INTRODUCTION TO ZOOGEOGRAPHY
Zoology 370
Fall 2009
Lecture: T & Th 12:40-2:00 pm
Location: 204 Natural Science
3 credits
Prerequisites: ZOL 355
INSTRUCTOR: Catherine Lindell, Associate Professor, Zoology/Center for Global Change
and Earth Observations.
OFFICE: 278 Giltner, 884-1241 or 353-9874, lindellc@msu.edu. If you have questions that
require short answers, feel free to use email. However, if you have a detailed question, please
talk with me, either in person or on the phone. I am happy to make appointments to talk with
you if you are not available after lecture or during my office hours (Thursdays 2:15-3:15 pm).
LECTURE ASSISTANT: Maura Redding, reddin12@msu.edu. Maura’s phone number is
(708) 305-1430. Maura will hold office hours from 11:30-12:30 pm on Mondays in the
Cybercafe in the main library.
COURSE WEB ADDRESS: http://www.msu.edu/course/zol/370/lindell
I will try to put my lecture outline in this folder about a day before the lecture. I can't promise
this will always happen but it should most of the time. Please do not think it is o.k. to skip class
because the lecture outlines are on the web. The outlines include major points but not all the
details I go over in lecture. The best strategy is to print the outlines and come to class with
them. If you miss class, you will miss discussion of the material and exercises meant to help you
learn the material.
REQUIRED TEXTS: Biogeography: Space, time and life by Glen M. MacDonald. Available
at MSU Bookstore.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: In this course we study the past and current geographical
distributions of animals and the ecological and historical processes leading to these distributions.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of the course students should be able to:
1. describe the types of questions the field of zoogeography investigates;
2. describe several of the processes through which zoogeographers try to answer these
questions, and develop methods for trying to answer any particular question;
3. explain several important concepts/events (e.g. plate tectonics, dispersal, the Great American
Interchange) that are important in understanding the present distribution of numerous animal
groups;
4. describe hypotheses that explain the present distributions of several specific animal species;
5. describe several important geographical patterns of community diversity;
6. gain experience with several software programs/geographic databases in laboratory sessions;
7. find references through electronic databases available through the MSU library web site;
8. make an oral presentation and write a short paper on a focused question in the field of
zoogeography.
COMPUTATION OF GRADES
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Quizzes (10 points each)
Oral presentation
Paper
Computer Labs (15 points each)
Attendance in lecture
Total
80
120
60
50
100
45
45
500
EXAMS AND QUIZZES
Exam and quiz dates are indicated in the course schedule. Exams will have multiple-choice,
short answer, and several essay questions. The exams will cover material presented in lecture,
and material from the readings and videos that I will point out to you as particularly important.
The final exam will be based on material presented after the midterm but you must be familiar
with the important concepts presented from the first part of the course as well. Your grade will
be assigned based on your point total for the whole course and the distribution of grades of the
whole class.
MAKE-UP EXAMS will be allowed only in the case of medical necessity (doctor’s note
required) or other emergency to be discussed with the instructor in advance if possible.
LATE ASSIGNMENTS will automatically lose 25% of the points available for that assignment
and must be turned in the next class. For example, a paper that is worth 25 point would only be
worth a maximum of 18.75 points if the assignment is turned in one day late. Assignments not
completed by one class after the deadline will not be accepted and you will receive no points.
The ORAL PRESENTATION and SHORT PAPER will be on the same topic and will be
discussed more fully in class. It is extremely important that you adhere to deadlines with these
assignments because the class schedule depends on your being ready to make your presentation.
ATTENDANCE
You are expected to attend all lectures. Attendance will be taken on all days on which there are
student presentations and two to four other lectures over the course of the term. You will be
responsible for all lecture notes and handouts, all reading assignments, and all announcements of
schedule changes, whether you are in class or not. Attendance is also required in the computer
labs and your completed work must be checked off before the end of the class for you to receive
full credit.
HOMEWORK
At the end of each lecture I will hand out a sheet with one to several questions that relate to that
day’s lecture and the readings, and which are the types of questions that might show up on
exams. I encourage you to do this homework, even though it will not be graded. The next class,
I will go over the answers to the homework questions. This is an excellent way to stay on top of
the material.
VIDEOS will only be shown during the class times below so it is important that you attend those
classes.
All ASSIGNMENTS are due at the beginning of class.
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have
emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the
building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
If there is a conflict between your observance of a religious holiday and a class requirement,
please let me know at least one week ahead of time.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY
Please see the following website for MSU regulations, ordinances, and policies regarding
academic honesty and integrity: https://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/RegsOrdsPolicies.html. If I
discover that any work you produce for this class, e.g. exams, quizzes, written or oral
presentations, violates the policies on this website you will receive no points for that component
of the course.
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
Please be considerate of other students and me during class. Please do not eat, read the
newspaper, check email, or carry on conversations unrelated to class. Also, please do not start to
pack up your materials before I have dismissed the class.
EMAIL ETIQUETTE
If you email me, please start your email by addressing me as Dr. Lindell or Professor Lindell,
rather than launching into your message with no greeting. This is a good policy to follow in any
email correspondence with professors, supervisors, etc.
READING ASSIGNMENTS
You should complete the reading by the date indicated below.
EXTRA HAND-OUTS will be available from the lecture assistant.
HONORS OPTION—Students interested in an honors option will write an additional paper.
You must talk with me during the first two weeks of class if you are interested in this option.
LECTURE SCHEDULE, READING AND OTHER ASSIGNMENTS IN MACDONALD-THIS SCHEDULE IS TENTATIVE BUT I WILL LET YOU KNOW OF ANY CHANGES
IN ADVANCE OF THE DATE.
Date
Sept. 3
Sept. 8
Sept. 10
Reading/assignment
Chapters 1, Chapter 2 (pages
9-15), Chapter 9 (pages 262279)
Chapter 2 (pages 15-16),
Chapter 3 (pages 48-60 and
68-73), Chapter 4
Chapter 10, Chapter 13 (pages
377-385)
Sept. 15
Sept. 17
Chapter 2 (pages 22-41),
Chapter 5
Sept. 22
Sept. 24
Meet in 521 Baker
Sept. 29
Oct. 1
Chapter 7 (pages 191-205)
Chapter 8 (pages 227-252),
Chapter 13 (pages 386-393)
Oct. 6
Oct. 8
Midterm Exam
Oct. 13
Oct. 15
Oct. 20
Meet in 521 Baker
Chapter 13 (pages 394-404)
Oct. 22
Oct. 27
Oct. 29
Nov. 3
Page 205
No class
Lecture topics, exams and
quizzes, and presentations
Introduction to zoogeography,
Review of evolutionary
principles
Review of ecological
principles
Sampling, Zoogeographic
regions, Range maps
Quiz 1--major land masses
Avian biogeography
Physical patterns on the
earth’s surface
Coral reef biogeography,
Video—Treasures of the Great
Barrier Reef
Species richness estimates
laboratory
Quiz 2--major water bodies
Geological time scale, plate
tectonics
Dispersal; also endemic and
cosmopolitan species
Quiz 3--geological time scale
Video—Ancient Creature of
the Deep
Fossil proboscideans of
Michigan laboratory
Student presentations
Quiz 4—rivers
Methodologies
Student presentations
Hawaiian biogeography
Student presentations
Island biogeography and
Nov. 5
Chapter 14 (pages 428-447)
Nov. 10
Nov. 12
Nov. 17
Meet in 521 Baker
Nov. 19
Nov. 24
Chapter 7 (pages 205-224)
Chapter 9 (pages 287-296)
Chapter 12 (pages 362-372)
Dec. 1
Dec. 3
Dec. 8
Dec. 10
Dec. 15
Chapter 8 (pages 252-259),
Chapter 11
island biotas
Quiz 5—mountains, Video—
Worlds Apart
Student presentations
Breeding bird survey
laboratory
Video—Alien from Earth
Glaciation, Pleistocene and
other extinctions, Great
American Interchange
Student presentations
Quiz 6--other physical
features, Restoration Ecology
Student presentations
Primate and human
biogeography, Species
invasions and biotic
homogenization
Final Exam 12:45-2:45 pm
in Nat. Sci. 204