Office: 142 Science Center; 646-3850; porterfi@stolaf.edu
Office Hours: Wed 2:00-3:30; Th 1:00-2:30; or by appointment

Text: Campbell, et al. 1999. Biology, Fifth Edition. Benjamin Cummings. REQUIRED

Lab Manual/Coursepack. REQUIRED

Meeting Times/Places:
Lecture, Sections A,B,C - MWF 8:00-8:55, Science Center 280
Lab, Section A - W 10:40-1:10, Science Center 211
Lab, Section B - Tu 11:45-2:15, Science Center 211
Lab, Section C - Tu 3:00-5:30, Science Center 211

About Organismic Biology
This is really a course in biodiversity & evolution, with some ecology. During this course, we will study how the organisms on Earth (biodiversity) have interacted with their environment (ecology) and undergone genetic changes over time that have resulted in their forms and functions (evolution). The first quarter or so of the course will focus on concepts in evolutionary biology, which will help us in our survey of the major groups of organisms in the rest of the course.

This material is essential to people interested in careers in or related to biology. Although biodiversity has different meanings and values to different people, its overall significance to human existence on Earth is undeniable. I hope that over the semester you will come to realize this in a variety of ways.

Schedule of Topics, Readings, & Links

 

Date	Topic	Readings	Links
F-2/7	Introduction to Course
M-2/10	Hardy-Weinberg Genetic Equilibrium	Ch. 23 (445-449)
W-2/12	History of Evolutionary Thought	Ch. 22	evolution overview, PBS Darwin site
F-2/14	Genetic Variation & Microevolution	Ch. 23 (450-457)	drift simulation, founder effect
M-2/17	Natural Selection I	Ch. 23 (457-461)
W-2/19	Natural Selection II	above & 426-427
F-2/21	What is a Species?	Ch. 24 (464-468)	mass extinctions, cichlid fish radiation
M-2/24	Speciation Processes	Ch. 24 (468-476)	cichlid fish radiation
W-2/26	Introduction to Evolutionary Trends	Ch. 24 (476-481)
F-2/28	EXAM 1	--
M-3/3	Organizing & Classifying Biodiversity	Ch. 25	Tree Of Life Page
W-3/5	Origin of Life on Earth	Ch. 26	American Scientist Article
F-3/7	Prokaryotes I	Ch. 27	Archaea, Bacteria
M-3/10	Prokaryotes II	Ch. 27 (cont.)	CDC info on Bacillus anthracis, bacteria of medical importance
W-3/12	Prokaryotes III	Ch. 27 (cont.)
F-3/14	Protists I	Ch. 28	Fungus Info (Berkeley)     Kingdom Protista info & images
M-3/17	Protists II	Ch. 28 (cont.)	Dr. Fungus     some pathogenic protistans
W-3/19	Protists III	Ch. 28 (cont.)
F-3/21	EXAM 2	--
3/22-3/30	SPRING BREAK	--
M-3/31	Fungi I	Ch. 31 (616-619)
W-4/2	Fungi II	Ch. 31 (619-631)
F-4/4	Fungi III & Intro to Plants - CLASS IN VIKING THEATRE	--
M-4/7	Trends in Plant Evolution	Ch. 29 (575-584)
W-4/9	Bryophytes & Seedless Vascular Plants	Ch. 29 (585-594)	bryophyte biology, bog mummies, fern biology, fern images, other seedless vascular plants
F-4/11	Seed Plants (Gymnosperms)	Ch. 30 (597-605)
M-4/14	Seed Plants (Angiosperms)	Ch. 30 (606-613)	some pretty flowers!
W-4/16	Plant Review	--	GM foods information, GM food article
F-4/18	EXAM 3	--
M-4/21	EASTER BREAK	--
W-4/23	Introduction to Animals	Ch. 32
F-4/25	Invertebrate Animals I	Ch. 33
M-4/28	Invertebrate Animals II	Ch. 33
W-4/30	Invertebrate Animals III	Ch. 33	Insecta home page, horseshoe crab article
F-5/2	Introduction to Chordates & Vertebrates	Ch. 34
M-5/5	Vertebrate Animals I - Fish	Ch. 34	sequential hermaphroditism article, coelacanth website
W-5/7	Vertebrate Animals II - Amphibians & Reptiles	Ch. 34
F-5/9	Vertebrate Animals III - Birds & Mammals	Ch. 34	bird images
M-5/12	Vertebrate Animals IV - Primates	Ch. 34
W-5/14	Vertebrate Animals V - Homo sapiens	Ch. 34

 

Jean Porterfield's personal web page