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This course, the first in the core curriculum for majors in science and premedical students, will center on evolution as the organizing principle
of living systems and will form the framework for the problems and processes considered in the courses Bio 162 and Bio 261 that follow.
The course begins with Elements of Living Organisms, and will explore the biological, physical, and chemical principles that govern a living organism.
The context in which these principles will be explored is the evolutionary origin of life on Earth. Students will learn in brief the cosmological origin of the
Universe, our sun and solar system, and the chemical and astronomical processes leading to the conditions of the prebiotic Earth. Next, basic functions
of living organisms will be explored as representing evolved solutions to the organizational challenges of defining organism boundaries, assembling an
autocatalytic metabolism, and generating a mechanism of inheritance to pass favorable characteristics to progeny.
The second part, Biological Evolution, will continue this evolutionary theme and will detail genetic mechanisms of inheritance and the micro- and
macroevolutionary processes that result. Students will learn (a) how genetic information is encoded, inherited, and affects organismal structure and
function, (b) the evolutionary significance of genetic variation, and (c) how to model the biological processes that create, preserve, or destroy genetic
variation and can lead to the origin of species. We will also explore applied topics in biotechnology (e.g., biomedical, agricultural, human eugenics)
and the uses of evolutionary knowledge in society.
The third part, Ecological Systems of Life, will elucidate organizational principles by which groups of interacting individuals form populations,
ecological communities, and ecosystems. Students will learn (a) how physical, biological, and evolutionary processes affect individual organisms
and their populations and communities that in turn affect ecosystem structure and function, and (b) the vast interdependencies between our global
society and the natural world. Contextual themes for this part of the course include the ecological significance of biodiversity, conservation ecology,
and the global ecosystem consequences of our 6+ billion human population.
| class # | date |
topic (pages in Campbell, 7th edition) |
| | |
Elements of Living Organisms |
| #1 | Fri, Sept 9 | Introduction to Biology (pp. 1-8, Table 1.1, p. 27) |
| #2 | Mon, Sept 12 | The Scientific Method (pp. 19-26) |
| #3 | Wed, Sept 14 | Earth's Early History (pp. 512-516) |
| #4 | Fri, Sept 16 | Chemistry of Life (pp. 32-46, 47-56, Chapter Review p. 56) |
| Fri, Sept 16 | noon - Quiz 1 |
| #5 | Mon, Sept 19 | Origin of Life on Earth (pp. 58-66, 68-89, Chapter Review p. 90, pp. 124-128, 134-135) |
| #6 | Wed, Sept 21 | Metabolism Without Oxygen (pp. 142-153, 165-167) |
| #7 | Fri, Sept 23 | Natural Selection and the Origin of Life (pp. 94-98) |
| Fri, Sept 23 | noon - Quiz 2 |
| #8 | Mon, Sept 26 | Origin of the Genetic Code (pp. 296-304, 312-316, 320-331) |
| #9 | Wed, Sept 28 | Evolution of Photosynthesis (pp. 110-111, 181-198, 521-523) |
| #10 | Fri, Sept 30 | Metabolism With Oxygen (pp. 160-174) |
| Fri, Sept 30 | noon - Quiz 3 |
| #11 | Mon, Oct 3 | Origin of Eukaryotic Life (pp. 523-526) |
| #12 | Wed, Oct 5 | Mitosis (pp. 218-228) |
| #13 | Fri, Oct 7 | EXAM 1, part 1 |
| Fri, Oct 7 | noon - EXAM 1, part 2 |
| |
Biological Evolution |
| #14 | Mon, Oct 10 | Meiosis and Genetic Variation (pp. 218-226, 238-248) |
| #15 | Wed, Oct 12 | Mendel and Probability (pp. 251-260) |
| #16 | Fri, Oct 14 | Non-Mendelian Genetics (pp. 260-270) |
| Fri, Oct 14 | noon - Quiz 4 |
| #17 | Mon, Oct 17 | Chromosomes and Linkage (pp. 274-281) |
| #18 | Wed, Oct 19 | Sex Linkage and Mistakes (pp. 282-290) |
| Fri, Oct 21 | *** fall break *** |
| Mon, Oct 24 | *** fall break *** |
| #19 | Wed, Oct 26 | History of Evolutionary Thought (pp. 438-446) |
| #20 | Fri, Oct 28 | Evidence for Evolution (pp. 446-451) |
| Fri, Oct 28 | noon - Quiz 5 |
| #21 | Mon, Oct 31 | Hardy-Weinberg and Changes in Allele Frequency (pp. 454-462) |
| #22 | Wed, Nov 2 | Natural Selection as Mechanism for Evolution (pp. 462-470) |
| #23 | Fri, Nov 4 | Species and Speciation (pp. 472-482) |
| Fri, Nov 4 | noon - Quiz 6 |
| #24 | Mon, Nov 7 | Mechanisms and Origin of Novelty (pp. 482-488) |
| #25 | Wed, Nov 9 | Fossils, Geologic Time, and Systematics (pp. 464-485) |
| #26 | Fri, Nov 11 | EXAM 2, part 1 |
| Fri, Nov 11 | noon - EXAM 2, part 2 |
| |
Ecological Systems of Life |
| #27 | Mon, Nov 14 | Introduction to Ecology (Chapter 50, pp. 1080-1085) |
| #28 | Wed, Nov 16 | Patterns in Global Biodiversity (Ch. 50, 1086-1104, Ch. 55, 1209-1214) |
| #29 | Fri, Nov 18 | Physiological Ecology (tba) |
| Fri, Nov 18 | noon - Quiz 7 |
| #30 | Mon, Nov 21 | Animal Behavior (Chapter 51, pp. 1106-1133) |
| #31 | Wed, Nov 23 | Population Demography and Regulation (Ch. 52, pp. 1136-1157) |
| Fri, Nov 25 | *** Thanksgiving break *** |
| #32 | Mon, Nov 28 | Competition (Chapter 53, pp. 1159-1161) |
| #33 | Wed, Nov 30 | Predation, Parasitism, and Disease (Chapter 53, pp. 1161-1165) |
| #34 | Fri, Dec 2 | Mutualism and Coevolutionary Ecology (Chapter 53, pp. 1166-1171) |
| Fri, Dec 2 | noon - Quiz 8 |
| #35 | Mon, Dec 5 | Ecological Disturbance and Regeneration (Chapter 53, pp. 1172-1180) |
| #36 | Wed, Dec 7 | Global Ecosystems Ecology (Chapter 54, pp. 1184-1202) |
| #37 | Fri, Dec 9 | Global Carbon Cycle (Chapter 54, pp. 1203-1207) |
| Fri, Dec 9 | noon - Quiz 9 |
| #38 | Mon, Dec 12 | Climate Change (tba) |
| #39 | Wed, Dec 14 | Global Ecological Energetics: Feeding Six Billion (tba) |
| #40 | Fri, Dec 16 | Urban Ecosystems Ecology: Our Last Frontier (Ch. 55, 1220-1230) |
| Fri, Dec 16 | review session for FINAL EXAM |
| Sun, 18 Dec, 3:15-5:15 | EXAM3 and FINAL EXAM, Kirk Lecture Hall |
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