Biology 403 - SPRING 2008
EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
   LECTURE: T/Th 10:35 - 11:50
ELS 12

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Read what National Medal of Science recipient Brent Dalrymple says about creationist claims regarding radiometric dating

INSTRUCTOR
Dr. John Bishop, PhD.
Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences
Office: ELS 230E; Phone: 546-9612
email: bishop [at] vancouver.wsu.edu

Office Hours: Mon 11-12; Tue 12-1; Wed. 9-10.

TITLE: EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY. The evolutionary processes that influence adaptation, population differentiation, and speciation in organisms. Credit can only be received for one of the following: Biol 403, 405, 505, or 565 section 1.

SCHEDULE Under Construction! Check web page for updates!

COURSE INFORMATION

PURPOSE AND FORMAT
Format: Two 1hr 15 min lectures per week.
Prerequisite: C- or better Biol 301 (Introduction to Genetics)

Course Objectives: This course will provide you with an overview of evolutionary principles and analyses. We will examine evidence for the occurrence of evolution and for the operation of evolutionary mechanisms resulting in adaptation, diversification, and speciation. Specific goals are to understand and become familiar with:
    -Evidence for the occurrence of evolution
    -Mechanisms of speciation and evolutionary adaptation
    -How to ask evolutionary questions, and how they are the tested
    -Application of evolutionary principles to various fields of biology, ranging from ecology to medicine.
    -Molecular approaches to evolutionary study

A course in genetics (equivalent to Biol 301) is a prerequisite. Therefore I will assume detailed understanding of mendelian inheritance, meiosis, recombination, and the mechanisms and structures involved in DNA replication, transcription, and translation. 

TEXT:  
Evolutionary Analysis, 4th Edition by Scott Freeman and Jon Herron. Prentice Hall. 2007.
The text has a web site that's a good resource.

EVALUATION 
Exams:  

Online Quizzes: Due by class on designated day.
Worth 2pts if >80%; 1pt if >50%; 0 otherwise. Can take quiz as many times as you like.
Email quiz results to breckenr (at) vancouver.wsu.edu
Make sure you enter your name. WE STRONGLY ADVISE THAT YOU PRINT A COPY FOR YOUR RECORDS (print function is in upper right corner)

Assignments: I will require approximately 10 assignments. Two of these will be somewhat longer written assignments based on original research papers on a topic you get to choose. I will provide more details later.

Assignments will include a) Writing/Answer questions about lecture & reading; b) Writing/Answer questions about assigned papers from the scientific literature; c) case studies, in which you explore an asssigned or a chosen topic.

To get full credit, your assignments must a) be on time, b) must reflect that you have done the readings, c) must demonstrate an effort to connect different aspects of the readings, d) must be grammatically correct. 

Extra credit opportunties: You can earn extra credit for attending these lectures and writing a summary. Your summary should include brief sentences that indicate a) the purpose of the study, b) the methods employed, c) the main result, and d) a comment on the study or some aspect of it. If you cannot attend the lecture, you can read a related paper (TBA) and summarize it in the same way. There may also be an optional field trip for which you can earn extra credit.No other kinds of extra credit will be available.

Participation:  Your participation in class discussions is expected. Extra credit will be awarded for attending certain Science Lectures.

Grades will be awarded on an absolute scale.  In other words, I will not hesitate to give everyone an A if their percent score is high enough.   The following table shows how grades are scaled.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN BIOL 565. Graduate students may enroll in Biology 565. Students enrolled in Biol 565 must meet all requirements outlined for Biol 406. In addition they are required to read additional original research articles on topics related to what we've covered in class. We will meet and discuss these articles seven times during the semester (approximately biweekly). Students will help to choose these articles, so that where possible they can reflect their own research interests. The role of discussion leader will fall to the individual who chose the reading. I anticiapate each student leading one or two discussions during the semester.

ACADEMIC HONESTY When a student enrolls in Washington State University, the student assumes an obligation to pursue academic endeavors in a manner consistent with the standards of academic integrity adopted by the University. To maintain the academic integrity of the community, the University cannot tolerate acts of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, falsification, fabrication, multiple submission, plagiarism**, abuse of academic materials, complicity, or misconduct in research.

Assignments completed outside of class MUST be your own work. Although some assignments may require cooperative work, the answers you turn in should still be your own. Academic dishonesty including copying and plagiarism** are serious offenses which will be reported to Student Services and entered into your permanent record. The policy of the College of Science is that anyone caught cheating will be given a grade of F for the entire course. A letter documenting the incident will be written to the Dean of the College and the Vice President for StudentAffairs. Two such offenses may result in expulsion from the University. Consult the WSU Student Handbook for further details.

You should be aware that text copied from web pages is particularly easy for us to trace and we usually can recognize when a student's writing is not his/her own. Strategies informatio sources are: 1) paraphrase what you read; 2) quote short sections, and 3) provide full references for ideas that aren't yours.

LINKS

Human Evolution.

Becoming human

Jeanne Septs Human evolution links

Prominent Homonid Fossils page

Other Sites:
Evolution Simulation Web Site
Tree of Life! web based phylogeny of life
Ray Troll Art (artist who appreciates evolution, fish, and the PNW)
Books by Charles Darwin on line

Evolutionary lab exercises for teachers

CREATIONISM VS. EVOLUTION

Court's decision in Dover, PA intelligent design case.

Kevin Padian (UC Berkeley paleontologist) testimony in Kitzmiller vs. Dover

The talk.origins web site - excellent rebuttals against creationist arguments, and all-around
good essays on evolution

National Center for Science Education is dedicated to the teaching of evolution in public schools and a great source of information.

The Popes message to the pontifical academy of sciences regarding evolution.

Links to Creation Science type thinking:
The Discovery Institute - Main proponent of Intelligent Design Creationism, based in Seattle

The Seven Wonders Museum - dedicated to showing how events at Mount St. Helens demonstrate that the earth is less than 6000 yrs old.

Creationism.org has links to many of the main factions of young earth creationism.