BIOL3470-3480 HERPETOLOGY
Fall 2004
Instructor: Dr. Robert N. Reed, 184 Life Sciences, Department of Biology.
Office phone 586-7943, email: reed@suu.edu.
Office hours: Monday 1-3, Wednesday 10-12, or by appointment.
Generally, if I’m in my office and the door is open, feel free to come in.
Course description (from SUU catalog): Natural
history and classification of amphibians and reptiles, including their
diversity, distribution, ecology, reproduction, behavior, evolution, and
conservation.
Meeting times:
BIOL3470 Tues/Thurs
Required texts:
Zug,
Vitt and Caldwell. 2001. Herpetology: An
Introductory Biology of Amphibians and
Reptiles.
Academic Press,
Stebbins, R.C. 2003. Western amphibians and
reptiles. Houghton-Mifflin,
GRADING: You
will receive a single grade for BIOL3470/3480. 75% of the overall grade will come from the
lecture (BIOL3470) portion, and 25% from the lab (BIOL3480), as follows:
Article review: 10%: Written (1,000 words maximum) report on
an original journal article. You
will receive additional written information on this review in
class.
report on an amphibian or reptile native to the
state of
Lecture quizzes and
assignments: 15% (Note
that quizzes may be given without prior notice)
Midterm exam: 15%
Lecture final exam: 20%
Lab quizzes and assignments:
10% (Note that quizzes
may be given without prior notice)
Lab final exam: 15%
FINAL GRADE will be based on your percentage of total points: A = 93%-100%, A- =
90-93%, B+ = 87-89%, B = 83-86%, B- = 80-82%, C+ = 77-79%, C= 73-76%, C-=
70-72%, D = 60-69%, <60% = F.
Class attendance
is required. Late work will not be accepted, and
missed assignments and exams cannot be made up unless arrangements have been
made in advance.
Scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated
and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. You are expected to have read and
understood the current issue of the student handbook (published by Student
Services) regarding student responsibilities and rights, and the intellectual
property policy, for information about procedures and about what constitutes
acceptable on-campus behavior.
Information contained in this syllabus,
other than grade and absence policies may be subject to change with advance
notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor. To receive 2% extra credit on
the midterm exam, send an email containing your name and the word “squamate” to
Dr. Reed before the second lecture of the course.
Laboratories
Laboratories
will consist of field trips and in-house labs on identification of
herpetofaunal taxa. You WILL get wet,
muddy, cold, hot, thirsty, exhausted, scratched, bitten, etc during field
trips, so dress appropriately and be prepared for any eventuality. You MUST bring at least one liter of water on
each field trip. For the lab practical
exam, you will be responsible for the knowledge gained from field exercises, as
well as identification of the amphibian and reptile families of the world, the
genera of the United States, and the species of Utah (with emphasis on the
latter).
Field excursions
We
will have two weekend field trips during the semester. All students must attend one of these trips
or forfeit 5% of their total grade. We
will depart on Friday (morning or afternoon, depending on the trip) and return
late on Sunday evening. We will be
camping during both excursions, and students are responsible for obtaining
their own sleeping bags and tents, as well as their own lunches. Breakfasts and dinners will be cooked
communally. Logistical details, etc will
be taken care of during lab periods well before the trips. There may be additional field opportunities
during and after the course.
Assigned readings
You
will receive a herp-related journal article at regular intervals. These articles will generally either report
new information that changes the way we think about herps,
or will be “classic” papers that introduced a major concept. We will briefly discuss the article during
the following week’s lecture or lab period, and exams will include some
questions based on these readings.
Additional notes
BIOL3470-3480
Fall 2004
Course schedule
|
Week of: |
Lecture topics |
Recommended
readings, exams, etc. |
Lab topic |
|
Aug 30 |
Introduction, evolution |
Chap. 1 |
NO LAB |
|
Sept 06 |
Amphibian diversity |
Chap. 15-17 |
FIELD: |
|
Sept 13 |
Reptile diversity |
Chap. 18-21 |
IN-HOUSE: Specimen i.d. |
|
Sept 20 |
Reproduction |
Chap. 4-5 |
FIELD: Mojave herps |
|
Sept 27 |
Reproduction, physiology |
Chap. 5-6 |
IN-HOUSE: Specimen i.d., feeding |
|
Oct 04 |
Physiology, thermoregulation |
Chap. 6-7 |
FIELD: Spring Creek/Kolob |
|
Oct 11 |
Thermoregulation |
Chap. 7 |
FIELD: TBA |
|
Oct 18 |
Behavior – feeding |
Chap. 10 Midterm Exam 10/19 |
TBA |
|
Oct 25 |
Behavior – feeding, movement No lecture 26 October |
Chap. 8, 10 |
NO LAB |
|
Nov 01 |
Behavior – movement |
Chap. 8 |
FIELD: TBA |
|
Nov 08 |
Behavior – sociality |
Chap. 9 |
IN-HOUSE: Specimen i.d. |
|
Nov 15 |
Behavior – defense |
Chap. 11 |
IN-HOUSE: i.d. and review |
|
Nov 22 |
Populations and communities |
Chap. 12-13 |
NO LAB - Thanksgiving |
|
Nov 29 |
Biogeography, conservation |
Chap. 13-14 |
Lab final exam |
|
Dec 06 |
Conservation |
Chap. 14 |
NO LAB |
|
Dec 13 |
No lectures |
FINAL 12/15,
0900-1050 |
NO LAB |
FIELD TRIPS: ALL STUDENTS MUST ATTEND AT LEAST ONE
OF THE FOLLOWING:
FIELD TRIP 1: LYTLE RESERVE, UT. SEPTEMBER 17-19. Leaving
SUU at 1700 on 17 September, returning at
FIELD TRIP 2: GRANITE
MOUNTAINS RESERVE, CA. SEPTEMBER 24-26.
Leaving SUU at 0700 on 24 September, returning at