifyouwishtodisputethegradeorfurtherdiscusshowtoimproveyourstudyhabits,Iwillbe
happytomeetwithyouafterthe24-hourtimeperiod—onceyouhavethoroughlyread
throughyourexamandthepostedanswerkey.
RegradingPolicy:Ifyoufeeltherehasbeenamistakemadeingradinganexamproblem,you
maysubmititforaregrade.Turninyourexamtomewithawrittenexplanationofwhatyou
thinkiswrong.However,pleasebeawarethatwewillnotrevisithowpointsareassignedfor
questionsthatreceivedpartialcredit.Regradesmustbesubmittedwithinoneweek(7calendar
days)ofthequiz/exambeingreturned.
GRADING(subjecttochangeatdiscretionofinstructoratanytime)
GradingPolicies
o NOMAKE-UPEXAMSWILLBEGIVEN.However,ifyouaresickorhavesomeother
validreasonformissingtheexam,pleasecontacttheinstructor.Whilemake-up
examsarenotgiven,wemaybeabletoworksomethingout.
o Lateassignmentswillbepenalized10%perdaylate.
o Noextracredit.
GradingScale
A≥94%
A-=90-93.9%
B+=87-89.9%
B=84-86.9%B-=80-83.9%
C+=77-79.9%
C=74-76.9%C-=70-73.9%
D+=67-69.9%
D=64-66.9%D-=60-63.9%
F<60%
BIO360,Spring2016,V.A.Koelling 3
Componentsoftheclasswillbeworththefollowingpercentagesofyourtotalgrade:
Exams 60%
EvoBeakerLabs
20%
Papers/Assignments 10%
EvolutionVideoProject 10%
APPROPRIATEBEHAVIOR
Studentsareexpectedtobehaveinanappropriatemannerwhileattendingthisclass.During
classtimeIexpectyoutobeworkingonmaterialsforthiscourseonly.Pleaseberespectfulto
othersintheclass,especiallyconcerningtheuseofpersonaltechnology:
• Switchyourphonestovibrateorno-ringbeforecomingtoclassandhavethemstowed
inyourbagorpocket
• Noemailortextmessaging
• Youmaynothaveearbudsinatanytimewhileinclass
• Digitaldevices(laptops,tablets,phones)canonlybeusedbypermissionofinstructor
• Youmaynottouchoruseanyelectronicdevicesinanywayduringanexam
• Youmaynotleavetheroomduringanexam
STATEMENTCONCERNINGACADEMICMISCONDUCT
AsastudentattheUniversityofPugetSound,youassumetheresponsibilitytoexhibitinyour
academicperformancethequalitiesofhonestyandintegrity.Iwillnottolerateacademic
misconductinanyform,especiallyplagiarism.
Ifyouneedtorefreshyourmemoryaboutthenatureofacademicmisconductanduniversity
policiesonthehandlingofacademicmisconduct,youmaygohere:
http://www.pugetsound.edu/student-life/personal-safety/student-handbook/academichandbook/academic-integrity/
Plagiarismisdefinedaspresentingtheworkofanotherasone'sown.Morethanfour
consecutivewordsfromasourceotherthanthewriterconstitutesplagiarismwhenthe
sourceisnotclearlyidentifiedinappropriatedocumentationformat.
Ifyouarefoundtohavecommittedplagiarisminthisclassyouwilllose100pointsor
thevalueoftheassignmentthatwasplagiarized,whicheverisgreater.Inaddition,Iwill
followthestepsforhandlingacademicmisconductoutlinedontheuniversitywebsiteabove.
Ifyoudidnotreceiveinstructiononavoidingplagiarisminyourfreshmanseminarcourses,
pleasetakesometimetocompletethecoursethatthelibraryhassetupforyou.Forthat
course,gohere:http://research.pugetsound.edu/academicintegrity
SPECIALACCOMMODATIONS
Ifyouhaveaphysical,psychological,medicalorlearningdisabilitythatmayimpactyour
coursework,pleasecontactPeggyPerno,DirectoroftheOfficeofAccessibilityand
Accommodations,105Howarth,253.879.3395.Shewilldeterminewithyouwhat
BIO360,Spring2016,V.A.Koelling 4
accommodationsarenecessaryandappropriate.Allinformationanddocumentationis
confidential.
CLASSROOMEMERGENCYRESPONSEGUIDANCE
Pleasereviewuniversityemergencypreparednessandresponseprocedurespostedat
www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/.Thereisalinkontheuniversityhomepage.Familiarize
yourselfwithhallexitdoorsandthedesignatedgatheringareaforyourclassandlaboratory
buildings.
Ifbuildingevacuationbecomesnecessary(e.g.earthquake),meetyourinstructoratthe
designatedgatheringareasoshe/hecanaccountforyourpresence.Thenwaitforfurther
instructions.Donotreturntothebuildingorclassroomuntiladvisedbyauniversity
emergencyresponserepresentative.
Ifconfrontedbyanactofviolence,bepreparedtomakequickdecisionstoprotectyour
safety.Fleetheareabyrunningawayfromthesourceofdangerifyoucansafelydoso.Ifthis
isnotpossible,shelterinplacebysecuringclassroomorlabdoorsandwindows,closing
blinds,andturningoffroomlights.Staylow,awayfromdoorsandwindows,andascloseto
theinteriorhallwaywallsaspossible.Waitforfurtherinstructions.
BIO360,Spring2016,V.A.Koelling 5
TentativeScheduleforBIO360,Spring2016
SubjecttochangeatanytimeatthediscretionofDr.VanessaKoelling
Week/dates
LectureTopics
Readingfromthe
Textbook
Week1
Introduction/Evolutionary
Ch.2,3
1/20-1/22
ThinkingBeforeandAfter
Noclass9/18(MLKJr.Day) Darwin/NaturalSelection
Week2
NaturalSelectionandEvolutionary Ch.3
1/25-1/29
Experiments
Week3
PhylogenyandEvolutionary
Ch.4,5
2/1-2/5
History/InferringPhylogeny
Week4
InferringPhylogeny/OriginofLife Ch.5,11
2/8-2/12
Week5
MajorTransitions/Extinction
Ch.12,15
2/15-2/19
Week6
TransmissionGenetics
Ch.6,7
2/22-2/26
Review/PopulationGenetics
Week7
PopulationGenetics
Ch.7
2/29-3/4
Week8
EvolutioninFinitePopulations
Ch.8
3/7-3/11
Week9
Noclass3/14-3/18
(SpringBreak)
Week10
NeutralTheoryofMolecular
Ch.8,10
3/21-3/25
Evolution
Week11
EvolutionatMultipleLoci
Ch.9
3/28-4/1
Week12
Species,Speciation,andHuman
Ch.14
4/4-4/8
Evolution
BIO360,Spring2016,V.A.Koelling
EvoBeakerLabsand
Exams
DarwinianSnails&
Experimentingwith
Snails
HowtheGuppyGotIts
Spots
DomesticatingDogs
PaperDiscussion:2/12
Exam1:2/15
MendelianPigs/HardyWeinbergandKuru
PaperDiscussion:3/11
GeneticDriftand
BottleneckedFerrets
HIVClock
FinchesandEvolution
Exam2:4/4
Week13
4/11-4/15
Week14
4/18-4/22
Week15
4/25-4/29
GenomeEvolution/Evo-Devo
Ch.10,13
PaperDiscussion:4/15
EvolutionofSex/SexualSelection
Ch.16,17
EvolutionofSociality
Ch.18
Week16
5/2-5/4
Noclass5/6
Week17—FinalExam
Wednesday,5/11,8:0010:00AM
Examwillbecumulative
Coevolution
Ch.19
EvolutionVideo
ProjectDue5/4
BIO360,Spring2016,V.A.Koelling