Bio 4952 Spring 2009
Professor:
Stephen Mullin Internet: <sjmullin@eiu.edu>
Office: ls1114; tel: 217.581.6234 Mailbox in departmental office (ls2070)
Office Hours: Wednesdays 1000-1200 h and 1400-1500 h; or, by appointment.
Synopsis
– This course is structured as a survey of the amphibian and reptilian
classes, with emphasis on the extant herpetofauna of "Midwest" region of the
North America. Material presented
in lecture will be supplemented with laboratory examinations of preserved specimens
and field trips to regional sites for surveying available taxa. Evolutionary relationships among the
taxonomic groups within the major clades will be emphasized throughout the
semester.
Prerequisites
– Prior to taking this course, you should either: (a) be a graduate
student in the biological sciences program; or, (b) have successfully completed
either Bio 3950 or 3800. Concurrent enrollment in the laboratory
section is required.
Note,
that there is a course fee of $50¡¡ that will appear on your tuition bill (i.e., you do not pay me or the
dept. directly). This fee is
assessed to all students to partially defray expenses associated with
laboratory supplies and field trips.
Required Materials
– lecture:
Pough, F.H., R.M. Andrews,
J.E. Cadle, M.L. Crump, A.H. Savitzky, & K.D. Wells. 2004. Herpetology, 3rd ed. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Lab handout packet –
purchase from Biol. Grad. Student Assoc. in LS1120
– lab/field: ¥ your
choice of a field guide to reptiles and amphibians of Eastern North America
¥
hiking gear (water bottle, flash-light, boots, etc.)
Optional Materials
– lab/field:
á Magnifying lens (4- to 10-x,
hand-held)
á Herpin' gear (tongs, hook,
bags, etc.)
á Phillips, C.A., R.A. Brandon, and E.O. Moll. 1999. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Illinois. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, IL.
Reserve
Materials – Several resources are available to help you with
information presented throughout the course – Booth Library has a fair
amount of material, but I also plenty of resources that you can check out from
me for periods throughout the semester.
These include textbooks, field guides, edited volumes, and plenty of
peer-reviewed literature.
Attendance
– Lecture
á
With
the exception of school holidays, the class will meet from 1300-1350 h on Mon.
& Wedn., and from 1300-1600 h on Thurs.; please avoid the embarrassment of
arriving late.
á
I
would like to discourage distractions during our meeting times. Therefore, any student will be
penalized ten (10) points if their pager/cellular telephone/alarm emits any
audible noise during any class meeting.
–
Laboratory
á
Attendance
is mandatory for the lab sections: more than two unexcused absences on
Thursdays during the term will result in your receiving a failing ("F") grade
for the entire course. If you
expect to miss a particular class meeting, please see me in advance of that
week to determine if alternate arrangements are possible.
á
Several
of the lab periods will be used for field trips – please dress
appropriately for field exercises (rain or shine). On field trip days, you should not necessarily expect to be
back on campus at the conclusion of the class period. Also, an extended field trip to southern Illinois will occur
during the 3rd complete week of April. You should make arrangements NOW with the professors of your
other courses (and your family) to deal with any material missed during that
period. Please see me ASAP if you
feel that this field trip will not be worth your time.
Semester
Project
Students will each be required to give a presentation to the rest of the class that summarizes a piece of research reported in the primary literature. Topics will be assigned on the basis of subject material that I will not have time to cover during the rest of the term. During your presentation (60 points), we will simulate the setting at a professional conference where you are defending the research of the paper's authors. At a different time, each of you will also evaluate the presentation given by someone else in the class – you will provide a written review (15 points) that suggests improvements for your peer's presentation content. During presentations other than your own, your peers will ask you to justify your results (participation required; 10 points).
Grading
– Spelling counts! One point will be
deducted from your course total for every five spelling (&/or
grammar/context/syntax/punctuation) errors on any of your written assignments
or exams.
If you miss an exam, it is your
responsibility
to contact me before the next class meeting – failure to do so will result in a
zero grade
for that exam. Written make-up
exams are not necessarily an option – if you miss an exam with an excused absence, the make-up will be
administered as soon as is mutually convenient and will be comprised of oral
responses to my questions.
Exams
– Lecture
Unless otherwise noted, lecture exam
format will generally consist of short answer and essay questions. There will be 2 exams given over the
course of the semester, plus a final exam. Each midterm is worth 100 points and covers only the portions
of the course immediately prior to their test date (i.e., they are not
cumulative). The final exam is
worth 160 points and is comprehensive, including questions concerning
material presented throughout the semester and the term project
presentations.
– Laboratory
There will be 3 practical exams given
over the course of the semester during lab period, each worth 60 points –
none of these exams will be comprehensive (each covering only material directly
preceding the exam date).
Laboratory practical exams will test your ability to correctly identify
and classify different herpetofauna, and understand their natural history. Practicals are timed exams, and there
are NO make-up practicals for any reason.
So,
here's a point break-down for the course:
Component Value
Lecture exams (2 @ 100 points each) 200
points
Laboratory practicals (3 @ 60 points each) 180
Lecture final exam 160
Project presentation & review
75
Participation & Miscellaneous
35
Total 650
points
Thus,
your awarded grade for the class will be determined on a 650-point scale. I will follow the standard 10-%age
point scale (90-100 % = 'A', 80-89 % = 'B', etc.).
Helping
the Herps helps You! – Unlike nearly every other course I teach, I'm
willing to offer extra credit points in exchange for some effort on your
part. Some of these points are
available from the field component of this course. Others will (hopefully!) be earned through your participation in a "Celebrating Herps" public outreach
effort at the end of the semester.
During this event, you will disseminate important information
about herpetofauna, dispell
myths, answer questions, and promote a positive attitude
about these animals. Each student
can receive 5 bonus points for each hour they volunteer (maximum credit 10
pts.).
Academic
Integrity – I expect that you will never passively or actively cheat
on any of my exams, or those administered by your other professors. Any documented incidence of cheating or
plagiarism will result in notifications to the Office of Student Standards and
the Dean's Office, and an "F" grade in the entire course. Please feel free to speak with me, or
consult your Student Handbook, if you have any questions concerning this
matter.
Further
Assistance with course material -- If you suddenly find yourself with a
question that is burning a hole in your brain, and cannot reach me, there are
several ways of obtaining the answer.
In
addition to the materials on reserve, here are some examples:
1. The authors of your text have
thoughtfully provided a variety of resources for you to follow up on presented
material. The citations are listed
at the end of the text.
2. I'd like to encourage you to listen
in lecture, not just show up and scribble furiously – so, check out my
lecture outlines posted on the course web-site:
<http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~sjmullin/>
3. Help each other – get to know your fellow students! Active learning through testing each other on the material is one of the most effective ways of learning where your weaknesses lie with the subject matter.
4. Seek help at the Learning Assistance Center (x6696) or the Counseling Center (x3413) to obtain help with studying for this class. Also, as a service to EIU students, the Academic Success Center provides a list of individual tutors via the web page <www.eiu.edu/~success>
5. There are a plethora of sites
on the world wide web related to herpetology; a good place to start might be
the following website: <http://herpetology.com/>
Disabled Students should contact the Office of Disability Services (9th St.Hall 2002;
x6583) for any
arrangements that need to be made in order to ensure that you get the most out
of this course. Within reason, I
am willing to make whatever accommodations are necessary to facilitate your
learning of this material. Please
note, however, that this is a field-oriented course that can be
physically-demanding at times.
Handling Vertebrate Animals: The Institutional Animal Care & Use
Committee mandates that all individuals who work with vertebrates in the
process of completing research or their coursework be appropriately
trained. During this course, you
will receive instruction concerning the safe and ethical use of animals. You will be asked to review federal
guidelines describing animal care and complete a release stating that you
understand these guidelines.
Furthermore, you will be asked to complete a disclaimer stating that you
will not participate in any activity that disrupts this class because of its
use of vertebrate animals.
--
Assignment
#1 (5
participation points; due 16 Jan. by 1600 h)
Send me an internet message containing the following items
(un-numbered), each on a new line of text:
á
your name
as you wish to be addressed
á
your E-#
á
a version
of the following statement:
"Yes/No you may/may not post my grade by special
code."
[If
"yes," then provide 6-digit code on a new line of text -- you may use
any sequence of numbers or letters.].
á
your phone
#
á
a version
of the following statement:
"Yes/No you may/may not release my phone number to the
rest of the class."
á
your class
standing; and,
á
your
major/degree program
Bio 4952 –
Mullin Spring
2009
Herpetology
Lecture Schedule
Week Topic Readings
1 Introduction;
History of herpetology as a science Ch.
1
Geological
history of amphibians Ch.2
2 Amphibian
functional morphology & physiology Ch.
10
3 Amphibian
physiology and energetics Ch.
6 & 7
4 Extant
amphibian taxonomy & life history characteristics Ch. 3 & 12
5 Amphibian
taxonomy & life history, cont'd. Ch.
11 & 13
6 Amphibian
behavior & reproductive strategies Ch.
8 & 14
7 Amphibian
biogeography & population ecology Ch.
5 & 15
1st
midterm exam
8 Geological
history of reptiles Ch.
2
Reptilian
functional morphology & physiology Ch.
10
9 Reptilian
physiology and energetics Ch.
6 & 7
10 Extant
reptilian taxonomy & life history characteristics Ch.
4 & 12
11 Reptilian
taxonomy & life history, cont'd. Ch.
11 & 13
12 Reptilian
behavior & reproductive strategies Ch.
9 & 14
13 Reptilian
biogeography & population ecology Ch.
5 & 15
14 2nd
midterm exam
Extended
field trip to Southern Illinois
15
Conservation
biology of herpetofauna Ch.
17
Course
review
Final Exam is on Tuesday, 5 May, at 1445 h.
Bio 4952 –
Mullin Spring
2009
Herpetology
Field/Laboratory
Schedule
Date(s) Subject
matter
15 Jan. Introduction;
discussion of term projects & extended field trip/herpin' gear
22 Jan. Urodela
29 Jan. Anura
& Gymnophiona
5 Feb. Lab
practical #1
12 Feb. Testudines
19 Feb. Lacertilia
26 Feb. Lab
practical #2
5 Mar. Student paper presentations – grad.
students and super-seniors
12 Mar. Student paper presentations – other
students
19 Mar. SPRING
BREAK
26 Mar. Serpentes
2 Apr. Crocodylia,
Rhynchocephalia, & Amphisbaenia
9 Apr. Lab
practical #3
16 Apr. Field
trip
23 Apr. Field
trip plus(!) –
Extended field trip to southern
Illinois
30 Apr. Field
trip
Lab practicals will start at 1400 h on days when they are
scheduled.
Feel free to contact me at your convenience (217.581.6234 or
<sjmullin@eiu.edu>).
Enjoy the course!