Zool 4430 – Invertebrate Zoology II Spring 2007

Dr. Pamela Roe

S – 119

(209) 667-3484

My home page at http://science.csustan.edu/pam/

Bio. Dept. info at: http://arnica.csustan.edu/biology/

INTRODUCTORY COURSE INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION:

Invertebrates comprise at least 95% of all known animals. From their numbers and diversity alone, it is obvious that invertebrates are incredibly important. They are food for humans and other animals, they cause disease, they pollinate most of the plants we need and use, they affect global climate, etc. All people, but especially biologists, need to have a good working knowledge of invertebrates. In Invertebrate Zoology II we cover the two largest animal phyla, plus several additional phyla.

MY PHILOSOPHY AND GOALS FOR THIS COURSE:

My philosophy about teaching is that I want to share as much knowledge and understanding of the subject with students as possible. I also believe it is my job as instructor to challenge people. I want you to learn course materials because I care about you. I firmly believe that the more people know, the happier they can be, and the more they can appreciate and enjoy the world around them. I want students to be thoroughly involved in my courses and in their education in general. The more people put into something the more they get out of it; therefore, I expect this class to be high on your priority list, and I expect you to put in plenty of quality time and effort on it. Likewise, I will spend much effort in trying to make the course a valuable experience for you.

My goal for this course is that all participants learn about and come to appreciate some of the invertebrate groups. In more detail, this involves learning names and classification, biology, and importance of the invertebrates we cover this semester, as well as learning overarching concepts about taxonomy, systematics, development patterns, body cavities, functional morphology, etc. We covered some invertebrate phyla in Invertebrate Zoology I; we will cover other phyla in Invertebrate Zoology II.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Invertebrate Zoology II is a senior-level animal diversity course. It is a 4-unit lecture and laboratory course, with 2 lecture and 2 lab periods/week. It satisfies the diversity requirement in Biology, is an elective in Biology, is one of the electives in the Ecology and Field Biology concentration, and is a requirement for the Marine Biology concentration. Prerequisites: 3 college-level biology courses including Zoology 1050, or consent of instructor. Lecture = Tues. and Thurs. 1:25-2:23; Lab = Tues. and Thurs. 2:30-5:38. This course is the second part of the 2-course invertebrate sequence. Both courses (Zool 4420 and Zool 4430) are required for the Marine Biology concentration. Otherwise, although it is best to take both courses, either course is independent of the other.

SPECIFIC COURSE OBJECTIVES, i.e., WHAT SHOULD YOU BE LEARNING?

1. This is a content-heavy course; the primary learning objective is therefore mainly to learn course content. You need to learn thoroughly the information presented in lecture and lab about invertebrates, including being able to synthesize, organize and summarize such information into coherent thought processes. You need to be able to correlate what you see in lab with lecture materials. Texts (Ruppert, Fox, and Barnes, and the “Supplementary Materials” course pack from Kiva Bookstore) are primarily for background reading and pictures/diagrams, unless it is noted that you especially need to know specific pages. You need to bring both of your texts to class every day.

ASSESSMENT METHODS, GRADES and GRADING:

1. The best assessment measure for content-heavy courses is exams. Most of your grade will be based on lecture exams and lab quizes.

Grades: A – F; Cr/Nc is not an option in this course. The course is graded plus/minus.

A = 90% or higher (A- = 90-92, A = 93 and higher)

B = 80 – 89% (B- = 80-82, B = 83-86, B+ = 87-89)

C = 70 – 79% (C- = 70-72, C = 73-76, C+ = 77-79)

D = 60 – 69% (D- = 60-62, D = 63-66, D+ = 67-69)

F = below 60%

I do not use a curve.

Grades based on:

Lecture Exams 300 points

Lab Exams (66-68 pts each) 200 points

Additional exercises variable number of points

Lab notebook (optional) up to 10% extra credit*

Any homework or extra credit must be turned in on the day and time it is due. Under normal circumstances no extra credit will be accepted after the due date. Ten percent per day (counting weekends and holidays) will normally be subtracted from homework turned in late. Unless homework assignments have staggered due dates, a late homework assignment will not be accepted after that graded assignment has been returned to the class.

You can figure your grade percentage at any time during the semester, except for the extra credit lab notebook, by dividing your total points by the total possible points at that date.

Grading of lab notebook: The way I grade lab notebooks is to give up to 5% for the number of drawings and up to 5% for labeling of each drawing. The number of drawings is a competition. I count the number of drawings for each student and record the number. Then I group notebooks into categories, with the group having the highest number receiving 5%, next lowest group getting 4%, etc. As I count your pictures, I also get a general impression of how well you have labeled each picture. Lots of labeling, and labeling of every picture, is worth 5%. If I see several pictures without labeling, or only one-to-few labels/picture, you will get less than 5%. Labeling means: give the whole picture a label. Also name/label all the pertinent parts of the picture. The best labels will be of those parts that help you to identify the organism, parts in a cross section, etc., i.e., diagnostic characteristics and parts. This kind of labeling makes your lab notebook an excellent study guide, will make you realize you need to ask questions while you are drawing pictures during lab, and makes you go slow enough while drawing that you remember the drawing/organism, better. I don’t give points for ability to draw, or for xeroxes of pictures from other sources; it is the act of doing the drawing and labeling yourself that I think is valuable.

* At the prerogative of the instructor, non-compliance with field trip regulations or topics under Expectations of Students may result in partial or total loss of the extra credit option.

EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS

1. As a general philosophy, you should attend all class meetings. If you must miss a class meeting, it is your responsibility to make up any work missed and to obtain and learn all information you missed.

2. Be on time to class and stay in lab until it is supposed to be over. Lecture starts at 1:25pm. Lab starts at 2:30pm and ends at 5:38pm. If lateness to lecture or lab, or not returning to class on time after breaks becomes a problem, the instructor may initiate a minus points grading option.

3. Observe lab safety and cleanliness procedures.

4. Participate fully and in a positive manner in all class activities.

5. Students are expected to take exams on days and times listed in the class schedule. There are NO alternatives for lab exams. If you have a legitimate excuse to miss a lecture exam, the instructor must to know the reason, before the beginning of the exam time, and other arrangements need to be made prior to the exam time. For the most part, lab and lecture exams are on the same days.

6. Cheating in any form is unacceptable in science, including in all biology classes. It is the policy of the Department of Biological Sciences that anyone caught cheating will receive a grade of F for the course. The instructor reserves the right to request any student even suspected of cheating to take a second, different, exam from the rest of the class. Cell phones, PDA's, palms, etc. must be turned off, and must be placed out of sight of any student in the class, during all lecture and lab exams. No caps or hats may be worn during exams. Potty breaks are not allowed during exams.

7. Talking, whispering and giggling among students during lectures is disruptive for both classmates and the instructor. It is expected that students will refrain from these activities while anyone is lecturing at any time during lecture or lab time. If this becomes a problem, students will be asked to leave class for the duration of these activities.

8. The field trip regulations (on separate pages from this introductory information) that do not specifically pertain to being in vehicles pertain to all parts of class, i.e., lecture and lab as well as field trips. These are not limited to, but especially include numbers 4, 7, and 8 of the Department of Biological Sciences Field Trip Regulations and number 2 of the CSU Stanislaus Field Trip liability Waiver.

9. People learn best when they take responsibility for their own learning. You need to accept that responsibility.

EXPECTATIONS OF THE INSTRUCTOR

1. Numbers 1 – 9 above.

2. Be open to feedback on the course and be flexible in order to make appropriate changes to meet student needs.

3. Be fair in assessment of student learning.

It is my hope and expectation that we will all work together to make this course an outstanding experience for all involved.

ZOOL 4430 - Invertebrate Zoololgy II Spring 2007

Dr. Pamela Roe, S-119, 667-3484

http://science.csustan.edu/pam/

LECTURE, LABORATORY and READING SCHEDULES

Lecture reading is from Ruppert, Fox, & Barnes.

DATE		LECTURE	LABORATORY
Feb.	13	Introduction, Polychaeta; 413-422	Polychaeta; 422-459
	15	Polychaeta; 422-459	Polychaeta; 422-459
	17	Field Trip: Monterey, Elkhorn Slough
	20	Polychaeta; 422-459	Polychaeta; 422-459
	22	Polychaeta, Vestimentifera, Pogonophora; 422-459	Polychaera; 422-459
	27	Oligochaeta; 459-471	Polychaeta; 422-459
Mar.	1	Hirudinea & Branchiobdella; 471-483	Oligochaeta; 459-471
	6	Sipuncula; 495-501	Hirudinea, Branchiobdellida; 471-483
	8	Echiura; 490-495	Sipuncula, Echiura; 490-501
	13	Tardigrada; 510-515	Tardigrada; 510-515
	15	Lecture EXAM I	Lab EXAM I
	20	Onychophora; 505-510	Onychophora; 510-515
	22	Introduction to Arthropoda, Trilobites, Intro to Crustacea; 517-553, 605-615	Trilobites, Remipedia, Cephalocarida; 543-553, 615-616, 616-617
	27	Crustacea, Remipedia – Phyllopoda; 615-625	Anostraca, Phyllopoda; 615-617, 617-625
	29	Ostracoda-Cirripedia; 669-693	Ostracoda-Cirripedia; 669-693
Apr.	3	Malacostraca: Leptostraca, Stomatopoda, Peracarida; 625-628, 652-668	Malacostraca: Leptostraca, Stomatopoda, Peracarida; 625-628, 652-668
	5	Malacostraca: Decapoda; 628-652	Malacostraca : Decapoda; 628-652
		Spring Break April 9-13 (7-15)
	17	Chelicerata; 554-604	Chelicerata; 554-604
	19	Lecture EXAM II	Lab EXAM II
	24	Insecta; 723-751	Insecta; 723-751
	26	“Myriapoda”; 703-718	“Myriapoda”; 703-718
May	1	Intro. to Mollusca; 283-291, 407-408	Mono-, Poly-, Aplacophora, start Gastropoda; 291-300, about 300-310
	3	Gastropoda; 300-343	Gastropoda; 300-335
	8	Gastropoda; 300-343	Gastropoda; 335-343
	10	Gastropoda; 300-343	Gastropoda; 335-343
	15	Bivalvia, Scaphopoda; 367-406	Bivalvia, Scaphopoda; 367-406
	17	Cephalopoda, Class Eval.; 343-366	Cephalopoda; 343-366
	24		Lab EXAM III*, 2 - 4 pm
	29	Lecture EXAM III*, 11:15 - 1:15

*Exams III will be during finals week. Lab exam III is scheduled for Tuesday May 24, 2 to 4 pm. Lecture exam III is Thursday. May 29, 11:15 am to 1:15 pm.

Lab notebooks are due at the beginning of Lab Exam III, i.e., 2 pm, Tues. May 24.