Course:	BIO 102  Food Microbiology
Professor:	Gabriel Perron
CRN:	15320		Schedule/Location:		Fri   12:30 PM – 4:30 PM Reem Kayden Center 111/112
Distributional Area:		LS Laboratory Science
Credits: 4						Class cap: 16

In this course designed for non-majors, we will study the microorganisms that inhabit, create, or contaminate food. The first half of the course will introduce students to topics in food safety such as food spoilage, food borne infections, and antibiotic resistance. In the second half of the course, students will learn how to harness the capabilities of the many microbes present in our environment to turn rotting vegetables or spoiling milk into delicious food. Students will also learn how next-generation technologies are revealing the important ecological dynamics shaping microbial communities in transforming food with possible beneficial effects on human health. Throughout the course, students will learn how to design, conduct, and analyze simple experiments while working with microbiology techniques, including DNA sequencing. No prerequisite.

 

Course:	BIO 115  Genetics and Identity
Professor:	Michael Tibbetts
CRN:	15317		Schedule/Location:		Tue      9:10 AM – 11:30 AM Reem Kayden Center 111/112 Thurs    8:30 AM – 11:30 AM Reem Kayden Center 111/112
Distributional Area:		LS Laboratory Science D+J Difference and Justice
Credits: 4						Class cap: 16

This course will explore the biological bases of three aspects of the human condition, which are to varying degrees, also social constructs: race, gender and sexuality. In particular, we will explore human evolution and our current understanding of how genetics and the environment interact to generate the variation we observe in these human characteristics. Readings and discussions will be used to explore the relationships among the biological concepts, how we self-identify and how others categorize us. In the laboratory we will explore the way science examines and measures the variation we see in these ‘traits’. Prerequisite: High School level biology.

 

Course:	BIO 136  Natural History of the  Hudson Valley
Professor:	Patricia Kaishian
CRN:	15318		Schedule/Location:		Tue   Fri   1:30 PM – 2:50 PM Reem Kayden Center 103      Wed     3:30 PM – 6:30 PM Reem Kayden Center 114/115
Distributional Area:		LS Laboratory Science
Credits: 4						Class cap: 16

This course is appropriate for non-majors and interested biology majors, but does not fulfill 100-level curricular requirements for majors. It is designed to train students in the field, lab and museum skills of natural historians and to teach them how to identify plants and animals of the Hudson Valley, both in the wild and in the lab. The lecture portion of the class will introduce students to concepts in systematics and taxonomy, the history of natural history, the value of natural history to science, and how citizen science is exploiting crowdsourcing of natural history data.  The laboratory portion of the course will focus on teaching students how to identify plants, birds, amphibians, aquatic and terrestrial insects, and fish. Students will learn how to use binoculars, dissecting scopes, traps, nets and other tools to visualize or capture specimens, and use field guides, phone apps, dichotomous keys and other resources to identify them. Field trips will take place on campus, in the Tivoli Bays Wildlife Management Area, and at several off campus locations throughout the Hudson Valley where students will practice their identification skills, collect specimens, and interact with naturalists from outside the Bard community.  Students will build and curate their own insect and plant collections that will be added to Bard’s existing collections, use natural history information to answer some basic questions about the distribution and abundance of a species they choose, and as a final project they will create a natural history guide for a focal taxonomic group of their choice.

 

Course:	BIO 170  Course-Based Research: Disease Ecology
Professor:	Cathy Collins
CRN:	15319		Schedule/Location:		Tue  Thurs    1:30 PM – 4:30 PM Reem Kayden Center 111/112
Distributional Area:		LS Laboratory Science
Credits: 4						Class cap: 16

This is a Course-based Research Experience (CRE), in which students participate in the primary research program of a Bard biology professor. As participants in an immersive research experience, students will ask and address questions to which the answers are unknown. The process of discovery involves delving into the biological premise of the research question, designing a study to address the question, then collecting and interpreting data. Working collaboratively across a semester allows students the time for the trial-and-error inherent to the scientific process.  In this CRE, students will explore the concept of pathogen niche breadth. Many pathogens specialize on a single species of plant or animal. However, some pathogens that live in the soil appear to be capable of killing multiple species of plant seeds. Knowing more about these pathogens can help us understand the role disease plays in maintaining (or degrading) plant biodiversity. Furthermore, because humans alter landscapes in ways that impact the identity and abundance of soil pathogens, human disturbance and disease may interact to negatively affect the biodiversity of plant communities. Student groups will focus on a unique fungal taxon collected from a disturbed landscape, conduct experiments to determine whether that fungus is a pathogen, and characterize it as a host-generalist or a host-specialist. Assessments will include assignments aimed to hone research skills such as interpreting the primary literature, conducting experiments, interpreting data, and communicating novel results. This course is appropriate for students intending to major in biology and interested in gaining research experience.

 

Course:	BIO 171  Tree of Life
Professor:	Patricia Kaishian
CRN:	15330		Schedule/Location:		Mon  Wed     10:10 AM – 11:30 AM Reem Kayden Center 103 Mon                  2:00 PM – 5:00 PM Reem Kayden Center 114/115
Distributional Area:		LS Laboratory Science
Credits: 4						Class cap: 16

Starting from the adage, “nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution” (Theodosius Dobzhansky), this course will focus on taxonomy and systematics and the embedded evolutionary concepts therein. What is a species? How are they named? Who gets to decide? This course will explore how species emerge and how scientists name, classify, and organize species. From the molecular level to the global scale, we will explore the methodological and theoretical underpinnings of taxonomy/systematics, all of which will be rooted in the fundamentals of evolutionary biology. Taxonomy is foundational not only to organismal biology, but fields ranging from medicine to conservation biology, and more. Our labs will involve empirical work studying a new and undescribed species, exposure to molecular techniques, and using data sets to build phylogenetic trees. This course will be appropriate for students pursuing a major in Biology.

 

Course:	BIO 201  Genetics and Evolution
Professor:	Brooke Jude
CRN:	15321		Schedule/Location:		Mon  Wed     8:30 AM – 11:30 AM Reem Kayden Center 111/112
Distributional Area:		LS Laboratory Science
Credits: 4						Class cap: 16
Crosslists: Global Public Health; Mind, Brain, Behavior

This course is an introduction to the mechanisms of inheritance and the generation of diversity in eukaryotic and prokaryotic 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 several projects focused on genetics of distinct model systems to address one or more topics in the course.  Prerequisite: One biology course at the 140 level or higher.

 

Course:	BIO 202  Ecology and Evolution
Professor:	Felicia Keesing
CRN:	15322		Schedule/Location:		Wed  Fri   8:30 AM – 11:30 AM Reem Kayden Center 114/115
Distributional Area:		LS Laboratory Science
Credits: 4						Class cap: 16
Crosslists: 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.

 

Course:	BIO 208  Biology Seminar
Professor:	Cathy Collins
CRN:	15323		Schedule/Location:		Thurs    12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Reem Kayden Center 103
Distributional Area:
Credits: 1						Class cap: 55

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.

 

Course:	BIO 244  Biostatistics
Professor:	Kathryn Anderson
CRN:	15324		Schedule/Location:		Tue  Thurs    1:30 PM – 4:30 PM Reem Kayden Center 115
Distributional Area:		MC Mathematics and Computing
Credits: 4						Class cap: 16
Crosslists: Environmental & Urban Studies; Global Public Health; 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 Placement and at least one introductory biology course.

 

Course:	BIO 302  Molecular Biology
Professor:	Michael Tibbetts
CRN:	15325		Schedule/Location:		Tue  Thurs    3:30 PM – 4:50 PM Reem Kayden Center 102 Wed     3:30 PM – 5:55 PM Reem Kayden Center 111/112
Distributional Area:		LS Laboratory Science
Credits: 4						Class cap: 16

This course explores molecular aspects of gene expression in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems. Topics include DNA structure, replication, and repair; DNA transcription; RNA structure and processing; and polypeptide synthesis. The course also covers various mechanisms involved in the regulation of gene expression. Emphasis is placed on a review of the current literature and the experimental approaches used in modern molecular biological research. The laboratory provides practical experience in such current techniques used in molecular biology as molecular cloning, restriction enzyme mapping, DNA sequencing, and nucleic acid hybridization. Prerequisites: Biology 201, Chemistry 201 202.

 

Course:	BIO 316  Field Work in Animal Behavior
Professor:	Bruce Robertson
CRN:	15326		Schedule/Location:		Mon  Wed     10:10 AM – 11:30 AM Reem Kayden Center 102                  Fri   8:30 AM – 11:30 AM Reem Kayden Center 111/112
Distributional Area:		LS Laboratory Science
Credits: 4						Class cap: 16
Crosslists: Mind, Brain, Behavior

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why did that animal do that?” There are many levels at which we could seek answers, running from proximal mechanisms (firing neurons and hormonal stimuli) through ultimate mechanisms (the evolutionary selective pressures which produce adaptive behaviors through natural selection). This course is primarily about the latter. In it, we seek answers to why organisms evolve various mating strategies, what accounts for differences in sexual characteristics and mate choice, how organisms use signals, the information they contain, whether they signal honest information or whether we expect to see cheaters within populations, conflicts of interest between siblings, parents and offspring, and so on. We explore these questions through lab and field experiments and using evolutionary game theory, which provides the underlying framework for understanding the evolution of animal behaviors. The lab portion of the class will allow you to learn new methods and technologies (e.g. bioacoustic recording and analysis, avian point counts and transects) useful in studying animal behavior, work individually and in groups to design experiments and models to test your own hypotheses. Research will focus on captive animals in Bard’s laboratories, wild animals on Bard’s campus and within the surrounding natural landscape, and on captive animals housed in a local zoo. As a capstone achievement, you will identify an important basic or applied question in animal behavior and write a professional National Science Foundation-style proposal advocating for the funding of a research project of your own design. Prerequisite: moderated biology student or permission of instructor.

 

Course:	BIO 441  Marine Algal Biology
Professor:	Kathryn Anderson
CRN:	15327		Schedule/Location:		Mon       1:30 PM – 4:30 PM Reem Kayden Center 200
Distributional Area:
Credits: 4						Class cap: 12

The algae are a diverse group of organisms encompassing many evolutionary lineages and body plans found in many of the most extreme environments on earth.  The first evidence of life on earth comes from a unicellular prokaryotic alga. By contrast, the secondary endosymbiosis event that led to the evolution of the forest forming kelps didn’t occur until after there were already dinosaurs roaming the terrestrial environment. In this weekly seminar, appropriate for upper-level biology students, we will explore the ecology, evolution, and modern application of this weird group through the primary literature. Topics will include: the evolution of multicellularity, triphasic lifecycles, parallel evolution, algal biomechanics, algae as an important food source, algae as a tool for bioremediation, modern technical applications beyond biofuels, climate change impacts on algal communities and many more. Weekly in-depth paper discussions will be student-led. Through a series of writing assignments, students will be challenged to distill complex ideas from primary literature into pieces for the general public, as well as synthesize literature in an original project proposal to a federal funding agency. Students must be moderated into Biology or EUS to enroll in this course.