BIOLOGY II (182): PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY II
Spring / 2012
Text: Life by Sadava, Hillis, Heller, Berenbaum, 9th edition, 2011
Instructors: John Kirn, 409 Shanklin Hall (X3494; jrkirn@wesleyan.edu), office hrs: T:3-4pm and by
appointment.
Fred Cohan, 207 Shanklin Hall (X3482; fcohan@wesleyan.edu), office hrs: Fridays 2-3 in 314
Shanklin (weekly review sessions), Wednesdays 11-12 in Pi Café (weekly group office hour), and by
appointment.
Fourth Hour Review Sessions: Fridays from 2-3pm in Exley 139
Goals of the course: In the first half of this course, we will examine physiological challenges that all animals
face and, in a comparative context, learn how different species have developed different strategies to solve these
problems according to their environmental and physiological needs. These challenges/questions will be
addressed in the following sequence. How do animals accomplish gas exchange (in with the good air, out with
the bad)? How are nutrients and oxygen distributed to all cells and how are wastes disposed of? Metabolic
reactions are temperature dependent, so what strategies do animals employ to constrain the upper and lower
limits of body temperature? How do animals behave to meet these challenges, and how are their nervous and
endocrine systems designed to control behavior? The final problem we will explore during the first half
semester is how the anatomical, physiological and behavioral characteristics previously discussed arise during
development.
In the second half of the course (starting right after Spring break), we will focus on the evolution and ecology of
organisms. Beginning with an overview of evolved diversity, we will examine the major forces of both
adaptive and random evolutionary change in natural populations, and consider how those forces interact in real
world scenarios. At a higher level, we will address the question, “How do new species originate?”, and look at
the big-picture adaptive diversification of our own evolutionary branch, the Vertebrates. We will also study
populations from an ecological perspective, studying how species interact with each other (as competitors,
predators, and mutualists) and with their abiotic environments. The course will end with an overview of major
issues in biodiversity conservation.
Laboratory: Biol/MBB 192, the laboratory associated with Biol/MBB 182, taught by Dr. Michelle Murolo, is a
very important part of the course. The lab (192) and the course (182) have separate enrollment and separate
grading, but both address the same principles. The hands-on, real organism experience afforded by the labs will
add to your understanding of the same material you are learning in lectures and readings. Where possible, we
have designed the syllabus so that lab topics coincide with topics covered in 182 lectures.
Recommendations, Requirements & Policies
Exams. There will be four exams. All will be closed book. There will be concepts to explain, problems to solve,
and short essay questions. Exams will focus on material discussed in class. Some of this material will not be
covered in the text so COME TO CLASS. The readings are very comprehensive and, in some cases, an entire
semester could be devoted to a single chapter. We encourage you to read all assigned chapters. However,
where possible, we have indicated specific pages that should be higher priority as they are most relevant for the
topics covered in lectures. An extremely helpful guide to taking notes, preparing for exams, and a bank of
practice exam questions can be found at http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire9e. We will also post
examples of questions from previous exams. Please also take full advantage of office hours—don’t be shy,
remember you’re paying for this! All exams will be on Wednesday evenings from 7-9pm in Exley 150. These
will be 1-hour exams, but you will have 2 hours to take each one. There will be review sessions the evening
before exams. Although each exam focuses on the most recent material, the course builds on what you have
already learned. Therefore, you should have a good understanding of previous material in this course. Go over
the answer key after each exam, and review any sections you have not mastered. If you cannot take an exam for
extenuating circumstances, you must talk with your instructor -- if ill, we will need a doctor's note. Any other
reasons will need a note of explanation signed by the Dean's Office.
Regrade Policy: If you think an error has been made in grading or scoring your exam, you may submit your
exam, with written explanation of the error you think was made, to the instructors within seven days of the date
it was returned in class. Exams written in pencil cannot be regraded. Before submitting an exam for regrading,
look to see whether there were also cases where we might have been a bit too generous in assigning points
(highly unlikely as this may be!). We strive for accuracy in grading, but believe that if there are errors, in many
cases they are just as likely to result in over- rather than under-estimation of your correct grade. Therefore, we
reserve the right to regrade returned exams in their entirety.
Syllabus For First Half of Semester
Lecture
Dates
Topic
Text Reading (Chapt.)
1
1/27
Introduction and overview
2-3
1/30-2/1
Ventilation/Gas Exchange
How it’s done
Strategies for maximizing gas exchange
49
4-5
2/3-2/6
Internal Transport & Circulatory Systems
Meeting the needs of all cells/tissues
Pumps, valves and neuro-endocrine control
50
6-7
2/8-2/10
40
8
2/13
9
2/15
The concept of Homeostasis & Thermoregulation
Maintaining constancy
Buffering mechanisms for responding to internal
and external change
Osmoregulation
Water & ion balance, nitrogenous waste removal
How strategies vary with the environment
Osmoregulation
The Kidney
52 (1091-8)
52 (1098-1109)
EXAM 1 – 2/15, 7-9 p.m., (150 SC)
(lectures 1-8 and corresponding readings)
10-11
2/17-2/20
Behavior: The major output of neural
and endocrine systems
53:(1113-1122)
12-13
2/22-2/24
Membrane Excitation &Synaptic Transmission
Electrochemical gradients, membrane channels
and cell-cell communication
14-15
2/27-2/29
Sensory Systems: Sensory Transduction
& Integration
16-17
3/2-3/5
Endocrinology: Hormone Actions,
Neuroendocrine Interactions
18-19*
3/7-3/9
Development
45
47:(985-998)
41 and
53:(1119-1120)
TBA
EXAM 2 - 3/7, 7-9 p.m. (150 SC)
(lectures 9-17 and corresponding readings)
*SPRING BREAK*
*Material presented in lectures #18-19 (3/7-9) will be covered on exam 3 AFTER SPRING BREAK
SYLLABUS FOR ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
SECOND HALF OF BIOLOGY/MB&B 182—SPRING 2012
Date
Subject
Reading
Mon. Mar.
26
1. The tree of life
Ch. 22 (“Reconstructing
and Using
Phylogenies”)
Wed. Mar.
28
2. Ecology and evolution in a
fundamentally bacterial world
Guest lecturer: Sarah Kopac
Ch. 10: Intro, 10.1-10.2
(“Photosynthesis:
Energy from Sunlight”);
Ch. 26: Intro, 26.1-26.2,
26.4 (“Bacteria and
Archaea: The
Prokaryotic Domains”);
Ch. 27: Intro, 27.1-27.2
(“The Origin and
Diversification of the
Eukaryotes; Ch. 58
(“Ecosystems and
Global Ecology”)
Fri. Mar. 30
3. Evidence for evolution
Ch. 25 (“The History of
Life on Earth”)
Mon. Apr. 2
4. Major transitions in evolution
Section 33.3 (“What
new features evolved in
the chordates?”); 33.4
(“How did vertebrates
colonize the land?”)
Wed. Apr. 4
5. The developmental basis of
major transitions in shape and
form
Guest lecturer: Prof. Ann Burke
Ch. 20 (“Development
and Evolutionary
Change”)
Fri. Apr. 6
6. Natural selection
Ch. 21 (“Evidence and
Mechanisms of
Evolution”)
Mon. Apr. 9
7. Genetic basis of evolutionary
change: Hardy-Weinberg
Section 21.1 (“What
facts form the basis of
our understanding of
evolution?”)
Wed. Apr.
11
8. Genetic basis of evolutionary
Ch. 21: 21.2-21.3
change: selection and genetic drift (“What are the
mechanisms of
evolutionary change?”
and “How does natural
selection result in
evolution?”
Fri. Apr. 13
9. Genetic basis of evolutionary
change: mutation and migration;
Phylogenetic tests of natural
selection and adaptation
Ch. 22 (continued)
Mon. Apr.
16
10. The neutral theory of
molecular evolution
Ch. 24: Intro, 24.1-24.2
(“The Evolution of
Genes and Genomes”)
Review session for Third Exam—Tuesday, April 17, from 8–10 PM,
Shanklin 107
Third Midterm Exam—Wednesday, April 18 at 7:00 PM, in Exley 150
(covering lectures 1-10, plus the last two lectures before spring break)
Wed. Apr.
18
11. Adaptive evolution at the
molecular level
Ch. 24: 24.3-24.4 (“The
Evolution of Genes and
Genomes”)
Fri. Apr. 20
12. Identifying the genes
responsible for adaptive evolution
Ch. 17: Intro, 17.1-17.2
(“Genomes”); Ch. 18:
pp. 395-396 (“DNA
microarrays can reveal
RNA expression
patterns”)
Mon. Apr.
23
13. Species—what are their
properties, and how do new
species form? I.
Ch. 23: Intro, 23.1-23.3
(“Species and Their
Formation”)
Wed. Apr.
25
14. Species II.
Fri. Apr. 27
15. Adaptive radiation
Ch. 23: 23.4 (“Species
and Their Formation”)
Human Embodiment of Species and Speciation,
With the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
Beckham Hall, Mon. Apr. 30, 1:10-2:30 PM
(limited to 30 students)
Mon. Apr.
30
16. Why are species found where
they are?
Ch. 54 (“Ecology and
the Distribution of
Life”)
Wed. May 2
17. Limits to population growth
Ch. 55 (“Population
Ecology”)
Fri. May 4
18. Competition and predation— Ch. 57 (“Community
effects on species diversity; how is Ecology”)
life’s diversity maintained?
Extra Review Session for Fourth Exam
Sunday, May 6—7:30-8:30 PM—Fauver Lounge
Mon. May 7
19. Ecology and evolution of
global change
Wed. May 9
20. The origins of ecological
diversity in the bacterial world
Ch. 59 (“Conservation
Biology”)
Sections 26.3, 17.117.2. Background:
Cohan 2011; Kopac and
Cohan 2011.
Review session for Fourth Exam—Monday, May 14, 8-10 PM, in Exley
150
Fourth Exam— Tuesday, May 15, 9-11 AM, in Exley 150
(covering lectures 11-20)
_____________________________
Textbook: D. Sadava, D. M. Hillis, H. C. Heller, and M. R. Berenbaum. 2011. Life: The
Science of Biology (9th ed.). Sinauer Associates. Inside the parentheses are the chapter and
section titles from the 9th edition. If you are using an earlier edition, these chapter titles can
help you locate the required readings, although the information in the earlier editions might be
outdated or incomplete.
Professor Fred Cohan
Office: ext. 3482, Shanklin 207
E-mail: fcohan@wesleyan.edu
Office hours: Fridays 2-3 in 314 Shanklin (weekly review sessions), Wednesdays 11-12
in Pi Café (weekly group office hour), and by appointment.
May 1, 2012