The Invertebrates (Zoology
413) Spring Semester 2006
To download an
easy-to-print PDF of all of the information listed below, click here (Adobe Acrobat
Reader or similar software is required for printing).
Here is the first set of PDF's (with short descriptions) that you can read
(and summarize; see below) for extra credit. Please note -- NONE of these are easy reads, but I hope you will find them interesting.
Basic course information:
|
Meeting
Time |
Lecture:
MW 1-1:50 P.M. Lab: MW 2-3:50 P.M. |
|
Meeting
Place |
Lecture:
LS II Room 367; Lab: LS II Room 304 |
|
Instructor |
Dr.
Frank (Andy) Anderson |
|
Office
Phone |
453-4136 |
|
E-mail |
feander@siu.edu |
|
Dr.
AndersonÕs Website |
www.science.siu.edu/zoology/anderson/ |
|
Office |
Life
Science 2, Rm. 355B |
|
Office
Hours |
Mondays
and Tuesdays 9-10:30 a.m. |
|
Teaching
Assistant |
Stephanie Clutts |
|
Textbook |
Invertebrates, Second
Edition (Brusca and Brusca) |
Additional
course information and suggestions:
Lecture: The lecture portion of the
course will constitute 55% of the final overall grade. The lecture grade will
be based on two in-class lecture exams (each worth 20% of the final grade) and
a final exam (worth 15%).
Lab: The lab portion of the course
will constitute 45% of the final overall grade. The lab grade will be based on
several criteria. Students will keep a lab notebook (see below) that will be
turned in twice during the semester (grades on the lab notebook will be worth
10% of the overall grade). There will also be two lab practical exams (each
worth 10%). Some lab sessions will consist of discussions of research papers on
invertebrates. Small groups of students will be assigned to lead each
discussion, and other students will be expected to participate. Participation
in paper discussions will also constitute part of the lab grade (5%). Finally,
each student will develop an independent project of their choice, through
consultation with Dr. Anderson and the TA (see pg. 6)Ñthe project will be worth
10% of the overall grade.
Bonus
points (new for 2006!):
During the semester, I will provide papers from the scientific literature
related to recent lecture/lab topics.
You are encouraged to read some or all of these papers, but it is not
required. If you decide to read
the papers and
write a short (~1 page) summary of the paper, you will receive one point toward your final grade for each
summary. Each summary should
consist of 1) a review of the central question, methods and findings described
in the paper, 2) a paragraph describing something you learned from the paper,
or aspects of the paper that you found interesting (or dull) and 3) two
questions that you would ask the authors of the paper, if you could. Note: simply re-writing the abstract
will not be enough for bonus points!
Syllabus
Please note: Dr. Anderson can alter the syllabus on a whim, so
the dates and topics you see below are tentative at best. You have been warned.
|
Date |
Lecture
Topic |
Lab |
|
W 1/18 |
Metazoan
Origins and Development |
Lab
Set-Up, Phylogenetic Principles |
|
M 1/23 |
Porifera
I |
Poriferan
Diversity |
|
W 1/25 |
Porifera
II, Cnidaria I |
Cnidarians |
|
M 1/30 |
Cnidaria
II |
Cnidarians
and Ctenophores |
|
W 2/1 |
Cnidaria
III, Ctenophora |
Paper
Discussion - Hydroids |
|
M 2/6 |
Ecdysozoa
I: Arthropods; Crustacea* |
Arthropod
Intro |
|
W 2/8 |
Ecdysozoa
II: Crustacea* |
Crustacean
Diversity |
|
M 2/13 |
Ecdysozoa
III: Chelicerata* |
Crustaceans
and Chelicerates |
|
W 2/15 |
Ecdysozoa
IV: Hexapoda* |
Chelicerates,
Hexapods |
|
M 2/20 |
Ecdysozoa
V: Onychophora, Tardigrada |
Paper
Discussion Ð Spider Behavior |
|
W 2/22 |
Ecdysozoa
VI: Nematoda, etc. |
Hexapods
and ÒLobopodsÓ |
|
M 2/27 |
LECTURE
EXAM 1 |
Micrometazoan
Diversity 1 |
|
W 3/1 |
Spiralia
I: Mollusca Intro, Polyplacs |
Molluscan
Diversity, Gastropods |
|
M 3/6 |
Spiralia
II: Gastropoda |
Gastropods
and Bivalves |
|
W 3/8 |
Spiralia
III: Bivalvia |
PRACTICAL
1 (Proposal due) |
|
3/13 and 3/15 -
SPRING BREAK (NO CLASSES) |
||
|
M 3/20 |
Spiralia
IV: Cephalopoda |
Paper
Discussion - Torsion |
|
W 3/22 |
Spiralia
V: Annelida I |
Cephalopods |
|
M 3/27 |
Spiralia
VI: Annelida II and Allies |
Annelids
and Allies 1 |
|
W 3/29 |
Spiralia
VII: Echiura, Sipuncula |
Annelids
and Allies 2 |
|
M 4/3 |
Spiralia
VIII: Phoronida, Brachiopoda |
ÒLophophoratesÓ |
|
W 4/5 |
Spiralia
IX: Bryozoa |
ÒLophophoratesÓ,
Project Topics |
|
M 4/10 |
LECTURE
EXAM 2 |
Planarian
Experiments 1 |
|
W 4/12 |
Spiralia
X: Platyhelminthes |
Planarian
Experiments 2 |
|
M 4/17 |
Spiralia
XI: Platyhelminthes, Nemertea |
Paper
Discussion Ð Polychaete parasites |
|
W 4/19 |
Spiralia
XII: Micrometazoans |
Micrometazoan
Diversity 2 |
|
M 4/24 |
Deuterostomia
I: Echinodermata I |
Echinoderm
Diversity |
|
W 4/26 |
Deuterostomia
II: Echinodermata II |
Echinoderms
and Chordates |
|
M 5/1 |
Deuterostomia
III: Hemichordata |
Metazoan
Phylogeny and Fossils |
|
W 5/3 |
Deuterostomia
IV: Chordata |
PRACTICAL
2 (Projects due) |
|
T 5/9 |
FINAL EXAM (12:50 - 2:50 p.m.) |
|
* = guest lecturers; Dr. Anderson out of town (CIAC meeting,
Tasmania)
The Zoology
413 Lab
The lab
will consist primarily of comparative studies of whole preserved specimens
and/or slide mounts of histological sections. Dissections of preserved material
will be used to study internal anatomy for some taxa. Fossil and living marine,
freshwater and terrestrial animals will be available during some labs. A couple
of labs will consist of behavioral experiments. The lab will also serve as an
opportunity to explore topics in metazoan biology in more detail than is
possible during lecture via additional special topic lectures and discussions
of scientific publications of research on invertebrate animals. In each discussion, a small team of
students will lead the discussion by outlining the research described in the
publication, doing some background reading and asking their classmates
penetrating questions about the paper.
The
primary purpose of the lab is to give you a hands-on introduction to metazoan
(multicellular animal) diversity. During the course, you will learn to identify
several types of animal. You will have several opportunities to compare modes
of feeding, reproduction, and lifestyle across the full range of animal
diversity. You should gain a deeper understanding of metazoan evolution and
phylogenetic relationships. Finally, you should get a sense of how to conduct
research on invertebrates. And youÕll be recording all of these things in your
lab notebook!
The Lab
Notebook
Basic
requirements of the notebook: Each student will compile their own laboratory
notebook will include line drawings of slides, live and preserved animals,
dissections, behavioral observations, etc. The lab notebook must be done with a
lead pencil (colored pencils are, at times, acceptable). NO PENS! You may want
to use a hard pencil like 2H or 4H, which will smudge less than a regular #2
pencil. Pages must be numbered, and the date the organisms were examined should
be placed underneath the page number. Diagrams should be labeled
(classification, type, structures, etc.) clearly.
The
following information must be on the inside cover of your laboratory
notebook:
All lab
notebooks will be evaluated after each lab practical exam.
What sort of
notebook should you use?
I
recommend something like an artistÕs sketchbook. It doesnÕt have to be fancy
and expensive, but it should be a solid, bound book with plain (unlined and
unmarked) paper. Something with a sturdy, water-resistant cover is optimal, but
may be difficult to find. Do NOT use a binder with notebook paper! ItÕs a
recipe for disasterÉit doesnÕt take long before pages start to disappear. Any
book made of bound plain paper should be fine.
What makes a
good lab notebook?
(the
following text is borrowed and modified without permission from a former
labmate of Dr. AndersonÕsÉbut he borrowed most of it from our Ph.D. advisors,
so itÕs all good)
The
production of a useful laboratory notebook is all too rare in many fields of
undergraduate study in biology. Too many instructors of zoology laboratories
rely on "canned" labs in which the responsibilities of students are
restricted to finding anatomical structures of organisms they dissect, filling
in blanks in lab books and answering a short set of questions, instead of
giving students opportunities to work as scientistsÐpeople that look at,
actually see, and then ask their specimens questions. One of our primary goals
is to give you opportunities to work and think as scientists. In order to
encourage that kind of development, we do not rely on "canned" labs,
but on our collective curiosities when we do dissections or other laboratory
work. We will work to help you transpose your thoughts, ideas, questions,
observations, etc., into your own laboratory notebook so that your lab book
will become a working tool, and something (we hope) that you can be truly proud
of.
A
laboratory notebook contains a record of the things you see, do, and think
about the topic or specimen at hand.
Now, about
drawingsÉ
The goal
of making drawings as you work in the laboratory is to produce a record of what
you see and do. The information in your lab book should also provide you with a
good enough record of your specimens and of what you did that so that if
occasion required, you could return to your lab book for review, rather than
examining the specimen again.
1) DRAW BIG! FILL the page with
your drawing. Nearly all students draw too small, and then have problems adding
detail later. The larger the drawing, the more detail you can put in. Work to
include detailÐeven if you don't know what exactly you are drawing. The larger
you draw, the harder you will tend to look for detail to include in your
drawings. This will, in turn, lead you to asking better and better questions.
There is no reason to skimp on paper. It is doubtful that you will fill the
notebook.
2) If possible, you should always
have a scale for your drawings. You can use either the micrometer scale on your
microscope, or a regular ruler.
3) Begin by stating and drawing the
obvious, then get more and more specific in your work.
Don't be
afraid (if time permits) to include different drawings of a single organism. In
fact, the more drawings you make, and the more detailed they will be, the more
you will see, and the better you will come to know your specimens.
4) Include plentiful narrative
observations with your drawings. Begin by writing the obviousÐwhat do you think
of the specimen you have? If itÕs alive, is it doing anything? What happens
when you poke it? This will get you writing, and will get you into the habit of
including your thoughts in your lab book. This is an important step in learning
to ask questions.
5) Include questions that pop into
your mind as you make observations. You may want to highlight these somehow so
your eye will be drawn to them later. Start by asking and writing "I
wonder why..." questions. These questions could someday be the basis for a
senior thesisÉor a dissertation!
6) Generally, you should not shade
your drawings. Often the shading people try to do obscures detail rather than
enhancing it. You should describe the differences in appearance via
accompanying text. If you feel that you must shade, then stippling is the
appropriate way to shade (some examples of this technique will be made
available upon request).
Guidelines
for evaluating laboratory notebooks
We will
use five criteria for evaluating notebooks. Each category carries equal weight
since all of them are necessary if you are to produce a useful record of your
work.
1) Completeness - does the lab book
contain information on all of the work assigned?
2) Organization - is there a
working table of contents? Is the required contact information on or inside the
cover of the book? Do all pages bear required information (page number, date,
and descriptive title)? Are all entries in the table of contents descriptive enough
to allow one to find something in the book, at a glance?
3) Drawings - are drawings in the
notebook good working (not necessarily pretty) drawings? Are the
drawings large enough to show sufficient detail? Are the structures drawn
recognizable? Are there enough drawings, or is there a noticeable lack thereof?
Are drawings and parts of drawings properly labeled? Is there a scale?
4) Observations - are observations
accurate? Do you make it clear what you know and what you are unsure of
(including what you are not sure of is often the most interesting part of lab
notebooksÐthat's one place research questions can come from)? What kinds of
things do you see and then try to explain in you observations?
5) Questions - What kinds of
questions are posed by the student? Are your questions probing, or just
superficial? How many questions are there? The more the better.
The
Individual Project
Each
student is required to develop a project relating to some aspect of invertebrate
biology. There are two types of project that would fulfil this requirement.
These are:
1) A research project on some
aspect of invertebrate biology. Research projects can be undertaken by
individual students or pairs of students, but if a "pair" project is
chosen, it should be understood that both members of the pair must participate
fully in the research development, data collection, data analysis and writing
of the final report. Also, I will expect more from pairs than I expect from
individuals.
Some
examples of feasible research projects: behavioral experiments with live animals (can you
train planarians to run a maze?); assisting with maintenance or development of
teaching resources for the class (e.g., the invertebrate aquarium in the lab;
see below); a field survey of invertebrates at a particular site, genetic work on
various invertebrates in my labÉI often have specific ideas for students that
donÕt have a project in mindÐcome see me for details.
2) A literature review paper on a
topic in invertebrate biology. The paper should be twelve to fifteen pages, double-spaced
(not including bibliography), and must include at least ten references from
the scientific literature. Web sites may be used as references, but they do NOT count
toward the required total of ten (and neither does your textbook, although you
can cite it if you like).
Some
examples of possible paper topics: What was the Cambrian Explosion, and did it really happen?
How do vertebrate endoparasites evade the host's immune system? A dissection guide would also make a
suitable paper.
A
brief (one or two pages) proposal for the project must be turned in at or
before the first lab practical. The proposal should include an outline of the project you
would like to do, a justification (where you explain why you are interested in
the project), examples of reference materials (i.e., books or papers that you
plan to cite) and, if it is a research project, a research plan. You will be
required to discuss the proposed work with Dr. Anderson. You may find the
following books useful when writing your paper:
McMillan, V. 2001. Writing papers in the
biological sciences (3rd edition). Bedford/St. Martin's, 207 pgs. ISBN:
0312258577
Pechenik, J. A. 2003. A short guide to writing
about biology (4th edition). Pearson Longman, 336 pgs. ISBN: 0321078438
ItÕs all too easy to copy-and-paste your paper
together from a few websites, or to buy a paper from a website. As you know, taking someone elseÕs work
and passing it off as your own is plagiarism.
It should go without saying that you are strongly discouraged from
plagiarism, but it doesnÕt, so IÕm saying it: DO NOT download your paper
(or large pieces of it) from the web.
Why not? ThereÕs a
reasonable chance that IÕll catch you, and that could get uncomfortable for
you. This isnÕt that hard an
assignment, and I hope youÕll be interested enough in a group of invertebrates
that you could spend some time researching it in more detail. If you have questions about what
constitutes plagiarism, ask me.
Comments
and Questions: feander @ siu.edu
Department of Zoology E-mail: zoology@zoology.siu.edu
Comments and questions related to web server: webmaster@science.siu.edu
SIUC
/ College of Science / Zoology / Anderson / The Invertebrates
URL:
http://www.science.siu.edu/zoology/anderson/inverts.html
Last
Updated: 1-Feb-06 / fea