Faculty Syllabus

Reading and writing proficiency as determined by the COMPASS or ASSET test, or by the statewide THEA test, or by providing an official transcript from another college.

Lecture Exams: There will be four (4) lecture exams, each worth 100 points (see lecture schedule for dates of lecture exams). The overall grade will be calculated average out the 4 lecture exams. 

Required Textbooks and Materials

Biology 1309 Study Guide by Speer et al. A downloadable version is available at http://www.austincc.edu/biology/labmanuals/1309guides213.pdf.  

Instructional Methodology: Lectures will consist of PowerPoint presentations, video viewings, written notes, and  discussions.  I expect students to participate in the discussions by sharing their own knowledge and experiences.

Course schedule

Course-Level: Specific skills and competencies expected of students who complete this course include:

• ability to explain evolutionary relationships among different organisms

• ability to discuss adaptations, using several different examples

• ability to apply biological concepts to new examples

General Education: As a Core Curriculum course, students completing this course will demonstrate competence in:

              • observing phenomena and recording information

              • critical thinking in the analysis, synthesis, evaluation and application of information

Specific learning outcomes:

Science as a Process. Students should be able to: ï‚· Describe the process of scientific inquiry and apply this knowledge to examples. ï‚· Identify the components of a scientific experiment and explain why control groups are used. ï‚· Explain the difference between a hypothesis and a scientific theory. ï‚· Compare what theory means to a scientist vs. a non-scientist. 

Classification and Scientific Nomenclature. Students should be able to: ï‚· Define phylogeny, describe a phylogenetic tree and interpret a phylogenetic tree. ï‚· Explain the purpose of the biological classification system, ï‚· List the categories of the biological classification system in the correct order. ï‚· Describe the parts of a scientific name. ï‚· Describe the biological species concept and apply it to examples. ï‚· Name and describe the organisms in the three domains. ï‚· Compare and contrast prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure at a simple level. ï‚· Describe the endosymbiotic origin of eukaryotic mitochondria and chloroplasts. ï‚· Compare and contrast the major types of eukaryotes: plants, animals, fungi and protists. 

 Evolution—an Introduction. Students should be able to: ï‚· Define evolution. ï‚· Describe the various kinds of evidence for evolution and apply this knowledge to examples. ï‚· Recognize teleological statements and rephrase them to remove the teleology.   

 Darwin and Natural Selection. Students should be able to: ï‚· Discuss the observations of Charles Darwin leading to the theory of natural selection. ï‚· Describe the historical background of the development of evolutionary theory in the 19th century. ï‚· Explain how Charles Darwin used artificial selection, comparative anatomy and embryology to understand and explain evolutionary mechanisms. ï‚· Name and describe the following aspects of natural selection, including applying this knowledge to examples: 

 What the Rocks Say. Students should be able to: ï‚· Describe the processes of fossil formation. ï‚· Explain how relative and absolute dating work in general and apply this knowledge to examples. ï‚· Outline the major events in the evolution of life on earth and briefly describe the evidence for each. ï‚· Describe the evolution of oxygen-producing photosynthesis and its effects on early life forms.  

 First Life. Students should be able to: ï‚· Describe Snowball Earth, the geological evidence, and its importance to the evolution of complex life forms. ï‚· Outline the major events in the early evolution of animals and briefly describe the evidence for each. ï‚· Describe the main features of various animal body plans and their evolutionary significance.  Apply this knowledge to examples. 

 The Tree of Life. Students should be able to: ï‚· Describe tetrapod evolution.  This includes anatomical changes and ecological changes, such as the shift from an aquatic environment to a terrestrial environment. ï‚· Discuss the role of transitional fossils in understanding tetrapod evolution, using examples. ï‚· Describe the amniotic egg and explain its importance in tetrapod evolution. ï‚· Describe the characteristics of mammals. ï‚· Compare monotremes, marsupials and placental mammals, using examples of each. ï‚· Describe the role of Archaeopteryx as a transitional fossil demonstrating the evolution of birds within the reptiles. ï‚· Explain how information from the fossil record and living organisms is used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of a group of organisms. 

 The Ways of Change. Students should be able to: ï‚· Describe the function of DNA in cells. ï‚· Explain the relationships among these terms: DNA, chromosome, gene, protein, allele. ï‚· Explain that all living organisms use DNA in a similar fashion and explain the implications of that for the evolutionary history of life. ï‚· Describe and compare asexual and sexual reproduction. ï‚· Describe the sources of genetic variation in a population, including the differences in the kinds of variations produced by mutations and by recombination. ï‚· Explain the differences between harmful, neutral, and beneficial mutations and their effects on organisms’ fitness. ï‚· Explain what is meant by evolutionary fitness and give examples. ï‚· Explain the following evolutionary mechanisms and give examples: o Genetic drift o Gene flow o Sexual selection. ï‚· Describe and give examples of negative selection, positive selection, stabilizing selection, and balancing selection 

 The History in Our Genes. Students should be able to: ï‚· Describe in general how molecular data are used to construct phylogenetic trees. ï‚· Explain what a molecular clock is and how it is used. 

Adaptations. Students should be able to: ï‚· Describe adaptation and explain the role of natural selection in their evolution. ï‚· Recognize a variety of adaptations and discuss how natural selection could have resulted in the evolution of these features. ï‚· Describe the evolution of a complex adaptation that requires many different parts working together.  Explain the roles of gene duplication and gene recruitment in the evolution of these adaptations.   ï‚· Describe the importance of the “genetic toolkit” (Hox genes) in the evolution of animals. ï‚· Explain the factors that constrain evolution. ï‚· Define convergent evolution and apply this concept to examples. 

The Origin of Species. Students should be able to: ï‚· Explain different species concepts and the usefulness of each. ï‚· Describe various reproductive barriers and their effects on speciation. ï‚· Explain different methods of speciation, using examples. 

 Radiations and Extinctions. Students should be able to: ï‚· Define biogeography. ï‚· Explain the role of vicariance, dispersal and reproductive isolation in determining the distribution of organisms, using examples. ï‚· Define adaptive radiation and extinction.  Describe how these two types of events affect patterns of biodiversity, using examples. ï‚· Describe the Cambrian Explosion and discuss hypotheses for the causes of this adaptive radiation. ï‚· Compare background extinctions and mass extinctions, using examples. ï‚· Explain how humans are currently involved in causing the next mass extinction. 

 Intimate Partnerships. Students should be able to: ï‚· Explain coevolution, using examples. ï‚· Distinguish between positive-negative, positive-neutral, and positivepositive relationships using examples.. ï‚· Explain symbiosis, using examples. ï‚· Explain the concept of a natural arms race, using examples. ï‚· Explain the process of endosymbiosis and its effect on evolutionary history. 

Primate and Hominid Evolution. Students should be able to: ï‚· Describe the characteristics shared by all primates. ï‚· Describe the major groups of primates and their evolutionary relationships. ï‚· Describe the characteristics and evolutionary history of hominids. ï‚· Compare hominids to other primates. ï‚· Describe the general pattern of human evolution. ï‚· Apply evolutionary mechanisms to current human evolution, using examples.