Biol 484 – Plant Evolution
Fall 2009
Instructor
Lila Fishman
lila.fishman@mso.umt.edu
309A Health Sciences
x5166
Office hours
11:00-12:00 T/Th
other times by appt
Goals
 Reinforce understanding of the principles of biological evolution

Explore the patterns and processes of plant evolution, with primary focus on
mechanisms of adaptation and speciation

Practice critical evaluation of research and writing on plant evolution

Practice scientific writing skills
Course format
Lectures, plus discussion of readings. The readings will be a mix of syntheses/reviews
and primary research literature. This format will only work if you do the readings before
class and come with questions/comments for discussion!!
Course schedule (will evolve!!)
See page 2 for general overview of scheduled topics..
Materials
Each week’s readings will be posted on the class web site by the end of the previous
week and (usually) handed out in class in advance as well. Powerpoint slides, notes etc.
from lectures will be placed online after class. For review, I will place several copies of
Freeman & Herron Evolutionary Analysis on reserve in the library and have other
evolution/genetics texts in my office for those interested.
Assessment
Grading will follow +/- grading scale and the standard decile letter grade system (>92% =
A, etc.).
Grades will be based on
=> participation in class discussions
=> short article reviews (precis)
=> final project
~20%
~25%
~55%
See pages 3-5 for more detail on the writing expectations and assignments.
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Fall 2009 -- BIOL484 SCHEDULE
WEEK
DATE
TOPIC
9/01
Week 1
Intro to Class
9/03
Broad patterns in plant evolution
Week 2
9/08
9/10
Week 3
9/15
9/17
Week 4
9/22
9/24
Week 5
9/29
10/01
Week 6
10/06
10/08
Week 7
10/13
10/15
Week 8
10/20
10/22
Week 9
10/27
10/29
Week 10
11/03
11/05
Week 11
11/10
11/12
Week 12
11/17
11/19
Week 13
11/24
11/26
Week 14
FinalWeek
Review: Population Genetics
Ch. 1-3, C&H (pdfs)
plus articles
Review: Quantitative Genetics
Ch. 4-6, C&H (pdfs)
plus articles
Abiotic Adaptation
articles
Biotic Adaptation & Coevolution
Speciation & Adaptive Radiation
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
12/01
12/03
Week 15
READINGS
Student Presentations
12/08
12/10
Final Paper Due
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Writing outcomes and expectations - overview
Critical reading and synthesis of the primary literature is key to learning how to write
effectively about biology, as well as to gaining conceptual/factual mastery of the field.
We will use several different types of activities to practice reading and writing skills.
Weekly readings -- Each week, we will read at least one scientific journal article and
discuss it in detail during class-time. You are expected to read the assigned articles prior
to class, and to come prepared to participate with at least one question or comment (no
question is "too basic" -- the criterion here is participation).
Precis reviews -- You will complete 5 "precis" reviews (1 page max, single-spaced) of
assigned research articles during the semester. A precis is a critical synopsis, not merely a
summary of content (see Precis handout for more details on format, goals and
evaluation). In addition to enhancing knowledge of the research topics and critical
thinking skills, this activity is designed to encourage efficient reading and writing
through repeated practice. An example precis is posted on the course web page.
Final Project -- The majority of your grade will be based on a research project on a topic
of your choosing (within the scope of the course). This project includes multiple graded
components (see attached handouts for details of the Presentation and Paper
components).
Final Project -- Process and grading
1. Meet with me to discuss topic (week 9)
2. Submit 1/2 page outline of paper (week 10)
3. Draft paper due (week 12)
4. Receive comments/feedback (week 14)
5. 15 minute presentation (weeks14-15)
6. Final paper due (day of Final exam)
5%
15%
15%
20%
55% of course grade
As a Writing Course, a primary goal of this class is training in the process of scientific writing,
which generally involves multiple rounds of revision. Therefore, you will have the opportunity to
revise your final paper in response to feedback on your outline, first draft, and in-class
presentation. These preliminary components and the Final Paper will be evaluated on the basis of
both structure (grammar, punctuation, etc) and content (Does it do the things outlined on the
handout well? Is is accurate, complete and insightful?).
Please note: You are bound by the University of Montana student conduct code. All written work
turned in for credit must be solely your work AND may not have been used for credit in another
course. Plagiarism and cheating of any kind will result in referral for disciplinary action and
you will receive a zero on the assignment. This will significantly impact your final course grade.
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BIOL 484 – Plant Evolution
Writing a Précis of a Research Communication
Being able to summarize and criticize scientific literature is essential to your success as a student
or professional scientist. The goals listed below should be in mind whenever you read an article
from the primary scientific literature. To practice applying them, you will write a brief summary
paper (a précis) addressing these goals for many of the articles we read. Strictly speaking, a
“précis” is a brief summary and critical evaluation of the text under consideration.
In writing a précis of a research article, your goals are:
(1) to identify the hypotheses being tested (including alternatives)
– this generally includes both BIG QUESTIONS and more specific ones
(2) to indicate why they are being tested
– i.e., what observations and/or theory motivate the authors
(3) to summarize succinctly the methods employed and results obtained
– focus on the overall approach and key findings rather than the details
(details can matter a great deal, but at this stage is better to get the big picture)
(4) to show how these results do or do not address the hypotheses under investigation.
(5) to evaluate whether the methods used are appropriate to testing the hypotheses and whether
the results convincingly support the authors’ conclusions. You are not expected to evaluate the
methods with a specialist’s eye –focus on whether or not the experimental approaches rule out
alternative hypotheses, whether there may be confounding factors unconsidered, etc.
For papers in this class, a précis should be no less than 300 words and no more than 500 words
long, i.e., up to a page of text single-spaced (1-2 paragraphs). Hallmarks of a good précis are
conciseness, clarity of exposition, and insight into the assumptions, limitations and merits of the
text under review.
The précis assignments will be graded on both content and presentation (i.e., correct spelling,
punctuation and grammar, as well as sentence and paragraph structure) on a 10 point scale.
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Biology 484
Plant Evolution
Final Projects
The goal of this exercise is for you to think deeply about a particular problem in plant evolution,
summarize the current theory and existing empirical data relevant to your chosen issue, and
propose a program of research to address remaining questions. Problems may range from the
broad (“Why has sex evolved?”) to the relatively specific (“Why do whitebark pine trees make
lots of cones some years and few in others?”). Generally speaking, these will be “why?”
questions. Particularly for the last goal, it will be useful to concentrate on a particular system
(i.e., propose experiment/studies following up on published work). Choose a question/system
you are interested in!!
*Note: It is acceptable (and even wise) to “double-up” on the background reading/research for
another project in another class. For example, if you have been reading a lot about the
physiology of drought tolerance for another course, choosing to write your BIOL484 paper on
the evolution of drought tolerance would be fine. However, you must address a significant (and
general) evolutionary question relevant to the topic AND any work turned in for credit may not
overlap substantially in content/wording with work also submitted for any other class past or
present. Plagiarism is not acceptable and will result in a ZERO grade on the assignment.
You will be graded on 4 components of the final project: an outline, a first draft, a
presentation, and a final paper.
Outline: bullet list of the anticipated content in each section of the paper, including 3 key refs.
Presentation: ~15 minutes during the last 2 weeks of class-time (see page 6 for details)
Paper: 8 pages double-spaced (maximum), 8+ references.
The format of the paper will be similar to a research proposal, but with more emphasis on the
background sections rather than the proposed work, methods etc.
Broad outline
1st page – frame question broadly and concisely
=> Why is this an important problem?
=> What do we already know? What are gaps in knowledge?
p. 2-5 -- Expand background/ review prior research on topic
p. 6-8 – Describe future research program designed to answer main question
Depending on how specific your topic is, you will almost certainly also need to describe
the biological system and discuss why it is a good one for addressing the question.
We will go over in class (and in our 1-on-1 meeting) strategies for finding key references using
online databases, defining important gaps in knowledge, organizing your background
information, etc. etc. I will provide detailed feedback on the first draft, which is worth nearly as
many points as the final draft, and you will have the opportunity to revise.
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Biol484: Plant Evolution
Final Presentations
The presentations are an opportunity to share your topic with the rest of the class and get
feedback for revising your paper.
Format: 12-15 minutes + 5 minutes for questions
Use Powerpoint. Plan on ~10-18 slides. Resist the impulse to add animations, sound, etc. unless
they substantially and directly address your points (e.g. a video of pollinators may be a good use
of time, a random cartoon is probably not). You can choose “blank presentation” or use a
template with titles etc., but please do not use the fancy backgrounds etc. as they are distracting.
1. Introduce the general question/problem/topic. 1-2 slides.
2. Provide background, summarize other’s research. Describe general patterns, competing
theories, etc. This will probably include several case studies with brief synopses and images
(photos, results). It is OK to copy figures (use photo-select in Adobe) directly from papers as
long as you give credit. This will be the bulk of the presentation: 4-8 slides (go low if wordy)
3. Define the specific question/system for your proposal. This will generally be narrower than the
general topic (not always) and should lead to testable evolutionary hypotheses. 1-2 slides.
4. Describe an experimental study or studies that will allow you to distinguish among your
alternative hypotheses. 1-2 slides.
5. Describe potential outcomes and their interpretation. That is, if you think that X trait
difference between populations is due to local adaptation to Y conditions, show how data
consistent (and not) with that hypothesis would look. 1-2 slides.
6. Conclude / look forward/ describe broader implications. This will depend on your topic, but
it’s nice to reiterate key points and wrap things up somehow. 1 slide.
You do not need a citations slide at the end, but should reference any specific research described
or pictured on the relevant slide, as well as verbally (" so & so, in a 1998 paper, found x y and
z")
Presentations will be graded on both content and structure (Does the line of reasoning make
sense? Is appropriate background presented?), with clarity as the primary criterion.
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