Salt Lake Community College - Biology Department
BIOL1075 (BS): Marine Biology Lab
Spring Semester 2014
Instructor: Assistant Professor - Melissa Tillack
E-mail: mtillack@bruinmail.slcc.edu
Office: Jordan Campus – HTC209V
Consultation Hours:
MW3:45 – 4:45 pm, TR 3:45-4:45 pm
Required Course Materials:
Textbook: Introduction to the Biology of Marine Life by John F. Morrissey and James L. Sumich, 10th edition
Course Description:
Coreq: BIOL 1070. Students will study marine plants, plankton, invertebrates and vertebrates. One laboratory
session per week.
GENERAL POLICIES
Attendance: Attendance at one of the first two class meetings is MANDATORY! If you do NOT attend at least the
lab the first week, YOU RISK BEING DROPPED from the course by the end of the day on January 18.
Attendance will be taken regularly. Attendance will constitute 10% of your lab grade for this course, which
could change your grade a full grade.
Americans with Disabilities Act: Students with medical, psychological, learning or other disabilities desiring
accommodations or services under ADA, must contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC
determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of these accommodations and services for the college."
Please contact the DRC at the Student Center, Suite 244, Redwood Campus, 4600 So. Redwood Rd, 84123.
Phone: (801) 957-4659, TTY: 957-4646, Fax: 957- 4947 or by email: linda.bennett@slcc.edu"
Make-up Labs etc.: Students are permitted to make-up one lab but only during the week that the specific lab is
being conducted. Make up quizzes will NOT be given, no late exams given for any reason.
Academic Dishonesty: Absolutely NOT tolerated and includes all forms of cheating and plagiarism as outlined in
the Student Code. Penalty for first offense will be expulsion from the course and an “E” for the course grade.
Incomplete Grade and Withdraw from Class: A grade of “I” (Incomplete) is the instructor’s option and is not
given except only in the most extenuating of circumstances for which there is verifiable written documentation.
In order to receive an incomplete, nearly all course work must have been completed (e.g. ~75%) with a passing
grade. Last day to withdraw from class with refund is February 3, without refund is March 24. It is the
responsibility of the student to drop/withdraw from this class, not the instructors.
Electronic Devices: Cell Phones, pagers are to be turned off during class. Computers can be used for notetaking and course-related purposes ONLY but should not be used during class for working on other tasks (e.g.
answer emails, Facebook, other classes etc.). You will be asked to leave if your electronic device disrupts the
class in anyway. Cell phones MUST be turned completely OFF during quizzes and exams.
Classroom recordings: Students may not record or publish information from the class without written
authorization from the instructor. If used without authorization you have violated Privacy/Intellectual Property
Rights.
Student Code of Conduct: The student is expected to follow the SLCC Student Code of Conduct found at
http://www.slcc.edu/policies/docs/Student_Code_of_Conduct.pdf
EVALUATION/GRADING
Laboratory performance will be assessed on the basis of lab participation, lab quizzes, and a laboratory writing
assignment. The laboratory score constitutes twenty percent (20%) of the student’s final BIOL1070 grade.
Students are expected to attend and participate in laboratory each week. Students should read the lab materials
prior to lab so as to use their limited time in lab to full advantage. Laboratory methodologies will vary from
week to week, depending upon the nature of the laboratory exercise, but will include both individual and
collaborative efforts. The laboratory includes both quantitative and qualitative exercises.
Summary of Lab Grading:
Item
Points
Attendance
20
Participation
24
Quizzes
38
Evaluations
10
Drawings
8
Presentation
95
e-portfolio
5
TOTAL
200
Lab Presentation: Part of lab grade will come from a presentation that will be given during lab, at the end of the
semester. 47.5% of your lab grade for this course will come from the presentation. This is your capstone project
during the semester. You will give a talk on a marine organism. This talk will describe the scientific information
known about a particular species, including such things as the ecosystem it lives in, the role of the organism in
that ecosystem, its life span and life history, feeding behavior, survival, human impact on this organism, etc.
Include findings from at least one scientific article about the organism – list your sources.
Quizzes: We will take quizzes covering labs, they will constitute 19% of your lab grade for this course. Quizzes
consist of multiple choice, fill in the blank, true/false questions, and labelling. You need to bring a pencil and a
good eraser, and your Student ID.
Attendance: Attendance will constitute 10% of your lab grade for this course, which could change your grade a
full grade.
Lab Drawings: Several labs include drawing and labeling specimens, these drawing assignments constitute 4%
of your lab grade for this course. Turn drawings in by the due date.
Evaluations: you will complete evaluations of student presentations; these evaluations will be worth 5% of your
lab grade for this course.
Participation: This grade involves participating in class activities and discussions. It also involves
professionalism in the classroom: treating the professor and fellow students with respect at all times.
Participation constitutes 12% of your lab grade for this course.
E-portfolio: Your student presentation is your capstone project in class, and will be used as your e-portfolio
assignment for this class. Posting your e-portfolio assignment on you e-portfolio website is worth 2.5% of your
lab grade.
General Education Statement:
This course fulfills the Biological Sciences requirement for the General Education Program at Salt Lake Community College. It is designed
not only to teach the information and skills required by the discipline, but also to develop vital workplace skills and to teach strategies
and skills that can be used for life-long learning. General Education courses teach basic skills as well as broaden a student’s knowledge of
a wide range of subjects. Education is much more than the acquisition of facts; it is being able to use information in meaningful ways in
order to enrich one’s life. While the subject of each course is important and useful, we become truly educated through making
connections of such varied information with the different methods of organizing human experience that are practiced by different
disciplines. Therefore, this course, when combined with other General Education courses, will enable you to develop broader
perspectives and deeper understandings of your community and the world, as well as challenge previously held assumptions about the
world and its inhabitants.
ePortfolio Statement:
Each student in General Education courses at SLCC will maintain a General Education ePortfolio. Instructors in every Gen Ed course will
ask you to put at least one assignment from the course into your ePortfolio, and accompany it with reflective writing. It is a requirement
in this class for you to add to your ePortfolio. Your ePortfolio will allow you to include your educational goals, describe your
extracurricular activities, and post your resume. When you finish your time at SLCC, your ePortfolio will then be a multi-media showcase
of your educational experience. For detailed information including a Student ePortfolio Handbook, video tutorials for each ePortfolio
platform, classes, locations and times of free workshops and other in-person help, visit www.slcc.edu/gened/eportfolio.
COLLEGE-WIDE LEARNING OUTCOMES
The Core Themes of SLCC’s Mission focuses on Access and Success, Transfer Education, Workforce Education
and Community Engagement. As such, all courses and programs address one or more of the below CollegeWide Learning Outcomes. Upon successful completion of any program at SLCC, students should:
 Acquire substantive knowledge in the discipline of their choice sufficient for further study, and/or
demonstrate competencies required by employers to be hired and succeed in the workplace.
 Communicate effectively.
 Develop quantitative literacies necessary for their chosen field of study.
 Think Critically.

Develop the knowledge and skills to be civically engaged, and/or to work with others in a professional
and constructive manner.
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
In order to full-fill the goals of the College-wide Learning Outcomes, the following course learning outcomes
have been established for this course. Upon completion of this course a person educated in General Marine
Biology Lab should be able to demonstrate a general understanding of the following essential learning
outcomes:
Students will be introduced to and participate in hands-on activities that will assist them in understanding the
major themes of marine biology. These themes include:
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The principles and applications of the scientific method.
Basic microscopy.
Structure, function, and development at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels.
Describing marine organisms as functioning (whole) organisms.
Evolution and the diversity of life.
Photosynthesis in the ocean.
The interrelationships of living organisms.
Marine environments discussed at the ecosystem level, interrelationships of living organisms.
LABORATORY SCHEDULE
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Lab
Lab 1: Introduction to Labs and Assignment Description
No Lab – MLK Holiday
Lab 2: Creating your Presentation
Lab 3: Invertebrates I
Lab 4: Discuss Scientific Article
Lab 5: Invertebrates II
No Lab – Presidents Holiday
Lab 6: Vertebrates
No Lab – Midterm Exam
Lab 7: Algae
No Lab – Spring Break
Lab 8, 9: Living Planet Aquarium Field Trip
Lab 10: Silent Ocean Seminar
No lab – Midterm Exams
Lab 11, 12: Student Presentations