OCB 2003L: Introduction to Marine Biology Laboratory
Fall 2012
Syllabus
Lab website: http://bioserv.fiu.edu/~biolab/labs/2003/index.htm
(Familiarize yourself with the website because it serves as a link to provide information to all
sections of the laboratory)
Head TA (We)
TA (Tu)
Name
e-mail
Office & Hours
Alain Duran adura023@fiu.edu OE 200 Wed 3:00-5:00
Luke Linhoff Jlinh001@fiu.edu
Course Description:
This course provides a selection of laboratory and field investigations for non-Biology
majors. This course meets the University Core Curriculum laboratory requirement in the Life
Sciences; Biology majors should enroll in OCB 3043L Marine Biology and Oceanography
Lab. The laboratory provides a hands-on experience to introduce students to common marine
organisms and their habitats and to the use of experimental methods to study marine biological
problems. Emphasis is placed on the physical environment, the different kinds of marine
organisms --- from bacteria to plants and animals --- and how to classify them. Selected
experiments will illustrate the use of the scientific method as a powerful tool to answer questions
about marine organisms. This laboratory course is designed to be taken concurrently with the
OCB 2003 Introductory Marine Biology lecture. The laboratory may also be taken in a later
semester than the lecture course, but should not be taken prior to OCB 2003.
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes:
● To learn to view the local marine environment and its plants and animals through the eyes of a
biologist, by introducing scientific methods of thinking, observing, and formulating/testing
hypotheses to answer questions about marine organisms.
● To gain hands-on experience with marine organisms and with laboratory and field methods
used to collect and study them.
● To become familiar with local marine habitats, including mangroves, seagrass beds, hard
bottoms, sandy beaches, and coral reefs and to the diversity of marine species that are found
in each habitat.
● To appreciate the environmental challenges of different habitats, the adaptations of the species
that are characteristic of each habitat, and the interactions of these species with other
organisms.
Prerequisites: None
Required Materials:
1. Laboratory and Field Investigations in Marine Life, Dudley et al., 10th edition, Jones and
Bartlett Publishers, 2012. Available in the FIU Bookstore. An earlier edition can be used
but it is the responsibility of the student to ensure they are completing the proper
assignments.
2. Lab coat. Lab coats are required in all biology labs. They can be purchased at the bookstore
or online (no excuses and no admittance without your lab coat after the first week!)
4. Closed toed shoes and long pants are required to attend lab.
5. One inch 3-ring binder with tabs
Reading Assignments: You are required to read each lab assignment before the lab
period. This is essential for you to fully understand the procedures and to be able to complete
the tasks and answer the questions for each assignment. Weekly quizzes will be based on the
assigned readings and the previous lab material.
E-mail Account:
Your TA will e-mail you through your FIU e-mail account only. If you are new to FIU, you will
automatically be assigned an E-mail account. To acquire your user name and password for your
FIU E-mail account, go to http://webmail.fiu.edu and click on “Students: Lookup Student Email
Address/ Password”.
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Grading/Laboratory Policies:
1. Attendance is mandatory and will be taken at the beginning of every class. Students are
required to stay for the entire session, bring a printout of the laboratory tasks for that day
(available on the website), and complete all tasks before leaving. The practical lab experience
is a necessary component of the University Core Curriculum and by their nature; labs cannot
be “made-up” by replacing them with another assignment. Missing labs defeats the purpose
of the laboratory program; two or more unexcused absences will result in an “F” in the
course.
2. IMPORTANT: This lab includes two required half-day field trips on Saturday or Sunday to a
local South Florida marine habitat. Students who cannot attend these weekend field trips
should not enroll. You are responsible for making any necessary adjustments to your weekend
schedule so that you do not miss these field trips. The field trips will start promptly at the
time and date that is listed on the class schedule. If you do not attend, it will be marked as an
absence and you will receive a zero on the quiz for that day. If you have a problem with the
field trip schedule, contact your TA as soon as possible.
* Bring plenty of bottled water and sunscreen for the field trips.
3. Your laboratory workbench must be clean and sterilized, with all instruments put away in their
proper place at the end of class! Failure to do so will cost you 2 percent off your final grade
every time you fail to follow these instructions.
4. Work that is submitted late will be subject to a penalty of 5% off for every day the
assignment is late. After five days, the assignment will not be accepted.
* Late assignments that are turned in to the Biology Department Office (OE 167) must be
logged in by a Biology secretary and stamped with the date and time received.
5. There will be no make-up quizzes or exams. All quizzes and exams will be given at the very
beginning of class. If you are forced to miss an examination due to an emergency, please
contact your TA before the examination via E-mail. You MUST provide official
documentation (doctor's note, accident report, etc.) before any make-up exam will be
considered. * An excused absence from lab can be made up during the same week in
another lab section with the consent of both T.As. Because labs need to be set up and broken
down each week, it is not possible for labs to be made up in a subsequent week. The final
exam will be held BEFORE finals week.
6. There is no extra credit.
7. Beepers and cellular phones must be turned off during the lab period.
8. No food or drinks are allowed in the lab. NO EXCEPTIONS!!
9. Final grades will be based on the grading scale given below. Final grades will not be curved.
A. 90-100 %
B. 80-89 %
C. 70-79 %
D. 60-69 %
F. < 60 %
The grade of F0 (= F zero) will be given to students who both earn a failing grade based on
the total number of points and who fail to complete at least 60% of the course
requirements. The grade of IN (= Incomplete) will only be given in cases where unusual
circumstances occur after the Drop date, at least half of the course work has been completed,
and the student is passing the course at the time he/she could no longer attend. Professional
documentation, including an address and telephone number for verification purposes, must
show that it is impossible for the student to complete the course due to factors not under
his/her control (accident, severe illness, death in immediate family, etc.) The student then has
two terms in which to complete the course. Should the student not complete the course within
two terms, the grade will automatically default to an F.
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Grading Basis:
 Quizzes - 30 %
 Participation - 10%
 Practical Examinations - 30%
 Literature review 10 %
 Presentation – 10 %
 Notebook - 10%
Quizzes (30 %)
There will be a quiz every week worth 10 points at the beginning of each class or field trip on
the material from the previous and current lab. You will be expected to recall major concepts
discussed from the previous lab. You will also be expected to answer questions regarding the
background information in the introduction of the current lab and all bold-face words throughout
the text of the current lab. There will be 10 quizzes. Your lowest quiz score will be dropped and
only the best 9 scores from the 10 quizzes will be counted. If you are late, you will miss the quiz
and receive a zero. There will be no make-up quizzes
Participation (10 %)
You must be present, prepared, active, and engaged in all activities and discussions at every lab
and field trip to earn full participation credit.
Practical Examinations (15 % + 15 %)
Two lab practical exams will be given (15% midterm and 15% final) on the dates given in the
class schedule. Each exam will consist of 50 questions and is worth a total of 100 points. The
midterm exam is on material from the first half of the semester and the final is ONLY on
material after the midterm (not cumulative). The purpose of these exams is to test students on
the experiments, dissections, and procedures done in the laboratory. Students must be on time or
they will not be allowed in to take the exam.
Literature review (10 %)
Your T.A. will provide a scientific article related with marine sciences for your lab team to
summarize. Each mini-deadline (Part I, II & III) will be worth _2_pts with the final paper
combining all parts due at the end of the term and worth _4_pts. All assignments must be wordprocessed, with proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. Guidelines for structuring the final
report are provided in the Literature Review Grading Rubric. This rubric should be printed and
attached to the final report when submitted at the end of the semester. Use the rubric as a
checklist to ensure you have properly formatted the review. Writing assistance is available
through FIU’s Writing Center. It will be one ne paper per lab team.
Presentations (10 %)
This topic will be presented in front of the class by each group (all members need to talk). It is
10 minutes presentations and 10 minutes of questions/discussion. Each group must check the
presentation rubric to know how it will be evaluated.
Notebook (10 %)
Students will be required to keep a notebook designated for the Marine Biology Lab. Notebooks
will be checked at midterm and at the final as listed on the schedule. The notebook will consist
of a three-ring binder which will first include print-outs of the laboratory syllabus, lab safety
rules, microscope rules, and the information about plagiarism. Following this, in chronological
order, you should include: notes from each laboratory exercise, quizzes, and lab reports. Your
name, course title, and section number will be written on the outside front cover of your
notebook. Failure to follow the exact guidelines may result in a lower notebook grade. You must
include detailed/labeled drawings from observations and dissections.
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Personal conduct, academic integrity, religious holidays, accommodations for students with
disabilities:
The University’s Code of Academic Integrity (see FIU Student Handbook) was adopted by your
representatives, the Student Government Association. In accordance with the Code, students are
expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct that demonstrates respect for themselves,
their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. This includes not engaging
in disruptive behavior. Through your representatives you have pledged: to be honest in your
academic endeavors; not to represent someone else’s work as your own; not to cheat, nor to aid
in another’s cheating. Students caught cheating or committing plagiarism will receive a zero for
that assignment; students caught cheating a second time will receive an F in the
course. Disruptive behavior and cheating will be subject to academic misconduct procedures and
sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook. There are no lab practicals scheduled on
religious holidays, but any missed work is the student’s responsibility, and students should notify
their TA of any absences due to religious observance. Students with disabilities should contact
the Disability Resource Center (tel 305-348-3532, TTY/TDD 305-348-3852) and notify their TA
of the need for any special accommodations. The Student Handbook also includes the
University policy on sexual harassment.
Drop & Add Policy:
If you need to add or drop this laboratory section for any reason, or change laboratory sections,
make sure you do so at the Registrar's Office (PC 130). Please note that the last day to drop the
laboratory, with a DR grade, is Friday, October 15, 2010.
***Syllabus Subject To Change***