| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
|
|
|
|
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| TEACHING |
 |
 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Classes taught at Franklin & Marshall College: Bio 336 Evolution. Offered every other Fall semester. Course Description: As the unifying principle of biology, evolution integrates genetics, molecular biology, physiology, development, behavior, and ecology. This course will cover the processes responsible for the changes in living things over time with a focus on evidence for the shared evolutionary history of all living things. Issues range from the generation of new forms and new lineages; extinction; natural selection and adaptation, an assessment of genetics, genomics, and the molecular basis of evolution; evolutionary developmental biology; sexual selection; life history and behavioral evolution and the history of evolutionary thought. Prerequisites: Bio 110 and permission of instructor. A course in statistics highly recommended. In the lab there are three major modules: (1) Correlated evolution and heritability in Wisconsin Fast Plants (Brassica rapa). The outcome of your experiment will be prepared and presented in a poster session. (2) A field study on phenotypic variation in the wild. For this project, you will design, conduct, analyze and write-up your study. Your report will be the form of a scientific paper and will be submitted to the inaugural version of the newly started Journal of Lancaster Field Studies (editor-in-chief: me). (3) An self-designed and conducted investigation of the evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This project will involve significant time outside of lab times collecting, processing and measuring your samples from the “field” and will culminate in a formal research presentation to the class and other members of the Biology/BFB community. Bio 373 Behavioral Ecology. Offered every other Fall semester. Course description: Behavioral ecology is the study of the fitness consequences of animal behavior from an explicitly ecological and evolutionary perspective, with particular attention to the study of adaptation, sexual selection, evolutionary tradeoffs and constraints, and life histories. This is an integrative discipline that synthesizes ecology, evolution, and physiology into the study of the origin and persistence of behaviors. We will examine the interplay between proximate control and ultimate consequences of behavior. Course materials will focus heavily on primary peer-reviewed literature and will include discussions, presentations and independent research. Prerequisites: Bio 110 and permission of instructor. A course in statistics highly recommended. The course will include two independent research projects: (1) Dominance interactions among individually color-marked birds on campus. You will design and conduct a manipulative experiment that will be prepared for publication in The Journal of Lancaser Field Studies. (2) Independent field or laboratory project. Captive zebra finches andcrickets will be available as possible study organisms. This project will involve significant time outside of lab times collecting data and will culminate in a formal research presentation to the class and other members of the Biology/BFB community. Bio 110 Principles of Evolution, Ecology, and Heredity. Offered every Spring semester. Course description: Evolution and ecology are interesting and important topics that have widespread implications for humans and their everyday lives. In this course, students use both theory and case studies to examine fundamental evolutionary and ecological principles. Specifically, students: (1) Learn the principles of Mendelian inheritance and how they relate to heredity and the evolution of sexaul reproduction, (2) Investigate the process of natural selection, beginning with Darwin's theory of evolution, (3) Survey the origin and evolutionary history of life on earth, (4) Examine the ecological processes that influence populations, communities, and ecosystems. The laboratory teaches experimental design as well as reinforcing lecture concepts. Tropical Field Biology. Anticipated for offer in Spring 2009. Course description: A field study of the biology of tropical rain forests adn coral reefs. Course will have three parts: (1) pre-trip lectures on the ecological, evolutionary and evironmental forces that underlie rain forest and coral reef biology. (2) An extended spring break trip to Belize composed of group and independent field projects. (3) Data analysis and interpretation culminating in a college-wide symposium. |