Supplemental Instruction (SI) Schedule

Supplemental Instruction is an optional, free opportunity to learn about the material in BIOL 1404. The SI leaders are students who performed well in BIOL 1404 in the past. The data suggests that students who regularly participate in SI sessions score significantly higher on exams so I urge you to take advantage of these opportunities.


JEFFREY:
Monday 7-8:30pm Holden Hall Room 150
Wednesday 6-7:30pm Holden Hall Room 150

SUZANNE:
Tuesday 7:30-9pm Holden Hall Room 104
Thursday 7-8:30pm Holden Hall Room 104

Population Biology 1. Basic Parameters

IMPORTANT NOTE!!!
For the next several lectures we will be using math and graphs to help us explore population ecology. From my experience teaching this topic in the past, many of you will experience some difficulties with this material because you are not confident when dealing with math and graphs.

Rather than introducing the concepts to you in lecture and then having you work on activities to help you master the material out of class, this year I would like to "flip the class". This year I would like for you to study the material before coming to class so that we can use the class time to answer your questions and to help you master the material.

Assignment- Before Friday February 3rd, I expect that you will have read the following post and are able to meet all of the expected learning outcomes listed below. If you have not mastered the material in this blog, then you will find that you will be hopelessly lost in class on Friday and in the lectures that follow!!

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, a fully engaged student should be able to

- define b, d, r, B, D, dN/dt.

- identify and use the proper units associated with each parameter

- use the correct algebraic equations to calculate each of these parameters

- be equally comfortable referring to these concepts verbally or via their algebraic symbols.

Basic Parameters of Population Ecology

Here is a brief introduction to some of the important parameters that we will need to understand to be able to study population ecology. For each of the parameters it is important that you know (1) the name of the parameter, (2) the algebraic symbol used to represent the parameter, (3) the units of measurement for the parameter, (4) how to calculate the parameter, and (5) how to describe (in words) what a particular value of that parameter means.

It is probably easiest for me to introduce these concepts using an example.
Imagine that in a population of 100 elephants that in one year 10 elephants are born and 5 elephants die.

1) Population Size (N) units- individuals. Measures the number of individuals in a population.

N = 100 individuals

In this population of elephants, there are 100 individuals.

2) Population Birth Rate (B) units- number of births per time. Measures the number of births per time that occur in a population.

B = 10 births/year

In this population, each year there are 10 births.

3) Population Death Rate (D) units- number of deaths per time. Measures the number of deaths per time that occur in a population.

D = 5 deaths/year

In this population, each year there are 5 deaths.

4) Population Growth Rate (dN/dt) units- number of idividuals per time. Measures the rate of change of the population size.

dN/dt = B - D

dN/dt = 10 births/year - 5 deaths/year = 5 individuals/year

In this population, the population size increases by 5 individuals each year.

5) Per Capita Birth Rate (b) units- births per time per individual. Measures the number of births per time averaged across all members of the population.

b = B/N

b = (10 births/year)/100 individuals = 0.10 births/year/individual

In this population, each year 0.10 babies are born for each individual in the population.

6) Per Capita Death Rate (d) units - deaths per time per individual. Measures the number of deaths per time averaged across all members of the population.

d = D/N

d = (5 deaths/year)/100 individuals = 0.05 deaths/year/individual

In this population, each year 0.005 individuals die for each individual in the population.

7) Per Capita Growth Rate (r) units = individuals/time/individual. Measure the rate of change in population size averaged across all individuals. The per capita growth rate can be calcuated two ways.

a) r = b - d

r = 0.10 births/year/individual - 0.05 deaths/year/individual = 0.05 ind/year/ind

b) r = (dN/dt)/N

r = (5 individuals/year)/100 individuals = 0.05 individuals/year/individual

In this population, each year 0.05 individuals are added for each individual in the population.

Practice Problem

1. In a population of 50 tigers, in one year 10 tigers are born and 20 tigers die. What is B, D, dN/dt, b, d, r?

2. List the equation/equations for calculating the following parameters
a) b
b) the population growth rate
c) r

Sexual Selection

I think that sexual selection is one of the most interesting topics in all of biology. First, studyign this topic helps to illustrate that natural selection is much more than "survival of the fittest". Second, many of the traits produced by sexual selection are particularly bizzare. Finally, I think that it is fun to use what we have learned about mate choice in animals to helping us to understand human behavior.

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- discuss the critical difference between males and females and discuss how this difference influences differences in behavior and morphology between species.

- discuss why sexual selection is just a subset of natural selection

- discus why females should be choosier about who they mate with than males

- discuss why males often compete with other males to fertilize eggs of females

- compare and contrast male-male competition in species with internal fertilization and species with external fertilization

- describe the studies used by scientists to see if females are capable of choosing the best males

- discuss how females can determine which is the best male

- discuss why the variation in female reproductive success is much less than the variation in male reproductive success

- discuss how you would use sexual selection to help you understand human behavior

Past Exam Questions (answers at the bottom of the post)

1. Why are females choosier than males about who they mate with?
(a) female gametes are much more expensive than male gametes
(b) male gametes are much more expensive than female gametes
(c) in some species, males are larger than females
(d) in some species, males compete to mate with the female
(e) c and d

2. Why should females prefer to mate with the oldest males?
(a) because they can pass on good mating genes to their daughters
(b) because they can pass on good survival genes to their sons
(c) because the can pass on good survival genes to their daughters
(d) a and c
(e) b and c

3. Why might females sometimes cause male-male competition to occur?
(a) to assure that she mates with the oldest male
(b) to assure that she mates with the most symmetric male
(c) the male who wins the fight is likely to have “good genes”
(d) a and c
(e) a, b, and c

Further Reading

Here is a link to a website that a student sent to me last year called "The 30 Strangest Animal Mating Habits" http://www.neatorama.com/2007/04/30/30-strangest-animal-mating-habits/

Take a look at this and see if you can relate what the animals are doing to some of the theories that we have talked about in class.

Here is a link to a youtube video showing the mating display of lyrebirds. I was lucky enough to see a lyrebird doing its mating display when I was a kid living in Australia. There was a professional nature photographer who had been hiking around the bush for a couple of weeks waiting to see the display and he was pissed that my Dad and I were able to see the display after spending only about an hour in the woods. What do you think is going on with the lyrebirds?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y

Here is a link to the Powerpoint Presentation I prepared for this topic.

http://www.slideshare.net/secret/CG2HHvtrLA1KwL

Answers. 1. a, 2. e, 3. c

Here is a link to an interesting article that I just discovered on an ex-student's Facebook page. Biology is Cool!!!!!

Male spider snaps off own genitals inside female to fertilise her remotely, while being eaten.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/02/01/male-spider-snaps-off-own-genitals-inside-female-to-fertilise-her-remotely-while-being-eaten/

The Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance

I think that the evolution of antibiotic resistance is an interesting and important issue. Below I has listed the expected learning outcomes for this topic in BIOL 1404. Because this topic has widespread medical relevance I have included a lot of additional readings and a powerpoint presentation that I developed for another class last semester. This info is not required, but is only intended to provide more info to interested students.

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course a fully engaged students should be able to

- discuss the causes of the development of antibiotic resistance

- discuss what we have learned from ecology and evolutionary biology about potentila problems associated with antibiotic use

- discuss what we have learned from evolutionary biology that should help us fight microbial diseases more effectively

Past Exam Questions (answers at the bottom of the post)

In the 1950s, Japanese physicians began to notice that some hospital patients suffering from bacterial dysentery, which produces severe diarrhea, did not respond to antibiotics that had generally been effective in the past.

1. In order for the result described above to have occurred, which of the following must have been true in the population of dysentery-causing bacteria?
(a) there was variation in the susceptibility of the bacteria to antibiotics
(b) antibiotic resistance was heritable
(c) bacteria that were more resistant to antibiotics had higher survival rates than less resistant bacteria
(d) a, b, and c
(e) neither a, b, or c was true


2. What can be done in future to limit the problem of antibiotic resistance in disease-causing microorganisms?
(a) Doctors should only describe antibiotics when appropriate
(b) Doctors should prescribe larger doses of antibiotics
(c) patients should make sure to take all of the pills when antibiotics are prescribed
(d) a and c
(d) a, b, and c

Answers 1. d 2. d

Further Reading

Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance-
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/10/4/l_104_03.html

Antibiotic resistance: Questions and Answers- CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/anitbiotic-resistance-faqs.html

Antibiotic resistance- delaying the inevitable (parts 1 and 2) UC Berkeley
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/relevance/IA1antibiotics2.shtml

HIV the ultimate evolver (parts 1-3) UC Berkeley
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/relevance/IA2HIV.shtml


When Penicillin Pays: Why China Loves Antibiotics a Little Too Much http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2103733,00.html

Here is a link to an article about India I just discovered.
The Super-Resistant Bacteria That Has India 'Hell Scared' http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/the-super-resistant-bacteria-that-has-india-hell-scared/251731/

Here is an link to an article about what is going on in the US sent to my by a fellow BIOL 1404 students. Thanks!
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Found in 37 U.S. States
http://news.yahoo.com/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-found-37-u-states-204438989.html

Powerpoint Presentation

Here is a link the the powerpoint presentation I used in another class.

http://www.slideshare.net/secret/rPekyBdLalUvFY

The Evolution of Sex

Based on our understanding of natural selection, at first glance sexual reproduction doesn't appear to be advantageous from the female perspective (due to the two-fold cost of sex). However, the fact that sexual reproduction is so common in all groups of organisms suggests that there must be some major benefits of sex that outweight the costs.

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- explain "the two-fold costs of sex"
- discuss possible benefits of sexual reproduction including adaptation to environmental uncertainty and fighting disease
- be able to discuss the problem of the evolution of antiobiotic resistant microbes
- be able to discuss what the medical field may be able to learn from observing how nature fights disease.

Past Exam Question (answer at the bottom of the post)

1. What is the “two fold cost of sex”?
(a) female gametes are twice as expensive to produce as male gametes
(b) the genetic variation produced by sexually reproducing females provides a benefit if there is environmental uncertainty
(c) individuals reproducing asexually pass on twice as many of their genes
(d) a and b
(e) b and c

2. Which of the following hypotheses can explain a benefit of sex?
(a) males pass on more genes in sexual reproduction than in asexual reproduction
(b) the genetic variation produced by sexual reproductions provides a benefit in uncertain environments
(c) females reproducing asexually pass on twice as many of their genes
(d) a and b
(e) b and c


Further Readings

Although I am usually a little skeptical of articles form Wikipedia, this one is pretty good. It goes into more detail than you need to know, but provides some useful information

Evolution of Sexual Reproduction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_sex

Interesting Article by Evolutionary Biologist David Barash

The Good News About Sex http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/the-good-news-about-sex/43292

Life in Local Playa Lakes

If you would like to learn a little more about local playa lakes-

Playa Lakes http://www.eoearth.org/article/Playa_lake

Drawings of cladocerans similar to those inhabiting playa lakes.

This is what they don't look like.

answer- 1. c 2. b

Cultural Selection

In humans there are examples of alturistic behaviors that appear to be difficult to explain by kin selection of reciprocal altruism (e.g. soldiers sacrificing their lives in battle, police or firefighters risking their lives, catholic priests remaining celibate).

Genes are self replicating molecules. Genes produce our bodies which in turn produce more copies of their genes. Richard Dawkins has suggested that we think about genes as being "replicators" and our bodies as being "vehicles" whose job it is to make more copies of the replicators. If we can not explain altruistic behaviors as strategy for increasing the transmission of genes into the next generation them maybe we need to search for another kind of "replicator". Dawkins has suggested that "ideas" (he calls them "memes") are also capable of self replication. Because ideas differ in how long they survive and how well they are passed on it should be possible to have selection for ideas (cultural selection).

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- identify examples of altruistic behavior that might be explained by cultural selection
- be able to compare and contrast "natural selection" with "cultural selection"

Further Readings

Cultural evolution http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evolution-cultural/

One of my favorite books of all time is "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkings. He discusses some of his ideas about cultural selection in the final chapter of this book. Here is a link to that chapter in case you are interested
http://www.rubinghscience.org/memetics/dawkinsmemes.html

I think this chapter is a must read for any educated person, I hope you enjoy.

Reading Assignments From the Textbook

Remembers that reading assignments from the textbook for each lesson are shown in the course syllabus.

You are responsible for all content that relates to the stated expected learning outcomes.

Mastering Biology Homework Assignments

On-line homework will account for a portion of your grade for BIOL 1404. You will need to be enrolled in the MasteringBiology website. Below is a message from Dr. Dini explaining what you need to do in order to enroll. Students who took BIOL 1403 here last semester should be familiar with the system. Those of you who are new to BIOL 1404 at Tech might check with fellow students about the on-line homework because they are likely to know much more about it than I do.

The first assignment will be due by 11:59 PM on January 31st. I have posted the first three assignments which relate to the material that will be covered on the first midterm. I will add the four additional assignments that relate to material for the second midterm at a later date.

Mark McG

Dear Student:
In this course you will be using MasteringBiology™, an online tutorial and homework companion to your textbook. It may be useful to print this sheet before you attempt to register.

Students who were enrolled in the on-line homework for BIOL 1403 no longer need their access code, as they are already in the system. They just have to click on the button to enroll in a new course, and it’s done. They merely need the new course’s ID #. New students DO need an access code (unless Mastering Biology was used wherever they took BIOL 1403).


What You Need:
P A valid email address
P A password that you make up (must have 8 characters; at least 1 of these must be a letter and at least one of these must be a number.) If you already have a Pearson Education account (you probably do if you took BIOL 1403 at TTU last semester of if you use MasteringPhysics or MyMathLab), just use the same password.
P A student access code (Comes in the Student Access Kit that may have been packaged with your new textbook or is available separately in your school’s bookstore. Otherwise, you can purchase access online at www.masteringbiology.com.)
P The ZIP code for Texas Tech University: 79409
P The Course ID: MB14042012
P Your TTU ID#: _____________________ (Please DO include the R at the start of your number. Memorize this #, if you have not already done so)

Register
Go to www.masteringbiology.com and click New Students under Register.
· To register using the Student Access Code inside the MasteringBiology Student Access Kit, select Yes, I have an access code. Click Continue.

–OR– Purchase access online: Select No, I need to purchase access online now. Click Continue, and then follow the on-screen instructions to purchase access using a credit card or PayPal. The purchase path includes registration, but the process may differ slightly from the steps printed here.
· License Agreement and Privacy Policy: Click I Accept to indicate that you have read and agree to the license agreement and privacy policy.
· Select the appropriate option under “Do you have a Pearson Education account?” and supply the requested information. If you are taking or have taken Math or Physics classes at TTU that used a Pearson textbook and had on-line assignments, you may already have a Pearson account. If so, you are encouraged to use the same login name and password as before. Upon completion, the Confirmation & Summary page confirms your registration. This information will also be emailed to you for your records. You can either click Log In Now or return to www.masteringbiology.com later.

Log In
Go to www.masteringbiology.com.
Enter your Login Name and Password and click Log In.

Enroll in Your Instructor’s Course and/or Access the Self-Study Area
Upon first login, you’ll be prompted to either:
Enter your instructor’s MasteringBiology Course ID and click Save; OR
Select your text and Go to Study Area

Do the first of these. Under Student ID, you will need to enter your personal TTU R# so that your scores can be recorded and downloaded to the grading spreadsheet.

Congratulations! You have completed registration and have enrolled in your instructor’s MasteringBiology course. To access your course from now on, simply go to www.masteringbiology.com, enter your Login Name and Password, and click Log In. If your instructor has created assignments, you can access them by clicking on the Assignment List button. Otherwise, click on Study Area to access self-study material.

System Requirements & Support
To effectively use the resources on this website, check its system requirements:
Log in to www.masteringbiology.com and click the “System requirements” link at the bottom of the home page. In particular, you may need to check that the latest version of the Flash player is available to your browser.
Customer Support: http://www.masteringbiology.com/support.

Dr. Dini does NOT supply customer service or tech support. If you experience problems with the website, contact the company. You can communicate with customer support via e-mail, chat, or telephone. Try submitting your first assignment well before the deadline because if you have trouble and need to communicate with customer support, their response time may be up to 48 h if via e-mail, or quicker via chat.

Reciprocal Altruism and Evolutionary Psychology

Drawing of a hungry vampire bat (right) solicits food from a potential donor, first by grooming around the stomach area (c) and then licking the donor's face (d). The donor bat then responds by regurgitating blood (e) if receptive. (Wilkinson 1990)

Altruistic acts among non relatives can be understood by reciprocal altruism. As we discussed in class we would expect reciprocal altruism to be limited to species that show long term associations and are "smart" emough to be able to recognize individuals and remember who owes them and who does not.

Examples of Past Test Questions (answers at the bottom of this post)

1. It is not uncommon for college students to share items such as shampoo with their roommates. Which of the following hypothesis best explains this behavior?
(a) group selection
(b) kin selection
(c) reciprocal altruism
(d) selfish behavior
(e) altruistic behavior

2. Which of the following terms apply to a roommate who borrows your shampoo when she/he has run out, but will not allow you to borrow their shampoo when you need it?
(a) altruistic
(b) mutualist
(c) cheater
(d) a and c
(e) b and c



Further Readings

Reciprocal Altruism http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/mammals/explore/altruism.shtml

Reciprocal Altruism in Vampire Bats http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/behavior/Spring2002/Perry/altruism.html

If you are interested in learning more about Evolutionary Psychology here is a link to a bunch of Frequently asked questions. Some of this goes into way more detail than we need to be worried about for this class.
FAQ Evolutionary Psychology http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/projects/human/evpsychfaq.html

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- define reciprocal altruism
- discuss the conditions under which altruistic acts can be explained by reciprocal altruism
- examine an example of an altruistic behavior and determine whether reciprocal altruism is the best explanation
- explain how participants benefit by being involved in reciprodal altruism in real world examples (e.g, vampire bats)
- define a cheater in a reciprocal altruism system and discuss (a) why cheating is a problem in the system and (b) what organisms can do to reduce cheating
- discuss Trivers' ideas about how human psychology has been influenced by reciprocal altruism (be able to provide your opinion about Trivers' ideas and be able to back up your opinions)


Answers 1. c even though this is an example of altruistic behavior, the best explanation for this behavior is reciprocal altruism) 2. c

Altruism- Questions to Think About

Drawing of mated pair, nestlings, and helper (left) at a nest of the Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens). (From E. O. Wilson. 1975. Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Belknap Press, Cambridge, MA.)

Some birds have a behavior known as "helping at the nest". A female bird will sometimes help another bird rear offspring rather than laying her own eggs and raising them. There are two different hypothese to explain this behavior. First, this may be an example of an altruistic behavior that can be explained by kin selection. Alternatively, this may be an example of a purely selfish behavior. It is possible that young inexperienced birds are not very good at raising offspring the first time they try and by helping another bird to raise offspring they may get practice that makes them better at rearing offspring later on.

1) Explain how you as a scientist would conduct a study to distinguish between these two alternative hypothese.

2) Should a female bird who is capable of raising three offspring on her own help her sister to raise her sister's offspring if helping her sister allows her sister to raise five more offspring? Be sure that you would be able to explain to someone else how you determined your answer.

If you post your answers to the blog then I will be able to take a look at them and you can also get some feedback from fellow students.

Old Exam Questions

Here are some examples of old exam questions dealing with altruism. See if you can figure out the correct answers (answers provided at the bottom of this post).

Researchers studying black-tailed prairie dogs conducted an experiment where they dragged a stuffed badger (a predator of prairie dogs) across the colony. They repeated the experiment 698 times over the course of 3 years. The researchers observed that individuals with no offspring in the colony gave a warning call 19% of the time whereas individuals with offspring in the colony called almost 50% of the time. Which of the following could explain why individuals with no offspring would ever call?
(a) group selection
(b) other squirrels will return the favor in the future
(c) they have other relatives in the colony
(d) a and b
(e) a, b, or c would explain this observation


Which of the following are examples of an altruistic trait?
(a) an African wild dog sharing food with other members of the group
(b) a female choosing to mate with a symmetric male
(c) a sterile worker bee helping her sister (the queen) to reproduce
(d) a and c
(e) neither a, b, or c


Further Reading

Here are links to a couple of articles you might want ot take a look at-

Altruistic behaviors http://www.eoearth.org/article/Altruistic_behaviors

Kin selection http://www.eoearth.org/article/Kin_selection



Answers to the test questions: 1) c 2) d

Why Group Selection Doesn't Work

Photo: Large flock of European Starlings (a bird)




Group selection is the hypothesis that organisms have the traits they do (including altruistic traits) because selection has produced traits that assure that species survive. Although this is intuitively an OK idea, it turns out that it doesn't work.

Have you ever noticed large "roosts" of birds in trees around town. Roosting birds gather by the hundreds or thousands in one, or a few, trees (maybe you have mistakenly parked you car underneath a roost and suffered the consequences). Biologists are interested in understanding the causes of roosting behavior. People who support the group selection hypothesis have proposed that the reason that these birds are roosting is that it gives them an opportunity to examine how large their population is. Becasue the birds do not want to overpopulate their environment, because overpopulation could lead to a loss of all of the food so that the entire species dies, birds want to know how many other birds are there so they know how much to reproduce. If birds see that the roosts are large then they know that the population is large so they decide to produce only a few babies. However, if the birds see that the roost is small then they are decide to produce many babies. Thus, the population never gets so large that they eat up all of the food.

Unfortunately, the math required for group selection just doesn't work out. Imagine a species of birds that mated monogamously for life. If the parents wanted to keep population sizes constant than their best strategy would be to produce two offspring during their life so that they make just enough kids to replace themselves. For this to happen all females would have a gene that said "make two babies". Imagine that a mutation occurs that says "make three babies". This mutation would quickly spread througout the population so that eventually all females would produce babies. If mutations that said produce 4 or more babies occurred then these mutations would also spread. It is thus possible to imagine that each female would make so many babies that the population would indeed get large enough to consume all of the food which would cause the population to go extinct. Thus, the math of natural selection does not allow organisms to artificially reduce their fitness for the "good of the species".

The observation that led group selectionist to thinking that roosting and reproduction could be explained by group selection was that females produced fewer eggs when more individuals were at the roost than when fewer individuals were at the roost. Can you think of another hypothesis to explain this observation?

So why do birds form roosts? There are at least two hypotheses. First, some scientists propose that organisms roost because they are safer from predators when living in large groups. Others think that organisms form roosts because they can benefit from information gained by living with lots of other individuals. For example, if you flew to the south to look for food and didn't find much and you noticed that those birds returning to the roost from the north looked well fed, then you might head out to the north the next day.

Expected Learning Outcome

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- discuss why the classic notion of group selection does not work in nature

Group Office Hours

Group Office Hours will meet Monday at 6PM in Room 21 in the basement of the Biology Building. These meetings are purely optional and intended to provide us the the opportunity to discuss class material, study strategies, or anything else you might want to talk about.

Group OH will last as long as you have questions or until it is time for me to head home to watch Hawaii 5-0.

Improving Your Study Techniques

It is only the second day of class, but already several students have asked me for suggestions about how to improve their study techniques for this course. Interestingly, there was an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education that might help me make more useful suggestions about how to study more effectively.

Metacognition and Student Learning- http://chronicle.com/article/MetacognitionStudent/130327/

The article provides a link to what I think many of you will find to be a very useful website developed by Dr. Stephen Chew from Stamford University in Alabama entitled "How to Get the Most Out of Studying". Dr. Chew has prepared a series of 5 short (5 - 9 minute) videos designed to help students improve their study skills. I just watched all of the videos and I thought that they were excellent. Thus, I highly advise each of you to watch all 5 videos starting with the first and watching them in order through video #5.
http://www.samford.edu/how-to-study/

The main point of the videos is that successful learning requires "deep processing" of the information which for many of you will require new approaches to studying (many of you were probably able to get by with "shallow processing" in high school). The good news is that is is possible to learn deep processing. The bad news is that it requires effort and a willingness to try to learn to study in new ways. Dr. Chew suggests several strategies that you can start using immediately.

The article on metacognition also discusses things that teachers can do to help their students accurately assess their level of understanding of course material. They suggest that teachers frequently use "formative assessment" (i.e., assessments that are intended to provide students feedback on their level of understanding of the material rather than assessments designed to assign grades). Dr. Dini's use of clicker questions in class is an example of formative assessment.

I personally have not had a great deal of success using clicker-style questions, but many of my colleagues find them to be very effective. Instead, I prefer to allow you time to think and write about the material during class and to interact with the your fellow classmates to get a bit of feedback. Because time in class is limited, I imagine that I often cut these types of activities a bit short. In addition, I know that it is difficult for me to provide feedback to individual students when there are so many of you.

I still think that these in-class activities can be very valuable. I suggest that any time that I ask you to think about a questions or conduct an activity in class, that you spend out of class time thinking more deeply about the question. For example, if I ask you to write down a few sentences describing all of the information held in a particular graph, it is unlikely that you will have the "perfect answer" during the short time allotted to the activity in class. Thus, you should take time out of class to think about the answer, incorporating comments that your fellow classmates or I made during class.

How can you accurately assess your level of comprehension of the material. First, you can compare answers with other well-prepared classmates. Second, you can check with me or with Jeffrey the SI instructor. I suggest that everyone write out answers to the Expected Learning Outcomes for all of the lessons and readings. I am happy to review your answers to see if I think you have thoroughly addressed the concept in the a well organized manner. Feel free to send me your efforts so that I can provide feedback. Additionally, it might be useful to spend time in the Group Office Hours allowing students to provide feedback on their fellow students work.

Please feel free to add posts about study techniques that you have found to be useful and provide any suggestions about how I can help you learn the material more effectively.

Altruism Part 1

Photo: Belding's Ground Squirrels, the subject of research on altruism


From our discussion about natural selection you should have learned that organisms have the traits they do because traits that produce phenotypes that are more successful at transmitting genes to the next generation (surviving and reproducing) become more common in a population over time. Thus, we expect organisms to have traits that maximize their individual survival and reproduction (we call these selfish traits).

Examples of Altruistic Behaviors

1. Broken wing display by kildeer
kildeer live around here so you should be able to see this behavior later on this spring (that will require going outside!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNG7y0caqj0

2. Group defense in musk oxen
you can't see this around here even if you go outside.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb6Rke7jiTc

3. Food sharing in African Wild Dogs

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-wild_dog.html

4. Prairie dogs giving warning calls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXCPaNWcTFo

We should originally be a little bit confused when we learn about altruistic traits. How can genes that produce traits that decrease an organisms abilty to survive or reproduce become more common in a population?!? Luckily, we have learned that understanding what happens in natural selection requires us to focus on the transmission of genes. Apparently, organisms that behave altruistically are actually passing on more genes by behaving altruistically than they would by behaving selfishly. How can this be? (this problem perplexed Darwin).

Fortunately, a lot of really smart scientists have thought about altruism and have recognized that their are a variety of different ways that organisms behaving altruistically could pass on more genes than organisms acting selfishly. There are at least 4 different hypotheses that can explain the evolution of altruistic behaviors (one of these will probably only help to explain altruism in humans).

The first explanation for why organisms were altruistic was the idea of group selection. Group selection is the idea that organisms have traits becasue those traits "assure the survival of the species". At first glance this seems like a pretty useful idea, but it actually does not work and it has been a very difficult idea to remove from the minds of the general public even though scientists have know that it is wrong and unecessary (there are much better theories about the causes of altruism) for over forty years. It would take a while for me to explain why group selection doesn't work so I won't spend any more time talking about it either in class or here on the blog. However, if you are interested in learning more about this I would be happy to chat with you.

It is important for this class that you are able to understand under which conditions the other hypotheses could explain the presence of altruistic behaviors.

Hamilton's Rule

Hamilton's Rule is a mathematical equation that helps scientists understand under which conditions organisms should behave altruistically and when they should behave selfishly. It is important that you understand (1) how sceintists use mathematical models to help us understand the world and (2) what Hamilton's Rule tells us about when organisms should behave altruistically.

Suggested Readings

Biological Altruism- http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/altruism-biological/


Expected Learming Outcomes

By the end of the course a fully engaged students should be able to

1) define altruistic traits and provide several examples

2) compare and contrast selfish traits and altruistic traits

3) explain why altruistic traits at first glance appear to be difficult to understand based on what we know about the process of natural selection

4) discuss at least four possible hypotheses that explain the presence of altruistic traits and explain under which circumstances these theories are expected to apply

5) use “Hamilton’s Rule” as an example to illustrate how biologists use mathematical models to help them understand biology

6) discuss how Sherman’s work with Belding’s Ground Squirrels provided support for Hamilton’s Rule

7) be able to determine which hypothesis best helps you understand any examples of altruistic traits that I give you and be able to justify that answer

Patterns of Selection

As I mentioned in the natural selection expected learning outcomes, I want you to understand the three patters on selection- directional selection, stabilizing selection, and disruptive selection. In addition, to the readings in your textbook, you will find useful info on this topic in the Encyclopedia of the Earth article on Evolution http://www.eoearth.org/article/Evolution.

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, the fully engaged student should be able to

- distinguish between directional, stabilizing, and disruptive selection
- describes how directional. stabilizing, and disruptive selection work
- give examples of traits produced by each of these patterns of selection
- draw the graph that shows the relationship between fitness and trait size that produces each of these patterns of selection.

Top 10 New Species for 2011

Scientists are discovering and describing species at a rapid rate. Each year the International Institute for Species Exploration releases their list of the top ten most interesting new species described in the past year. Here is a link to the list for 2011. Enjoy.

http://species.asu.edu/Top10

Why I Like Scuba Diving: the Wonders of the Undersea World

Photo: Eye of crocodile fish by Matt Segal taken in Solomon Islands.

One of the problems with teaching Introductory Biology, is that is is often difficult for us to convince you that what we are teaching you is relevant. Because Introductory Biology is the first step along your university biology education and in order to give you a firm foundation there is a relatively large amount of material that you need to be introduced to, it is often difficult for us to show you the context of how the things that we are teaching you might be applied in real life. For example, I can tell you that learning how to draw and interpret graphs is a critical skill (and its fun!), but perhaps it would be better if I could actually show you. Thus, this semester I am going to try to find new ways of illustrating how the material that we are learning might be interesting, useful, and applicable.

Natural Selection and The Diversity of Life

One of the goals of this course is to introduce you to the diversity of life on earth. When I was studying biology at UCSB, we were able to go on field trips to the intertidal zone simply by walking across the street and we could visit deserts and mountains in relatively short drives. Obviously, because we live in one of the most human modified regions in the country, it is more difficutl for us to take you out and show you some of the diversity of life. As I mentioned in class, taking my first scuba dive and seeing first hand the creatures that live on a coral reef was a life changing experience for me. While I am diving I am constantly asking myself "how could natural selection ever have created something like that?"

Here are links to a powerpoint presentation and some videos from places that I have been diving. As you watch them try to (1) look at the diversity of critters that are found living under the water, and (2) to try to figure out how natural selection might have helped produce such creatures.

1. In 2009 I travelled to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. I prepared this powerpoint presentation to show people in my dive club. I took almost none of these photos (they are borrowed from the internet) but I saw all of the things that are shown in this presentation. I was especially fascinated by all of the fishes that walked rather than swam.

http://www.slideshare.net/secret/l5XPJ7vMrEM5mI

2. In 2008 I visitied the Galapagos Islands which for a biologist was like returning to the motherland. Here is a video shot on that trip by my friend Josh Jensen. Josh is a talented videographer who lives in Australia. The best part of this trip was seeing the 35 foot long whale shark; it was great to watch a bunch of grown ups act get excited like little kids after we saw that.

http://www.underseaproductions.com/demo_reels/galapagos_video_footage.html


Malaysian Bat Education Adventure

While I am distracted thinking about cool places that I have visited and crazy things that I have seen I will add the link to the website that we have developed about Malaysian bats for 4th grade students. Take a look at some of the bat videos if you want to see some really odd critters.

http://www.ttu-mbea.org/

Natural Selection

An understanding of the process of natural selection helps us to understand the amazing diversity of life on the earth.

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course a fully engaged students should be able to

1) define the process of natural selection

2) distinguish between the patterns of stabilizing, disruptive, and directional selection and provide examples of each pattern

3) describe how the process of natural selection has produced a trait that is an adaptation to a particular environmental condition.

4) explain why organisms are not expected to be perfectly adapted to their environments

5) discuss the conditions that would cause natural selection to stop

6) explain why natural selection is expected to produce selfish traits

Readings

Natural selection http://www.eoearth.org/article/Natural_selection

Here is a link to a website from UC Berkeley that might be useful to take a look at-

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_25

Course Syllabus

Syllabus
BIOLOGY II (for Life Science Majors)
BIOL 1404, SPRING 2012

Class Information
Section 001: MWF 9:00 a.m. in Biology LH100; Section 002: MWF 10:00 a.m. in Biology LH100.

Test period: Tu, 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Prerequisite: BIOL 1403.

1st half: Dr. Mark McGinley
Office: 215 McClellan, 742-1828 X242
Of. Hrs: MWF. 11:00, or by appt.
Group Of. Hrs: TBA BIOL
e-mail: mark.mcginley@ttu.edu

2nd half: Dr. Michael Dini, rm. 007, 742-2710 X246

Website: http://courses.ttu.edu/biol1403-mdini
Of. Hrs: MW, 11-11:30, rm. 07; TR, 3:30-4, B&N Cafe or by appt.
Group Of. Hrs: T, 6:00-7:00, rm. 023
e-mail: michael.dini@ttu.edu

Required materials:
1. Class Text: Campbell’s Biology, 9th ed., by Reece et al.
2. H-iTT “clicker” device
3. Lab Text: Lab Manual for Biology II, by M. Dini
4. dissecting kit and 5-6 prs of examining gloves
Items 1 & 2 are available from area textbook stores. Items 3 & 4 are available from TTUAB near room 025 in the Biology Bldg ‘til Jan. 27.
5. Homework Website: http://www.masteringbiology.com ID#: MB14042012

1. COURSE OVERVIEW & GOALS

BIOL 1404 is the second semester of a rigorous, writing-intensive, two-semester course. It is offered only during the spring, and designed to prepare life science majors for upper-level courses in the life sciences. Whereas BIOL 1403 focuses on the particulars of cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, classical genetics, reproductive/developmental biology and evolutionary theory, BIOL 1404 focuses on organisms as they relate to other organisms and to their physical environments (ecology), biodiversity, as well as on plant and animal anatomy and physiology. Overall, the course aims to give you a strong foundation in the principles of biology, many of which you may not encounter again in future courses. The course is meant to introduce you to the way that scientists approach and solve problems leading to the construction of new knowledge. It is also our hope that the course will continue to give you an important handle in your attempt to understand the place and role of humans in the world and, perhaps, your particular place in it. Students enrolled in this course must have passed BIOL 1403, or its equivalent at another institution. Students on academic probation, or who received a "W" or an "F" the last time they took BIOL 1403 should immediately drop this course. This course satisfies the Natural Sciences Core Curriculum requirement.

2. EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES AND METHODS FOR ASSESSING LEARNING OUTCOMES

A. Explain basic concepts of evolutionary ecology, general ecology, cellular energetics, plant water potential, biodiversity, animal anatomy & physiology. ASSESSED BY: scores earned on expository essays on each of the four unit tests, and by in-class discussions.
B. Demonstrate skills in scientific reasoning and experimental design. ASSESSED BY: group discussion and subsequent reporting via “clickers,” by scores earned on a mid-semester laboratory science process skills test, and by scores earned on written lab reports.
C. Demonstrate ability to write research reports including: abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgments, and literature cited. ASSESSED BY: scores on draft & final versions of written lab reports.
D. Students graduating from Texas Tech University should be able to explain some of the major concepts in the Natural Sciences and demonstrate an understanding of scientific approaches to problem solving, including ethics. ASSESSED BY: scores on expository essays on each of the four unit tests, and by end-of-semester performance on laboratory science process skills test.

3. ENROLLMENT & ATTENDANCE

You should be enrolled separately in a lecture section (001 or 002) and in a laboratory section (501-520). See Dr. Dini immediately if you have doubts about your enrollment. Regular attendance is critical for the success of BIOL 1404 students. Success in this course will require a good set of notes, hopefully written by yourself, and the critical reading of all assigned pages in the textbook, for there will be test questions on material that has not been covered in lecture. Class will often begin with verbal announcements that are not formally duplicated anywhere else. You are responsible for getting missed announcements from classmates. We consider more than two absences during the semester to be excessive. It does not matter why you are not present in lecture. The simple fact is that if you are not present, you will not learn the material as well as you otherwise would. During the 2nd half of the semester, class participation will be monitored using the H-iTT devices. Particularly important is your regular attendance in lab. You must attend the lab section in which you are enrolled. More than two unexcused absences from lab will result in the loss of ALL points connected with the laboratory portion of this course. Not only should you be in class at every class meeting, but you should be attentive as well. Chatting, texting, dozing, reading newspapers, or listening to music during class are totally uncool and are not tolerated. Access to the Worldwide Web is important for success in this course. Dr. Dini’s website is not fully compatible with the Firefox/Mozilla Browser, though Firefox is the preferred browser for the MasteringBiology homework website.

4. EVALUATION

Your semester letter grade will be determined from the scores you earn on four unit tests (45%), on your laboratory work (32%), on the cumulative final exam (14%), and on on-line homework (9%). The scores for this course are not curved. Letter grades will be determined by the number of raw points you earn (NOT the percentage), according to the following scale:

A = 979-1100 B = 858-978 C = 737-857 D = 616-736 F < 616

The four unit tests are worth 100 points each. Your highest score on these four tests will be doubled at semester’s end, thereby making these tests worth 500 out of the 1100 points possible by semester’s end. The cumulative final exam is worth 150 points. On-line homework will consist of 14 assignments of varying point value. Late homework is not accepted. The distribution of the 350 points connected with your laboratory work will be explained at the first lab meeting. Computer-graded portions of tests will be composed of multiple-choice and/or matching questions. All tests (except the final exam) will also contain essays. No test scores will be dropped. There will be re-tests for Test #1 and Test #3. Only students who earn a 40% or higher on the original tests will have the option to take these re-tests, which will be administered one week later. The re-test score will replace the score on the original test, whether the re-test score is higher or lower. There will be no all-essay versions of tests this semester.

Most of the points for each test (90-95%) will be drawn from material covered in class. Thus, a good set of notes will be of much assistance in learning the material. Roughly 5-10% of each test will be drawn from material in the textbook or other assigned readings, but not covered in class. Unprofessionally made videotapes of our lectures will be available at the SOAR Center (80 Holden Hall; hours M-R 9-8, F 9-5) but you should be aware that equipment is subject to failure and to our inexperience; thus, videotapes for all lectures are not guaranteed. You may record the audio portions of lectures (NO video recordings or photographs), but recordings may be used only to study biology unless you have our permission to use them for other purposes. Cellular phones, palm pilots, pagers, and beepers may not be used during tests, labs, or lectures, unless directed by the instructor. Computers may not be used during tests. You may be asked to leave if your devices disturb the class.

We will make an effort to design tests that challenge you to do more than regurgitate facts. Repetitious reading of textbook and notes as a sole means of studying will get you no better than a grade of "C" because tests will ask you to apply, integrate, and evaluate information in situations which may be different from those covered in class. They will be tests of your understanding of the principles of biology, not solely tests of your ability to memorize and recall. Appendix F of the lab manual consists of tests administered during the past two years in BIOL 1404, along with the answer keys. You may find these tests helpful as you prepare for this semester's tests, but realize that no test items from these old tests will appear on your tests. Tests may include material covered in previous testing units. Students are invited to create and submit sample multiple-choice questions for potential inclusion into all tests. A review session will be held before each unit test, usually on Monday evenings from 5-6.

Tests will be on Tuesday evenings at 6:00 sharp (see schedule for dates) and will last 90 minutes. You must be prepared to present a photo ID (does not have to be a Tech ID) at all tests; failure to do so can result in the disqualification of your test. Also, bring two #2 pencils and a pen. We will provide scantron forms. Anyone entering the test after someone has completed the test and left the room will not be allowed to take that test. While tests are scheduled at a frequency of about once a month, the test period on Tuesday afternoons will often be used for optional activities such as discussions of current topics, enhancing study or test-taking skills, administering re-tests, going over old tests, working on sample test questions, etc. We strongly encourage you to be present for as many of these sessions as you can. Not all lab instructors are equal. As a result, it may be necessary to normalize lab scores in certain lab sections at the end of the semester.

5. UNDERSTANDING EVALUATION

Evaluating student performance is a complex and difficult process. While students cannot be pigeonholed, they can be judged on the basis of their achievements. Effort is an important component of achievement, but we cannot accurately gauge your effort. We are limited to measuring achievement by the number of points you earn.

Grade Distributions for the last two BIOL 1404 Classes

spring 2010 spring 2011
A = 5.6% A = 11.9%
B = 30.9% B = 31.0%
C = 37.5% C = 37.2%
D = 19.9% D = 15.6%
F = 6.1% F = 4.1%
W = 9.2% W = 6.2%

NOTE: Letter grade proportions were calculated based on the number of students enrolled on the last day of class, whereas “W” proportions were figured according to students enrolled on the 12th day of class.
6. SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION

The SOAR Center will sponsor Supplemental Instruction (SI) specifically for BIOL 1404 students. The student leaders, Jeffrey Chen & Suzanne Alkul, will attend all lectures, and will offer free instructional SI sessions at times and places to be announced. This is a superb opportunity to get help from a peer who is also an expert.

7. TEST GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

During the week of Feb. 7-10, fifteen randomly selected lab sections may elect a representative to the Biology Advisory Committee (BAC) following brief presentations by the candidates concerning their qualifications for the position. This committee of students will meet the Wednesday afternoon following each regular unit test and re-test in order to evaluate student comments/criticisms about test items and to forward their recommendations to the course instructors, who will take these recommendations under advisement. The qualifications to serve on the committee are that the student took BIOL 1403 at Texas Tech and received a "C" or better, and that the student be free Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m.

The BAC does not consider essay questions. If you disagree with the score awarded to an essay, then type a detailed presentation of your grievance, attach it to the original essay and submit it to the appropriate instructor for re-evaluation. Essays done in pencil or erasable ink will not be reconsidered. This must be done within one week of the return of the essays. Likewise, suspected errors in the filling in of any part of the scantron form must be brought to the proper instructors' attention within one week of the posting of scores on Raiderlink. Please do not procrastinate; check the posted scores as soon as possible.

8. WITHDRAWAL FROM COURSE

Students who think they should withdraw from the course should be aware that this course is offered only once a year, during the spring semester. Withdrawal must take place before 5:00 on March 28. You need not inform the instructor, but it is helpful if you inform your lab instructor and lab partners of your intention to withdraw. Failure to withdraw properly will result in the grade of “F.” Students who plan to take this course elsewhere and transfer the credits to Texas Tech must insure that the other institution’s course (a) is designated specifically for majors (not non-majors and not both), (b) has a 3-h laboratory component, and (c) is a course that treats most of the following principles of biology: basic ecology; biodiversity; plant anatomy/physiology, and animal anatomy/physiology.

9. OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

Dishonesty on exams, homework, written work or connected with your attendance in lab or lecture will meet with the most serious consequences. Students are expected to be aware of, and abide by, the University's Honor code. Plagiarism on written lab reports or essays (copying/paraphrasing from other students or from other sources without giving due credit) will result in the loss of all points for that exercise, at the very least. Smoking and tobacco-chewing are not permitted in lecture or lab, nor is the use of cell phones, pagers, beepers, etc.

Disabling conditions: Any student who, because of a disabling condition (e.g. diabetes, epilepsy, dyslexia) may require special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact us as soon as possible so that accommodations can be made. Students should present appropriate verification from Disabled Student Services, Dean of Students Office. No requirement exists that accommodations be made prior to completion of this University procedure. Religious holidays: Any student who will miss tests because of recognized religious holidays should notify us as soon as possible so alternative arrangements can be made.

Can we talk? We can talk about anything you'd like. No appointment is necessary to see us during office hours -- just drop in. If office hours are not convenient, then feel free to make an appointment. You can also e-mail us; our e-mail addresses are on the front page of this syllabus. We should tell you that we are not happy to deliver all or part of a lecture to someone who has missed class.

10. SCHEDULING

The final five lectures will be covered as part of the Cumulative Final Exam, which is on Friday, May 11th, from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. at locations to be announced in class.
Tentative BIOL 1404 Schedule, 2012
Week Date Topic Text Pages Notes
1 Jan. 20 Natural Selection 476-485 NO 1404 labs this week
2 Jan. 23 Natural Selection/Altruism 1134-1139 Labs do meet this week
2 Jan. 25 Altruism/Behavioral Ecology 1118-1134
2 Jan. 27 Why have sex?
3 Jan. 30 Sexual Selection
3 Feb. 1 Population Ecology 1187-1191
3 Feb. 3 Population Ecology, cont. Last day to drop w/o penalty
4 Feb. 6 Human Population Growth 198-200 BAC Elections this week
4 Feb. 8 Community Ecology 1194-1215
4 Feb. 10 Indirect Effects
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5 Feb. 13 Cellular Respiration (Cont.) 172-182
5 Feb. 14 Test #1 (Intro. through Indirect Effects)
5 Feb. 15 Introduction to Energetics 142-151
5 Feb. 17 Photosynthesis I 184-203
6 Feb. 20 Photosynthesis II
6 Feb. 21 Re-Test #1
6 Feb. 22 Photosynthesis/Cellular Respiration 163-181
6 Feb. 24 Cellular Respiration II
7 Feb. 27 Angiosperms: Fruits and Seeds 807-811
7 Feb. 29 Plant Diversity I 600-615
7 Mar. 2 Plant Diversity II 618-634
8 Mar. 5 Plant Diversity III
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 Mar. 6 Test #2 (Energetics through Plant Diversity)
8 Mar. 7 Viruses 381-394 2nd half of course begins
8 Mar. 9 Prokaryotes I 551-553, 556-565
9 Mar. 10-18 SPRING BREAK
10 Mar. 19 Prokaryotes II 564-573 NO 1404 labs this week
10 Mar. 21 “Protists” 575-579
10 Mar. 23 Fungi 636-642, 648-652
11 Mar. 26 Invertebrates I 654-673
11 Mar. 28 Invertebrates II 674-683 Last day to drop
11 Mar. 30 Invertebrates III 683-692
12 Apr. 2 Invertebrates IV 692-695
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12 Apr. 3 Test #3 (Viruses through Invertebrates)
12 Apr. 4 Vertebrates I 697-709
12 Apr. 6 Vertebrates II 709-717
13 Apr. 9 UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY Labs do meet this week
13 Apr. 10 Re-Test #3
13 Apr. 11 Vertebrates III 717-724
13 Apr. 13 Nervous System I 1045-1054
14 Apr. 16 Nervous System II 1055-1067
14 Apr. 18 Endocrine System I 974-982, 984-989
14 Apr. 20 Endocrine System II 989-993
15 Apr. 23 Circulatory System I 897-904, 913-914
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
15 Apr. 24 Test #4 (Vertebrates-Circulatory System I)
15 Apr. 25 Circulatory System II 905-909
15 Apr. 27 Lymphatic/Immune System 910-911, 929-946
16 Apr. 30 Respiratory System I 915-922 Lab practical starts tomorrow
16 May 2 Respiratory System II 923-926
16 May 4 Digestive System I 880-886
17 May 7 Digestive System II 887-895 Last class meeting

The Mark McGinley Story

Here is the perfect cure for insomnia!

The Formative Years
I was born in Corpus Christi, TX and after a couple of moves we ended up in Rosenberg, (near Houston) where I attended grade school. I was interested in biology from an early age; I watched Marlin Perkins and Jacque Cousteau (your parents should know who they are) and I spent a lot of time outdoors on family camping and fishing trips. Even though I grew up near Houston during the Apollo years, I always thought that it would be much cooler to be a biologist than an astronaut.

When I was in the sixth grade my family moved to Australia for four years. This was an amazing life change for a kid who thought that the annual trip to my grandparents’ house in Oklahoma was a big deal. I had the incomparable experience of living in another country and experiencing a whole new way of life. Probably the biggest difference between Australia and the U.S. was the schools. I went to an all-boys English-style, private school where we had to wear uniforms (suits and ties) and straw boater hats to class everyday (this probably explains my preferred style of dress today).

The move also provided me with the opportunity to travel the world. During trips through Europe and Asia we saw many places of historical and cultural interest. Among my favorites were the Coliseum in Rome, the Tower of London, and Mt. Fuji in Japan. More importantly, my travels exposed me to many new biological experiences including seeing hippos, gazelles, elephants, and a cheetah in South Africa, snorkeling and beachcombing in Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, and the Great Barrier Reef, chasing emus through the Australian outback, watching a male lyrebird do his mating dance, watching fairy penguins come ashore for the night off of the coast of southern Australia, and many sightings of other Australian wildlife including kangaroos and koalas (how many people do you know that have ever seen a koala running along the ground?).

During the summer before my sophomore year in high school we moved to Thousand Oaks, CA (old-timers will remember TO as the former summer home of the Dallas Cowboys before they were ruined by Jerry Jones) where I graduated from high school. During my senior year I spent a week studying ecology and philosophy in Yosemite National Park and this trip confirmed by desire to be a biologist.

Education

I enrolled at the University of California, Santa Barbara to study biology. UCSB is an incredible place to go to school (I could see the ocean from my bedroom window three out of the four years that I was there) and it also happened to have one of the best ecology programs in the world. Joe Connell (one of the most influential ecologist of our era) taught the ecology section of my intro biology course and also taught my first ecology course, so it is probably his fault that I am here today because after finishing his course I knew that I wanted to be an ecologist. Later, after taking courses from Steve Rothstein and Bob Warner, I became interested in behavioral and evolutionary ecology and I decided to go to grad school to study behavioral ecology. I went to Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS which was a pretty big change from UCSB. I enjoyed K-State (I learned to bleed purple for Wildcat basketball) and I was lucky to be able to spend summers working for my advisor Chris Smith at the Mountain Research Station in Colorado studying pollination in lodgepole pine. My Masters Thesis extended optimal foraging models to examine woodrats foraging for non-food items (sticks that they use to build their houses). I also did a theoretical study examining how food stress should affect sex ratios. I earned a Ph. D. at the University in Salt Lake City. For my Ph. D. thesis with Jon Seger, I developed models and conducted experiments to understand the causes of seed size variation in plants. During my little free time, I played volleyball with the U of U Volleyball Club team and I was probably the only person in the whole city who did not ski (I still don’t see the point of intentionally getting cold). I spent two years working as a post-doctoral researcher with Dave Tilman at the University of Minnesota. Our research focused on succession in old fields at Cedar Creek Natural History Area just north of Minneapolis.

Life at Texas Tech
I started as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Texas Tech University in 1991. I am currently an Associate Professor with a joint position in the Honors College and the Department of Biological Sciences. In the Honors College I work closely with the Environment and the Humanities degree. (http://www.depts.ttu.edu/honors/evhm/)

Teaching

I teach a wide variety of classes at Tech. Two of my favorite courses are Tropical Marine Biology (taught in Jamaica and Belize) and the Rio Grande Class (we take a week-long canoe trip through Big Bend over Spring Break). For the past 6 summers I have worked as a scuba instructor and marine biologist with Odyssey Expeditions leading sailing and scuba trips through the Caribbean (British Virgin Islands, Martinique, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines).

Scholarship
For several years I conducted ecological research in the sand shinnery oak community in West Texas. My current interests are in science curriculum development, environmental education, and informatl science education. I serve as a member of the Stewardship Committee of the Environmental Information Coalition and as an Associate Editor for the Encyclopedia of the Earth (http://www.eoearth.org/). In the Malaysian Bat Education Adventure we are using the ecology of Malaysian Bats as the focus of an integrated science curriculum for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade.

Fulbright in Malaysia

I spent the 2010-2011 academic year as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In addition to teaching a class at the UM, I was able to travel throughout the Malaysia and other parts of SE Asia (Thailand and Cambodia). In enjoyed exploring the rainforests and islands of Malaysia. Some of the coolest things I saw were a sea turtle laying eggs, Orangutans, and a Borneo Pygmy Elephant. To learn more about my adventures in Malaysia you can check out my blog. http://markinmalaysia.blogspot.com/

Traveling

I enjoy traveling and I have been able to explore my passion for scuba diving on dive trips in Texas (San Solomon Springs in Balmorhea and the Flower Garden Banks) throughout the Caribbean as well as Yap, Palau, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Galapagos Islands. My favorite marine critters include hammerhead sharks, pygmy sea horses, and “the pea”. On Monday I returned from a trip in SE Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia).