page 1
Biol 310 2015 Syllabus
Welcome to
Animal Physiology – Biol 310 CRN 5204
Course Information and Syllabus
UAF Summer 2015
4 credits
Professor: Michael Harris
Phone: 474-7801
Office: Murie 113C
Email: mbharris@alaska.edu
Office hours: Wednesday
10:30-11:30am
or by appointment!
Find course materials online with Blackboard!
Class meetings:
Lecture: Monday through Thursday: 8:00-9:50 am (Murie 107)
Laboratory (and Recitations): Tuesday AND Thursday: 12:30-4:10 (Murie 309)
Teaching Assistant: TBA
Phone: TBA
Office: TBA
Email: TBA
Office Hours: TBA
Prerequisite courses:
Biol 105X & 106X (Fundamentals of Biology), Chem 105X & 106X (General Chem.)
Texts: see http://www.sinauer.com/animal-physiology.html
Animal Physiology, Third Edition, by Hill, Wyse and Anderson
Casebound: ISBN: 978-0-87893-559-8
Looseleaf (3 hole punched format): ISBN: 978-0-87893-898-8. Carry only the sections you need, and integrate
text with class notes
eBook: ISBN 978-0-87893-879-7 (180-day subscription). eBook reproduces the printed book and includes text
search, highlighting, and note-taking tools.
Note that the Second Edition; loose leaf (2009); or Hardcopy (2008) would be adequate alternatives, although the
page references will be different. It is your responsibility to check that the assignments and material are adequately
covered in any alternative text you select.
The first edition (2004; ISBN-13: 978-0878933150) is a little dated now. Use at your own risk.
Version 03/11/2015 subject to change and revision
Biol 310 2015 Syllabus
page 2
Course Description
This course addresses how animals function in different environments, using examples from vertebrates
(including humans!) and some invertebrates. As a general theme we will examine how animals work,
survive and regulate physiological processes. We will discuss homeostatic mechanisms of respiration,
circulation, thermoregulation, metabolism, locomotion and osmoregulation, in vertebrates with
comparison to selected invertebrates. Emphasis will be on significant transitions in animal evolution,
examples including the transition from ectothermy-to-endothermy, water-to-land, seawater-tofreshwater. The scope of the class may be altered to fit available instructional time.
Philosophy of the Course
The study of animal physiology is a very broad based one. Among its goals are:
1) To describe the diversity of physiological responses in the animal kingdom, and
2) To describe the mechanisms (at the molecular and cellular levels) of physiological
adaptation.
Animal physiology is derived from and contributes to such diverse areas as neurobiology, medicine,
biochemistry, physics, ecology, and evolution. This course is intended as an in-depth
introduction to current processes, mechanisms, models, and analytical skills in animal physiology.
The comparative approach in “Comparative Animal Physiology” is a major theme in this discipline.
What does it mean when we say a discipline is ‘comparative’? The addition of this single word adds
a third, challenging goal:
3) To deduce how and why physiological adaptations evolved.
Obviously, this is difficult because we are relegated to originating and testing hypotheses of
how physiological mechanisms evolved from the analysis of physiological adaptations in modern
animals (physiological processes are not preserved in the fossil record!!). Thus, the comparative
method makes use of the phylogenetic relationships among animals to discover cases of
physiological convergence (where animals in different taxa possess similar adaptations to the same
environment) and physiological divergence (where animals in a taxon possess diverse physiologies
that permit adaptation to different environments.
Course Goals and Methods
This course draws upon lecture, literature, simulation and laboratory exercises to teach physiological
principles and their application. Some in-class group exercises will encourage problem solving and
independent thinking. Several lab sessions will be devoted to recitation, discussions of primary
literature. Students will be introduced to online literature databases. Students should expect to complete
this class with a working grasp of animal physiology and some of the methods used to study it. It is
intended to complement Biol 317 (Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates), and serves as a
prerequisite for Neurobiology, Developmental Biology, Physical Ecology of Overwintering, Animal
Behavior, Vertebrate Endocrinology, and Reproductive Biology. It should serve as good preparation
both for students interested in health-related careers as well as students interested in graduate work in
biology or wildlife related fields.
Version 03/11/2015 subject to change and revision
page 3
Biol 310 2015 Syllabus
Grades:
Assessment
Points ea.
Points total
Quiz (4; progressively cumulative)
100
1) June 1
10 (week 1 material)
2) June 8
20 (week 1 & 2 material)
3) June 15
30 (week 1-3 material)
4) June 22
40 (week 1-4 material)
Cumulative Final Exam July 1
50
50
Lab/Recitation exercises (10)
4
40
Participation
10
TOTAL
200
% of Grade
50 %
25 %
20 %
5%
100%
Final Grade
The class will be graded on a straight percentage basis:
90-100%
A
80-89.9%
B
70-79.9%
C
60-69.9%
D
< 60%
F
This class will not use a plus/minus grading scale. I will not grade on a curve. This means that in
principle it will be possible for everyone to get an A in this course (but of course it will also be possible
for everyone to get an F).
Course Policies
Attendance at lab/recitations is mandatory! Each missed recitation will result in -2 points. Late
assignments will be penalized (1 point per day).
The dates of all exams will be shown on the syllabus. If you anticipate a legitimate conflict, notify the
instructor as soon as possible. Notification does not automatically entitle a student to a rescheduled
assessment, but allows the instructor to consider the request for alternative arrangements. Requests
made within the week of the exam will not be considered. Missed assignments and exams will be
evaluated as 0 points, and make-up exams/assignments will only be granted in the case of serious
unforeseen circumstances (documentation will be required).
Disabilities Services
We welcome students with disabilities and will work with the Office of Disabilities Services (203 WHIT
474-7043) to provide equal access to the course via reasonable accommodations.
Version 03/11/2015 subject to change and revision
page 4
Biol 310 2015 Syllabus
Animal Physiology (BIOL 310)
Summer 2014 Lecture/Lab (subject to change)
date
8:00 – 9:50
12:30 – 4:10
Week 1
5/26
5/27
5/28
L1Intro
L2PhysiologyDiversity
L3 Glycolysis
6/1
6/2
6/3
6/4
Quiz 1 (10pts; 15 min)
L5metabolism
L6 metabolic rate
L7 Allometry
6/8
6/9
6/10
6/11
6/15
6/16
6/17
6/18
6/22
6/23
6/24
6/25
6/29
6/30
7/1
Lab 1 Intro
Lab 2 Breathing
Week 2
L4Metabolism
Lab 3 Blood pressure
Lab 4 ECG
Week 3
Quiz 2 (20pt; 30 min)
L8 Cost of locomotion
L9
Lab 5 Allometry discussion
L10 Gas exchange intro and fish
L11Air breathing fish amphibia ns
Lab 6 Respiratoy airflow and volume
Week 4
Quiz 3 (30pt; 30 min)
L12 breathing birds mammals
L13 Circulation
Lab 7 Exercise
L14 Hemoglobin oxygen
L15 CO2 transport
Lab 8 discuss evolution of CV system
Week 5
Quiz 4 (40pts; 45 min) L16 Cardiovascular system
L17Cardiovascular system
Lab 9 Dive reflex
L18 lymphatics
L19 Tempeature
Lab 10 Spikerbox play
Week 6
L20 Osmoregulation and renal system
L21 Osmoregulation and renal system
Review
Final1 (50pts)
Version 03/11/2015 subject to change and revision