Ecology, Genetics and Evolution

BIOLOGY 121 - Sections 222 - Term 2 - W2012 Irving K Barber Learning Centre Rm. 182

Tues / Thurs 8:00 – 9:30

Dr. Brett Couch bcouch@mail.ubc.ca

604-822-9650 Office: BioSci 1023 Office Hours: To Be Announced or e-mail me to make an appointment. Teaching Assistant: Marc Delepine delepine@zoology.ubc.ca Peer Tutor: Monika Gunadasa monika.g@shaw.ca

Skill Development Objectives In order to successfully complete BIOL 121, you will be able to demonstrate proficiency in four main skills: Understanding of the scientific process

Given a suitable description of an experiment, you should be able to: identify the hypothesis or question being addressed in an experiment; identify and describe the experiment’s design; predict the possible outcomes of the experiment; recognize and describe the observed results; identify the conclusion(s); evaluate theories as scientific theories based on criteria such as methodology and testability.

Communication skills

You should be able to construct a logical and clearly expressed argument supporting a statement.

Study skills

You should be able to make effective use of textbooks (including the table of contents, glossary, end-of-chapter summaries, figures and diagrams, and study questions), effectively take notes in lecture and effectively summarize exam notes to produce exam notes.

Societal context of science

You should be able to identify scientific issues relevant to societal problems, societal issues arising out of scientific advances.

Course Objectives The course objectives are divided into specific learning objectives that will be summarized at the beginning of lectures. In order to successfully complete BIOL 121, you should be able to: 1) Describe and provide examples of how organisms interact with each other, their environment and the evolutionary processes underlying these interactions and the outcomes of these interactions.

2) You can describe how Mendel’s principles of segregation and independent assortment are a consequence of chromosome movement in meiosis 3) You should be able to describe how evolutionary mechanisms act at the level of populations and species, and how macroevolutionary patterns above the species level are the result of these microevolutionary mechanisms as well as chance events. 4) Explain and describe the central role of the theory of evolution in the study of biology and interpret a phylogenetic tree.

Texts

Freeman, Harrington and Sharp (2011) Biological Science – Canadian Edition1. (Many, but not all, of the same readings appear in the 2nd & 3rd Editions, but the page numbers are different and so their use is left up to the student) Pechenik, A Short Guide to Writing About Biology 8th Edition.

Evaluation

Grading Scheme I Without Mastering Biology

Grading Scheme II With Mastering Biology

Assignment or Outreach Project*

5% Assignment or Outreach Project*

5%

Clicker Questions

5% Clicker Questions 5%

Mid-term I 16% Midterm 1 15% Mid-term II 21% Midterm II 20% Final Exam (date TBA)

53% Final Exam (date TBA) 50%

Mastering Biology Assignments and Quizzes

5%

Total 100% Total 100% Mastering Biology is an online textbook resource comprising activities, learning modules quizzes and answers to text questions. The purpose of mastering biology activities is to supplement the lecture and text by providing a forum for you to further practice and study difficult topics and practice skills that will be required for class participation and examinations. There will be mastering biology assignments associated with lectures. You have the option of making the Mastering Biology activities part of your course grade (Grading Scheme II). Information on accessing mastering biology is available on the course vista site.

1 Copies of the text are available for short-term use in the Biology Reading Room, beside the Biology Office (BioSci 2521).

Mastering Biology Quizzes are to test your basic knowledge and basic ability to apply concepts from the readings. Most of these questions are below the level that you would encounter on an exam. These questions are meant to re-enforce material covered in the text and to encourage you to keep up with readings. Only the most challenging of quiz questions (perhaps 1 per quiz) are at a level that would appear on an exam. You can work on quiz questions either individually or collaboratively with other students.. There are no re-writes on missed quizzes but the lowest quiz mark will be dropped. You have the option of making the Mastering Biology activities part of your course grade (Grading Scheme II). Assignment or Outreach Project There will be one written assignment during the course of the semester requiring you to evaluate science in the news. There will be both group and independent components to the assignment. The complete details of the assignment will be posted on the course Connect site during the semester. As an alternative to the written assignment you can choose to participate in a Community Service Learning project that will take place over reading week. Interested students will be chosen based on a lottery system. If you choose and are selected to participate in the Community Service Learning project, your grade for the project will take the place of the grade for the written assignment.

Class Participation

I expect you to be on time and attend all lectures. Participation will be evaluated through the use of clicker questions in most lectures (see iClickers section below). For other issues with regard to Academic Regulations, please refer to the UBC Calendar, Chapter V, Student Conduct and Discipline.

First Year Biology Learning Centre

The Biology Learning Center is located in Wesbrook 200 and is staffed by

teaching assistants and peer tutors for Biology 121 who are there to answer your questions, give advice and provide practice materials. See the schedule on the Vista website.

Connect Site for BIOL 121 • Use of the Connect website is required and can be accessed at

http://elearning.ubc.ca/connect/ using your Campus Wide Login name and password.

• The discussion board on Vista is a way to communicate with fellow class members, TA, peer tutor and ask each questions.

iClickers (aka Personal Response Systems):

• The reason I use clickers is to encourage attendance, active involvement and learning in lecture, and give you a check to see if you understand the material.

• Participation in a question will count for one mark; correctly answering a question will give you an additional mark. All of the clicker marks for the semester will combine to be worth 5% of your final mark.

• You can miss up to two classes worth of clicker questions without an effect on your final mark.

• You are responsible for registering your clicker on the connect website. You can visit the bookstore, Chapman Learning Commons or me to get the clicker number if it has rubbed off.

Academic Honesty and Missed Exams Plagiarism or any form of cheating is not tolerated in this course. Please see the

UBC rules on Academic Honesty and Standards at www.science.ubc.ca/students/new/conduct. These rules apply to all exams and assignments. This includes in class clicker questions (e.g. bringing another student’s clicker to class and using it for another student will result in confiscation of clickers and academic sanctions for BOTH students).

If you miss a midterm exam, notify me as soon as possible. There are no re-writes for exams. If you have a legitimate reason for missing an exam the portion of the final exam covering the missed midterm material will take the place of the midterm grade. Exam deferral will only be granted to students in good standing, who have attended classes regularly, have marks for midterms and are not failing the course.

Lecture, Exam and Assignment Schedule

Week Dates Topic(s) Text Readings 1 Jan 3 Introduction, Evolution and the

Science of Biology Freeman et al. xxxiv to xxxvii “Preface to Students Using this Book as a Tool For Learning” Ch. 1 All BioSkills 1 (B-1, B-2) Reading Graphs Pechenik Ch. 3 Pg. 33 General advice on reading and note taking. pg. 36 Reading Data Pechenik Ch. 9 pg. 186 Verbalizing Results: General Principles pg. 189 Verbalizing Results: Turning Principles Into Action

2 Jan 8, Jan 10 Concept Inventory – Experimental Design Introduction to Ecology: Abiotic component of ecosystems, Biomes, Biogeography

Ch. 50 All Bioskills 6 (B-11) Making Concept Maps Pechenik Ch. 3 pg. 34 Effective Reading pg. 36 Reading Data pg. 41 Reading Text pg. 44 Take Notes in Your Own Words pg. 50 Summary Pechenik Ch. 11 Answering Essay Questions pgs. 230 - 236

3 Jan 15, Jan 17 Population Characteristics, Demography & Dynamics

Ch. 52 All

4 Jan 22, Jan 24 Species Interactions and Community Structure

Ch. 53 All BioSkills 3 (B-6) Using Statistical Tests **** Science In the Media – Individual Assignment Due Jan 25th.****

5 Jan 29, Jan 31 Community Structure, Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Conservation

Ch. 54 & Ch. 55

6 Feb 5 ************ MIDTERM 1 – ECOLOGY ************

Week Dates Topic(s) Text Readings 6 Feb 7 DNA, Biological Information

Flow, Cell Cycle and Cell Division, Transferring genetic information, mutation

Chapter 14 (Key Concepts) Chapter 15 (Intro. 15.1 & 15.2) Chapter 11 (Intro. 11.1) Ch. 1 (1.1), Ch. 11 (11.2, 11.3, 11.4) Ch. 14 (14.1, 14.2) Chapter 16 (16.6)

7 Feb 12, Feb 14 Asexual and Sexual Reproduction Meiosis Mendelian genetics and Linkage

Ch. 12 All Ch. 40 (Figure 40.2b) Ch. 13 (All) Bioskills 9 (B-17) Combining Probabilities

Feb 18 – Feb 22 Midterm Break – No Classes 8 Feb 26, Feb 28 Extending Mendel’s rules

Problem solving. Pedigree analysis

Ch. 13 (All)

9 Mar 5, Mar 7 Charles Darwin: Theory of evolution & Evidence for evolution

Ch. 24

10 Mar 12, MIDTERM 2 – GENETICS Mar 14 Natural Selection, Artificial

selection Ch. 1 (1.2) Ch. 24 (24.3, 24.4, 24.5)

11 Mar 19, Mar 21 Natural Selection, Artificial selection and Sexual Selection Population Genetics & Evolutionary Processes

Ch. 1 (1.2) Ch. 24 (24.3, 24.4, 24.5) Ch. 24 (24.4, 24.5) Ch. 25 (Intro. 25.1, 25.2) Bioskills 9 (B-17) Combining Probabilities **** Science in the Media Group Assignment Due Mar 22nd ****

12 Mar 26, Mar 28 Population Genetics & Evolutionary Processes Speciation

Ch. 25 (25.3, 25.4, 25.5, 25.6) Ch. 27 (Intro. 26.1, 26.2, 26.3, 26.4)

13 April 2, April 4 Speciation Phylogenetics History of Life

Ch. 27 (Intro. 26.1, 26.2, 26.3, 26.4) Ch 27 All Bioskills 2 (B-3 to B5) Reading a Phylogenetic Tree