Principles of Organismal Biology, Evolution & Ecology

BioSci 131-2743

Diablo Valley College - Fall Semester 2019

Instructors: Raymond Goralka, Ph. D. (Lecture & Laboratory Instructor)
office: 211 Life Health Sciences; email: [email protected]

Office Hours: M W 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Tu Th 11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.

Course: BioSci 131- Principles of Organismal Biology, Evolution and Ecology –

5 Units, SC= students may opt to take the course for a P/NP grade.

Web page: Look for this class on Canvas from the DVC homepage

Class Hours: Lec: MW 9:35 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. LHS 223

Lab: Tu TH 7:55 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. LHS 201
Field trips on Fridays: 10/19; 11/30

Prerequisite: Chem 120 (may be taken concurrently)

Recommended: BIOSC-101 or 102, BIOSC-130 and eligibility for ENGL-122 or
equivalents

Important dates:
 The last day to drop online without a “W” on your record is September 9, 2018.
 The last day to choose the P/NP option is September 21, 2018.
 The last day to drop online with a “W” is November 16, 2018.

Texts: Campbell’s Biology, 11th Edition, Reece, et al. Required

BioSci 131 Lab Manual Required
Photo Atlas for Biology, Van De Graff and Crawley Optional
Tests: Scantron Answer Sheets Required

Transportation: student arrange their transportation to fieldtrips

(Alternative assignments available)

Course Description: In BioSci 131 we study three broad areas of Biology: Evolution
(Origin of Species, Microevolution, and Macroevolution); Biological Diversity
(within and among the Kingdoms); Ecology (How organisms interact with other
organisms and their environment). There is a Friday field trip to the Monterey
Bay Aquarium, as well as several trips taken during the regular lab period. In all
trips the students must provide their own transportation. If you are unable to
attend the field trip, alternative assignments of equal effort are available.
 Tentative Bio 131 Fall 2018 Lecture, Lab and Exam Schedule

Students will be able to:

 Lecture
 Explain the essential elements of life, including major hypotheses and stages for
life’s history, and mechanisms for the diversification of life.
 Describe the theory of evolution by natural selection including evidence and
processes of microevolution, speciation and macroevolution.
 Differentiate among the morphology, organization, and lifecycles for the different
taxa of unicellular organisms, fungi, plants and animals.
 Explain mechanisms of transport and growth regulation in plants.
 Evaluate the relationships of organisms to each other and their environment
(energy flow and cycling of matter), including major ecological concepts of
climate, population growth, community interactions, and ecosystem processes.

 Laboratory
 Demonstrate the proper use and care for common laboratory equipment e.g.
microscopes.
 Compare and contrast the development, life cycles, anatomical and physiological
characteristics of major taxa of organisms.
 Identify key characteristics of different organisms and place them into their major
systematic groups (e.g. clades or phyla) in a phylogenetic classification scheme.
 Apply the processes of scientific inquiry, phylogenetic analysis, and experimental
design to the diversity of organisms in a report on a peer-reviewed scientific
article on an environmental or evolutionary topic.
 Identify comparative anatomy at the microscopic, dissections or whole organism
level from representative phyla.

Canvas: I use CANVAS in this course for online quizzes, posting Power Points,
data for projects, exam review sheets, grades, etc. It is expected all
students will regularly check our CANVAS course site for announcements.

Lecture Exams: You are responsible for material assigned from the text and all that is
covered in lecture, whether it is also found in the text or not. The exams will be a
mixture of multiple choice, matching, definitions and short answer/essays

Make up exams: If you miss a lecture exam, the final exam score may be used to make
up that exam. Because they are so difficult to set up, Lab Exams generally
cannot be made up. Failure to attend a lab exam may result in an incomplete
for the course.

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 Tentative Bio 131 Fall 2018 Lecture, Lab and Exam Schedule
Lab: The photo atlas is available in the bookstore and highly recommended.
General lab safety is required. You are encouraged to bring protective
eyewear during the dissections.

Use of animals in the lab: Part of the course includes learning basic animal anatomy,
and phylogeny. To this end, there are a few labs that require preserved animal
dissection in groups. While you do not have to dissect an animal, you will be
expected to identify the anatomy of a dissected animal on the lab exam.

Field trips: Students are required to arrange their own transportation to and from the
field study sites. While at the site students should consider themselves “in class”
and avoid distractions (talking, cell phones, smoking, dogs, etc.).
Two field trips take place outside of regular lab times:

Friday, October 19th, U. C. Berkeley Botanical Garden 9:30 a.m.- noon (or
12:30 -2:00 with night section)
Friday, November 30th to Monterey Bay Aquarium 1:00- 3:00 p.m. (2 hrs. drive
one way).

Please see me if you have a conflict(s) on those days. Alternative assignments of

equal time/effort may be done if you choose not to attend any field trip.

Attendance/Participation: The course works best with active, constructive participation

by all. I encourage questions in lecture and lab. If there is no time in that session, I
will follow up with the questions, ideas later.

Because this course gives transferable lab credits, you may be dropped from
the course if you miss 3 (or more) labs, and/or too many lectures, “excused”
or otherwise.

You lose one point per missed lecture and you will lose 5 participation points per
each missed lab for the first three. Even if you are excused or sick, you need to
make up the lab time to not loose points. This does not mean it is OK to miss
three labs, the fourth missed lab is minus 10 points and possible removal from the
course. If this is after then drop date, a non-passing grade maybe assigned. For
documented illness an incomplete grade may be given.

Late Work: All work turned in past the start of the class period on the due date will
automatically lose 25% of the points possible per calendar day late.

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 Tentative Bio 131 Fall 2018 Lecture, Lab and Exam Schedule
Format: All graphs/ reports must be typed, doubled spaced (except graphs which
may be drawn by hand on graph paper). Assignments may not be emailed in lieu
of print nor turned in on disk for me to print out. If a paper copy is not turned in
on time, the assignment is late (see above). The ecology presentation
assignments will be turned in on canvas.

Withdrawing from the course: I will drop anyone not in attendance at the beginning of
the semester. After the first class it is the responsibility of the student who
registered to withdraw, even if she/he has stopped attending class. If you miss
too many Labs (3) but attend all lectures you still may be dropped!!

Academic Integrity: I will help eliminate the temptation to cheat by making cheating
difficult. When taking exams, you may only have a pencil at your desk. Anyone
caught cheating will receive a zero on that exam and maybe be dropped from the
course and reported to the Dean of the College. Copying or plagiarizing on lab
reports or the environmental report will also receive a zero for that assignment.

Support Services: Please take advantage of the support services on campus:

Learning center, Computer Lab, Assessment Center, Disabled Students
Programs and Services, Career Center Media Center, ESL (English as Second
Language) Puente, and the Counseling center.

Tutoring: The Biology department has a tutoring center / computer lab on first floor
in LHS 116. Tutoring for 131 is provided either by the professional tutor or
former students. Graph drawing / report writing on the computers may be done
there as well. You may use the center for online study guides from your text, and
do web research for your oral report. Tutoring can help anyone in the course.
It can help you keep an already good grade in the class, and facilitate your
studying. Please take advantage!!

Learning Disabilities: If you have any kind of learning or reading disability, please see
me at the beginning of the semester. If you are working with a counselor to
overcome a disability, ask your counselor to send me information on your special
needs.

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 Tentative Bio 131 Fall 2018 Lecture, Lab and Exam Schedule
Grading: A single Five-unit grade will be given for the entire course.
Lecture Exams (5 @ 100 pts.) ................................ 500
Laboratory Practical Exams (4 @ 80) ..................... 320
Online reviews (9 @ 5) ………………………... ....... 45
Laboratory Projects ............................................... 75
Environmental Report ............................................ 70
Active Constructive Participation ............................ 25
Total Points Possible .......................................... 1035

Letter Grade* Per Cent Points Needed

A 90%
B 80%
C 70%
D 60%
F < 60% & Below
 DVC does not use plus or minus with the letter grade (e.g. no B+)
 If complications cause assignments to be changed or eliminated, the percent
scale (90, 80, 70, 60) of the total points remaining will be used for the grades.
 To receive any credit for the sections preparing for the oral report (outlines,
bibliography), an oral report must actually be given in front of the class.

Lab Projects: ................................................................... Points:

1. Water Treatment Plant report ( 5 pts.)
2. Bacteria Antibiotic Graph ( 5 pts.)
3. UC Botanical Garden Report ( 5 pts.)
4. Plant Communities (Briones) ( 5 pts.)
5. Plant Growth Project (GA) Report (20 pts.)
6. Fungi Growth Graph ( 5 pts.)
7. Monterey Bay Aquarium Report (25 pts.)
8. Community Structure Report ( 5 pts.)
Total Laboratory project points 75
9. Environmental Oral Report Topic:
1. Topic & Bibliography (10 pts.)
2. One-page outline (10 pts.)
3. Detailed Outline (25 pts.)
4. Power Point Presentation (25 pts.)
Total Environmental report points 70

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 Tentative Bio 131 Fall 2018 Lecture, Lab and Exam Schedule
Date Tentative Lecture- Lab Topic Chapters
Introduction to course; Decent with modification:
Aug. 27 22
Introduction to Evolution
Introduction; Lab safety, Phylogeny, How to make graphs,
28 How to choose an oral report topic, What is a Primary
Resource.
29 Evolution 22
Proper use of Microscope, oil immersion cyanobacteria
30
Set up: moss, ferns
Sept. 3 Holiday
Finish Bacteriology; start Eukaryote diversity Amoebozoans,
4
Set up Antibiotic test
5 Prokaryotes 27
Eukaryote Diversity Excavata, “SAR" clade
6
finish antibiotic test Setup: Plant Dwarf Peas
Eukaryote Origins and Diversity
10 28
Oral Report Topics selection starts
Archeplastida: Red algae, Green algae, Mosses and Ferns
11
Setup: Plant Normal Peas
12 Plants: Colonization of Land 29
13 Field trip water Treatment Plant 8:30-10:30 a.m.
17 Exam I Chapters 22, 27, 28, 29
Plant Diversity 2: Seed Plants (Gymnosperms and
18
Angiosperms) ( not on lab exam 1)
19 Plants: Evolution of Seed Plants 30
20 Angiosperm Diversity: Floristics & Fruits
Sept. 24 Plant Structure and Growth 35
Lab Exam I Through Moss & fern video: Sexual
25
Encounters of the Floral Kind
26 Evolution of populations: microevolution 23
27 Plant Anatomy: Stems GA experiments – First measurements
Oct. 1 Origin of Species 24
Plant Anatomy: Secondary growth in stems, roots Setup:
2
Fungi cultures (Phycomyces, Pilobolus)
3 Macroevolution Bibliography & Primary Source summary due 25
Plant Anatomy: Leaves, Modified structures, fresh material
4
Plant growth experiments – Finish measurements

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 Tentative Bio 131 Fall 2018 Lecture, Lab and Exam Schedule
8 Fungi 31
9 Field trip Briones Park 8:30
10 Resource acquisition and Transport in Plants 36
11 Lab Exam 2 video: Cosmos 2
15 Exam 2 Chapters 30, 35, 23, 24, 25
Fungi : Chytridiomycota, Zygomycota,
16
Set up: Fungi projects Start Ascomycota
17 36/39
Transport, Plant Responses to Signals
Fungi: Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Lichens
18
Finish fungi projects
Field Trip U. C. Berkeley Botanical Garden: Plant Diversity
Fri 19
9:30-12:00
22 Plant Responses to Signals 39
23 Animal Diversity: Porifera, begin Cnidarians Sponge, Hydra
Introduction to Animal Evolution ( on exam 4)
24 32
Pea growth - GA Report due.
25 UC Botanical Garden field trip compensation day, no lab.
29 Exam 3 Chapters 31, 36, 39
30 Animal Diversity: Finish Cnidarians, Platyhelminthes
31 Introduction to Vertebrates 34
Nov. 1 Animal Diversity: Rotifers, Annelida Dissection: Earthworm
Nov. 5 Animals: Vertebrates 34
6 Animal Diversity: Mollusca Dissection: Squid, Clam
7 Human evolution, Behavior 34, 51
Animal Diversity – Nematoda, begin Arthropoda
8 Dissect nematode, crayfish
Fungi graphs due
12 Holiday: Veteran’s Day
Lab Exam #3 (Fungi & animals through Mollusca )
13
video: Signs and Signals
14 Animal Behavior 51
Animal Diversity Arthropoda: Insects
15 Grasshopper Dissection , ID Insect Orders
One Page Outlines due
19 General Ecology & Biosphere 52
Animal Diversity – Echinodermata, Chordata Dissect: Sea
20
Stars, Lancelets, Vertebrates

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 Tentative Bio 131 Fall 2018 Lecture, Lab and Exam Schedule
21 Exam 4 Chapters 32, 33, 34, 51
22 Thanksgiving
26 General Ecology & Biosphere 52
Human Evolution,
27
Go over Community Structure Measurements
Population Ecology
28 53
Detailed Outlines due
29 Community Structure Measurements
Fri. 30 Field trip - Monterey Bay Aquarium 11:15 a.m – 2:00 p.m.
Dec. 3 Community Ecology 54
4 Field Trip Compensation Monterey Bay Aquarium – No lab
5 Ecosystems 55
6 Lab Exam 4
10 Ecosystems / Conservation Bio Power point files due 55
11 Student Presentations
12 Exam 5 Chapters 52, 53, 54, 55
13 Student Presentations

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