Lisa Harmon
Office: Life Sciences South, Rm. 353
Email: lisah.uidaho.edu
Office hours: Mon 8:00-10:00 or Fri 8:00-10:00 or by appointment

Students that are unable to meet during regular office hours may schedule an appointment by contacting the instructor or TA's by telephone or email.

Lecture:
MWF, 10:30 –11:20am;  TLC 47

Labs:
Sec 01: TUES 9:30 – 12:20am
Sec 02: TUES 1:30 – 4:20pm
Sec 03: THURS 1:30 – 4:20pm

All labs in Lss 356
You may only attend the section for which you are registered.

Biology, 7th edition, 2005. Campbell & Reece. Benjamin Cummings, Pub.
[Note: This text is also used for BIO 213] Required text

Photographic Atlas for the Biology Laboratory, 5th edition, 2005. Van de Graaff & Crawley. Morton Pub. Required text
[Note: This book will be useful for BIO 213 & other biology classes]

Historical Geology, 4th edition, 2004. Wicander & Monroe. Brooks/Cole, Pub. Recommended text

Laboratory Exercises – will be distributed in lab, except for Sewage lab (in bookstore)

In BIOL 115 you studied the fundamental concepts of evolutionary biology – the basic molecules and components of life, cell structure and function, and how modifications that confer a survival advantage are passed onto the next generation. In Biol 116, the diversity of life will be explored in the context of organisms evolving to fill available niches through the history of the Earth. We will begin with a timeline of the evolution of geology and biology on the Earth. The origin of different groups of organisms and the evolutionary relationship between them will be emphasized. Groups will be explored in the order of their appearance on Earth, starting with the prokaryotes. Then the relationships between the eukaryotes (protista, fungi, plants, and animals) are examined.  Some basic plant and animal anatomy will be discussed where appropriate. We then look at how organisms interact with each other and also with their environment (ecology). To conclude the course, we will discuss the impact that humans have on the balance of nature.

BIONet 116 (access via Blackboard: www.blackboard.uidaho.edu) provides supplemental web-based instruction of some of the topics covered in class. During the first week of classes students will be given instructions on how to access and use the site. There are self-guided exercises on Bionet, as well as scored quizzes. Quizzes and important supplemental material will be posted on bionet. Quizzes will be posted for 7 days, during which students will have 3 chances to pass the quiz. We will also use the case studies.

Students are strongly advised to attend all lectures. Lectures will cover the material deemed most important for the course. Any changes will be announced there, as well as review questions and answers the session before exams.

I will post the lecture presentations on the Blackboard site at least two days before each lecture as pdf documents. You may print these out and use them as a basis for taking notes on the lecture. Also, review topics for each exam will be posted on Blackboard before this review, so that you can ask questions in the review session.

Any behavior that is disruptive to the class, or deemed by the instructor or teaching assistants to be disrespectful to fellow students or the instructor will not be tolerated. This includes conversations with fellow students that are not part of the lecture, sleeping in class, checking email, reading newspapers or magazines or using cell phones during class time. Students that violate this rule may be summarily dismissed from class. Repeated violation may result in expulsion from the course and a failing grade for the student.

4 lecture exams (90 pts each)	360
Comprehensive exam (optional)	(90)
10 Blackboard Quizzes (12 points each)	120
Laboratory reports/ discussion questions	170
Investigative report & presentation	50
TOTAL	700 Points

Lecture exams may consist of fill in the blank, matching, short answer or multiple choice questions. Multiple choice questions will be answered on scantron sheets. Answers written on the exam but not transferred to the scantron sheet will not be counted! You are required to take exams 1 – 4; if you are not satisfied with your grade in any of these exams you may also take the comprehensive exam and replace your lowest grade.

Bionet quizzes will be accessed through Blackboard (www.blackboard.uidaho.edu) outside of class. There will be 10 weekly quizzes, each worth 12 points. Students are allowed three attempts for each quiz. Only the highest score from your attempts will be recorded as your grade for each weekly quiz. There will be no quizzes on test weeks. The quiz schedule will be posted in the class schedule, and is subject to change.

Lab reports are due the week after the lab; late reports will lose 5% of their value for each day that they are late. Students that are more than 10 minutes late for a lab will not receive full credit for that lab. The investigative report & presentation is and will be assessed as a group project.

Any makeup exams or other assignments must be prearranged, or a note from the Dean must be procured and delivered to me if an emergency prevents your attendance from class. The comprehensive exam is the makeup exam.

Grammar, syntax, spelling, logic

Grades on tests, reports, labs, and quizzes will be reduced if unclear or confusing grammar, spelling, syntax, or logic are used. If your handwriting is illegible, the grade will be reduced significantly. Transfer your lab reports to a word processor if you have difficulty in handwriting. Clear communication of ideas and observations is as critical in science as in other fields of endeavor, so your grade will depend on your commitment to clear, concise communication.

Grades: Letter grades are awarded based on the following scale:

A   90 – 100%
B   80 – 89%
C   70 – 79%
D   60 – 69%
F   0 – 59%

You can check your current grade in Blackboard under the My Grades link. There will be a entry called current grade with your up-to-date class percentage.

Absence from exams and lab sessions will only be excused for reasons of illness, family emergency or conflict with an official University function. Missed lecture exams will be taken the day of the final exam; the comprehensive exam will be taken in lieu of the missed exam. Missed lab sessions may be rescheduled at the discretion of the instructor. Absence from labs may result in you failing this course.

Wednesday	February 6	EXAM # 1
Wednesday	March 5	EXAM # 2
Monday	April 5	EXAM # 3
Tuesday	May 6	EXAM # 4; 10:00 – 11:00am COMPREHENSIVE EXAM; 11:00am - NOON

Acts of cheating or plagiarism in this class will result in zero points for that assignment and may ultimately result in you failing this class. All persons involved will be held accountable.

Cheating refers to the acquisition of answers to test questions in a dishonest fashion.

Plagiarism is defined as the representation of another student's work as your own, in its entirety or with slight change of wording. It also includes the use of writing from published sources without citing the author(s).

Students withdrawing from the course need to officially do so no later than January 23, 2007 for a full refund of laboratory fees. Students who withdraw after that date will forfeit their refund.

Text book companion: www.campbellbiology.com is a web site with chapter tests and other learning aides which accompanies your text book.

University of California Museum of Paleontology: www.ucmp.berkeley.edu has lots of information and links to images of fossils from our prehistoric past.

Tree of Life Web Project: www.tolweb.org is a collaborative internet project containing information about phylogeny and biodiversity.

Please let me know if you find other sites that may be of interest to students or the instructor and I will post them on the class site.

What you should know from Biology 115:

Understanding of the following topics from Bio115 are required in this course.

• Cell structure and function,
• Cellular biochemistry and energy conservation mechanisms,
• Transcription and translation of the genetic code,
• The cell cycle, meiosis and mitosis, and cell division,
• Genetic aspects of development,
• Approaches used to classify biological diversity.

The following topics were also covered and are of particular importance to this course, so a review is advisable:

• Neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory,
• Mechanisms that give rise to genetic diversity in populations,
• How natural selection leads to incremental change within species,
• How interactions among species and between organisms and their environment shape the course of adaptive evolution.

Academic Assistance Programs have produced a number of handouts on study skills which can be found in the University Commons (also available on their web page).

As with any new language that you learn, you need to be aware of the correct spelling and definition of terms. A section of your notebook devoted to listing new terms with their spelling and definition would be helpful. If you are having difficulties with the lecture material or the labs please tell me. If you have a personal grievance or think of something that the whole class can benefit from please let me know with a visit or an email. I’m looking forward to working with you this semester.

Bruce Mobarry