|
16028 |
BIO 117 Botany for Herbivores:
DEVELOPING CROP PLANTS AND AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEMS |
Emily Pollina |
T Th 10:10 am-11:30 am Lab: Th 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
RKC 115 RKC 114 |
SCI |
Wild relatives of
many important crop species, including potatoes, tomatoes, and broccoli,
contain potent defenses against animals that might eat them. How did these plants become safe for us to
eat? How do we deter other organisms
from eating them? In this course, designed for non-majors, we will explore the
ways in which humans have modified, and continue to modify, the plants we use
as food and the challenges of ecosystems dominated by crop plants. Through critical examinations of papers about
agricultural science and laboratory explorations on plant physiology, growth,
and defense, this course will equip you to evaluate evidence for the safety and
efficacy of crop development and food production strategies. Class
size: 20
|
16029 |
BIO 120 Measuring Nature |
Gabriel Perron |
T Th 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
RKC 111 / 112 |
SCI |
How is quackery
different from a medical breakthrough? How do we know the world is getting
warmer? Is the bell curve still relevant today? In this course designed for
non-majors, students will be introduced to the principles of statistics and
experimental design that are used to answer innumerable questions in biology
and other sciences. In doing so, students will conduct simple laboratory
experiments and learn basic computer skills that will enable them to analyze
many kinds of data – small and big. Finally, because the development of
statistics is closely linked to scientific discovery, students will study the
lives and ideas of individuals associated with important controversies in
environmental sciences and medicine while learning to identify the use (and
misuse) of statistics in the news. Class size: 20
|
16030 |
BIO 121 Obesity |
Michael Tibbetts |
W F 11:50 am-1:10 pm |
RKC 103 |
SCI |
Cross-listed: Global
& Int’l Studies
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than one-third of
LAB OPTIONS:
|
16031 |
BIO 121 LBA Obesity |
Michael Tibbetts |
LAB: M 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
RKC 114 |
SCI |
|
16033 |
BIO 121 LBB Obesity |
Michael Tibbetts |
LAB: T 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
RKC 114 |
SCI |
|
16034 |
BIO 154 ON THE SHOULDERS
OF GREEN GIANTS: Introduction
to Plant Biology |
Emily Pollina |
M
W 10:10 am-11:30 am LAB:
M 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
RKC 115 RKC 112 |
SCI |
Plants are an
important part of every ecosystem they inhabit, providing carbon and energy to
the organisms that feed on them. Plants perform all the tasks we are familiar
with from animal studies- acquiring energy, nutrients and water, growing and
reproducing, sensing and responding to their environments- but the ways in
which they do these tasks differ from animals.
In this introductory course, we will examine the ways in which plants
perform each of these tasks differently from animals. Topics include
photosynthesis, cellular respiration, food webs, organism interactions and
plant defenses. In the lab, you will explore the scientific process- reading
and critiquing works by practicing scientists in the discipline to help you
determine what is already known, asking questions, designing experiments, and
reporting results. In the lab, you will
perform field explorations of local ecosystems, explore antimicrobial
properties of plant chemicals, and test hypotheses about plant-microbe
interactions, and control of plant signaling and behavior. Open to First-Year students only.
Class size: 20
|
16035 |
BIO 164 Practicum in Neuroethology |
Arseny Khakhalin |
M
8:30 am-11:30 am |
RKC 114 |
SCI |
This 2-credit introductory laboratory course
is designed for biology majors in their first year of study. We will run a
series of behavioral experiments in Xenopus tadpoles, studying their locomotory
responses to visual and acoustic stimulation. We will learn and troubleshoot
the techniques, design our experiments, perform the study, and analyze our
results. The course will give you an experience in authentic scientific
research, as some of the questions we will be asking about the logic of
multisensory integration in the tadpole brain had never been asked before. Class size: 20
|
16036 |
BIO 165 Microbial Techniques
WORksHOp |
Brooke Jude |
T Th 8:50 am-9:50 am |
RKC 112 |
SCI |
This 2-credit laboratory course is designed
for intended biology majors in their first year of study. The course will introduce students to the
techniques involved in experimental design, execution, trouble shooting, and
preliminary data analysis. Utilizing microbial biology, students will learn
standard culturing techniques, biochemical and molecular identification tests,
and various bioassays. This course will meet twice a week for 1 hour per
session, and grading criteria will be based on participation, lab notebook data
collection, and a final poster presentation.
Text book: Writing in Biological Sciences, Angelika Hofmann
Priority to first year students. Class
size: 20
|
16037 |
BIO 201 Genetics and Evolution |
Brooke Jude |
M
W 8:30 am-11:30 am |
RKC 111 / 112 |
SCI |
Cross-listed: Mind, Brain & Behavior; Global
& Int’l Studies This course is an introduction to the
mechanisms of inheritance and the generation of diversity in eukaryotic
organisms. This course takes a modern
approach to the study of genetics in which classical ideas about genotype,
phenotype and inheritance are integrated into the modern molecular and genomic
understanding of the processes involved in the generation of diversity. In addition to discussions of the molecular
mechanisms involved in DNA replication,
recombination, the generation and repair of mutations, and the
relationship between genotype and phenotype, special consideration is given to
our understanding of the processes involved in generating population-level
variation in complex traits and how this understanding can help us identify the
myriad genetic and non-genetic factors influencing these traits. The laboratory consists of a semester long
project involving the genetic manipulation of a model organism’s genome to
address one or more topics in the course.
Prerequisite: One
biology course at the 140 level or higher.
Class size: 20
|
16038 |
BIO 202 Ecology and Evolution |
Bruce Robertson |
W F 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
RKC 114 / 115 |
SCI |
Cross-listed: Environmental
& Urban Studies This
core course for biology majors is an introduction to the general principles of
ecology and evolution that, with genetics, form the core of biological
understanding. In addition to studying foundational ideas in both ecology and
evolution, we will explore modern topics at the boundary between these two
areas. We will consider, for example, how genetic variation among individual
organisms can influence ecological interactions, and how these interactions can
influence fitness. We will focus on a mechanistic understanding of processes,
using model-building to inform that understanding. Prerequisite:
Successful
completion of a course in biology numbered 140 or above. Class
size: 20
|
16039 |
BIO 208 Biology Seminar |
Gabriel Perron |
Th 12:00 pm-1:00 pm |
RKC 103 |
|
1 credit This
course will provide students with broad exposure to biology through the biology
visiting speaker seminar series. Students will hear about the wide-ranging
research interests of invited biologists and have opportunities to interact
informally with them. The course is graded Pass/Fail and students are
responsible for short follow-up assignments for at least 80% of the talks.
Recommended for all biology majors and other interested students. Class
size: 60
|
16040 |
BIO 244 Biostatistics |
Gabriel Perron |
W F 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
RKC 111 |
MATC |
Cross-listed: Environmental
& Urban Studies, Global & Int’l Studies, Mathematics
This
course introduces students to the statistical methods biologists use to
describe and compare data. Students will learn methods that are appropriate for
different types of data. Topics covered include elementary probability and
statistics, characteristics of frequency distributions, hypothesis testing,
contingency tests, correlation and regression analysis, different ways to
compare means, nonparametric tests, and an introduction to multivariate tests.
This course is intended for sophomore and junior biology majors, although it is
open to students of all years. One objective of the course is to provide
biology majors the statistical background they need to analyze data for their
own senior research; biology students should take this course before their
senior year, if possible. Notice, though, that the topics in this course are
applicable to many advanced courses. Prerequisite: passing score on part I of
the Mathematics Diagnostic and at least one introductory biology course. Class
size: 20
|
16041 |
BIO 311 Field Ornithology |
Bruce Robertson |
T Th 1:30 pm-2:50 pm LAB:
F 8:30 am-12:30 pm |
RKC 115 |
SCI |
Cross-listed: Environmental & Urban Studies This course will present birds both as a
unique group and as representative of vertebrates. It will emphasize adaptation, ecology, and
behavior of birds, the physical basis of flight, and introduce students to
laboratory and field methods used in modern ornithology. We also will consider
current views of the systematic relationships among living birds, and the
evolutionary history of birds, including the debate regarding their origin in
relation to dinosaurs and the origin of flight. Finally, we will examine case
studies in bird conservation to understand the interaction of human and
biological causes of, and solutions to, those problems. The laboratory portion
of the class will include instruction in identification of all regional bird
species by sight and sound. This will include field trips to local habitats /
biological reserves and the study of museum specimens. Students will design and
conduct small-scale behavioral research experiments (e.g. bioacoustics) with
on-campus bird populations and will exploit publicly available and
continental-scale databases to ask questions about bird ecology, evolution or
conservation which will be submitted as both an oral report and scientific
research paper. Class size: 16
|
16073 |
BIO / EUS 316 Waste |
Elias Dueker |
T Th 10:10 am-11:30 am Lab: W 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
RKC 111 RKC 112 |
SCI |
Cross-listed:
Biology This course takes a close look at the long-term
implications of our standard approaches to handling human waste. Innovations in
waste treatment are required as we rapidly reach saturation, resulting in
increased air and water pollution and decreasing space for land fills. Students
in this class will learn the science behind current waste treatment technology
(water, air, and land-based) and be exposed to cutting-edge alternative
approaches (water reclamation, living machines, etc.). Lab work will be microbiological and
field-based, and will allow students to become familiar with the bacteria and
biogeochemical processes we rely on for most current and cutting-edge
waste-treatment approaches.
Prerequisites: Either EUS 221,
EUS 222, BIO 202, or permission of instructor. This class will include engagement with
local and regional communities and will include joint classroom and field
experiences with Prof. Ellen Driscoll's ART206 Sculpture II: Fluid
Dynamics class and Prof. Sophia Stamatapoulou-Robbins' ANTH323 The Politics of
Infrastructure class.
Class size: 16
|
16043 |
BIO 318 Cellular AND Molecular
NeurosciencE |
Arseny Khakhalin |
T Th 10:10 am-11:30 am LAB: F 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
HEG 106 RKC 112 |
SCI |
Cross-listed: Mind, Brain & Behavior Nervous systems are built of individual cells,
and therefore all aspects of neural function, development, and pathology can be
linked to interactions of proteins: channels, receptors, transcription factors,
and other molecular machines. This course will start with an introduction to
electrophysiology (the study of electrical properties of neural cells), and
move to topics in synaptic plasticity, neural development (axon guidance,
projection refinement), and molecular mechanisms of neurodevelopmental
disorders, such as autism. The labs will be built around projects in crustacean
electrophysiology. Prerequsites: working knowledge of either neuroscience or
cell and molecular biology. Class size: 16
|
16044 |
BIO 406 Cholera: Pandemics,
PATHOLOGY AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS |
Brooke Jude |
F 8:30 am-10:30 am |
RKC 111 |
SCI |
2 credits A microbe that caused seven worldwide
pandemics and continues to plague human populations, Vibrio cholerae and the disease it causes, will be studied in this
upper level seminar. The course will
examine the historical significance of cholera, the environmental and
socioeconomic factors that influence outbreaks, and the complex molecular
genetics that allow this microbe to be so effectively pathogenic. Students will read and analyze topically
relevant primary, secondary, and historical literature, as well as participate
in group-work, give oral presentations, and produce original writing on the
topic. Prerequisites: BIO201 is
required. CHEM201/ 202, BIO302, and
BIO303 are helpful, but not essential. Class
size: 16
|
16595 |
BIO
416 CURRENT ISSUES IN ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY |
Stuart Findlay Colin Fuss AJ Reisinger |
M 3:10pm- 4:30 pm |
RKC
115 |
|
2
credits
Cross-listed:
Environmental & Urban Studies
This
seminar will use a combination of recorded seminars from the archives of the
weekly seminar series at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, and recent
articles from the primary literature to discuss current topics in Ecosystem
Ecology. The seminar will focus on three topics: Climate change, Invasive Species, and
Pollution. Recorded seminar topics may include “Understanding Soil Microbial
Responses to Climate Change”, “Landscape Demography and a Different Perspective
on Biological Invasions”, and “Ecological Effects of Common Pharmaceutical Compounds
in Streams”. Each week students will lead discussions on that week’s seminar
and journal articles that relate to the seminar. Class size: 12