Exploring Biology
BCOR 012, Spring 2007
draft of Oct. 8, 2006
LECTURE
First half (Alison and Cathy)
Genetics: Mendel and The Gene Idea (Chapter 14)
Mendel's Laws of Inheritance – law of segregation, law of independent assortment, relationship
between genotype and phenotype, pedigree analysis and human genetic diseases, tools for
detection of genetic disorders.
The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance (Chapter 15)
Genes and chromosomes: linked genes, sex linked genes, gene mutations that result in human
diseases, the Human Genome Project (not in Chapter 15, but will be discussed here).
The Genetic Basis of Development (Chapter 21)
Basic processes of development, differential gene expression, pattern formation, genetic control
of development in Drosophila.
Descent with Modification (Chapter 22)
Historical context for evolutionary thought, Darwin's theory, The Darwinian Revolution
The Evolution of Populations (Chapter 23)
Linking Darwinian evolution and mendelian inheritance, microevolution – patterns and causes,
genetic variation – the substrate for natural selection
The Origin of Species (Chapter 24)
Species concepts, modes of speciation, reproductive isolation mechanisms, variation in speciation
rates (excluding macroevolution, which will be covered in the second half).
Behavioral Ecology (Chapters 51)
Balancing costs and benefits of behavior, cost and benefits of social behavior, evolution of animal
societies, sociobiology.
Population Ecology (Chapter 52)
Characteristics of populations, population dynamics, patterns of population growth, population
regulation, life histories
Community Ecology (Chapter 53)
Types of ecological interactions, co-evolution of interacting species, temporal changes in
communities.
Conservation Biology (Chapter 55)
The biodiversity crisis, conservation of populations and of species, human population growth.
Second half (Sarah and Dave)
Phylogeny and Systematics (Chapter 25)
The fossil record, taxonomy, classification and systematics (Rationale: treating phylogeny and
systematics here provides a logical bridge to the material in the second half of the course.)
Animal Development (Chapter 47)
Stages of early development, fertilization, cleavage, gastrulation, organogenesis.
Invertebrates (Chapter 33)
Parazoa, Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Ecdysozoa, Deuterostomia.
Vertebrate Evolution and Diversity (Chapter 34)
Chordates, origin of vertebrates, vertebrate diversity
*The Body Defenses (Chapter 43)
Non-specific innate defenses, the immune response, clonal selection, immunological memory,
self vs. non-self, humoral response, cell mediated response.
*Nervous Systems (Chapter 48)
The nature of nerve signals, generating and conducting nerve impulses, synapses, neural
integration, neurotransmitters, vertebrate nervous systems, the brain: embryonic development.
(Will this topic remain on the syllabus?)
*Sensory and Motor Mechanisms (Chapter 49)
Sensory reception, movement, and locomotion.
*Plant Structure and Growth (Chapter 35)
The plant body, its development and growth
*Transport in Plants (Chapter 36)
The ascent of water through the plant body (transpiration) and the movement of photosynthate
(translocation) (Rationale: Moving plant structure and transport permits reproduction to follow
diversity, which makes sense.)
Plant Diversity I: How Plants Colonized Land (Chapter 29)
The origin of land plants, Bryophytes, origins of vascular plants, spore-dispersed vascular plants.
Plant Diversity II: The evolution of Seed Plants (Chapter 30)
Seed plant evolution, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.
Plant Reproduction (Chapter 38)
Sexual and asexual reproduction in plants
*Sarah and Dave will work out which of these topics to include and the order in which to present
them.
LAB
No. TOPIC
1 Transmission
2 genetics
3 Development
4 Population ecology
5
6 Community ecology
7
8
9 Physiology
10 Phylogeny
11
12 Reproductive
Biology
APPROACH
NOTES
Drosophila breeding
C. elegans
comparative
development
Paramecium
interactions
bird and mammal
tallies
Daphnia
manipulations
plant phylogeny
pollination ecology
of flowers
new lab from DSB
recast with new
hypothesis in week
2
still OK to have oral
reports here?
needs recasting
substituted for
current phylogeny
lab
redefine central
message