BIO345syllabus_spring08

8/7/2019 BIO345syllabus_spring08

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BIO 345 – ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY

Course Syllabus – Spring 2008

Instructor: Dr. Heather Koopman

Office: Dobo Hall 225

Telephone: (910) 962-7199

Email: [email protected]

Office hours: Tuesday 12:30 – 14:00

Thursday 9:30 – 10:30

Because this is such a large class, the best way for me to get to know you is for you to

stop by my office. Please do not hesitate to come by and discuss anything related to the

course, or to clarify any material that was unclear to you in the lecture. I realize that not

everyone’s schedule will accommodate these office hours and I am very willing toarrange appointments at other times, with a few days’ notice (contact me via email at

[email protected]). I encourage all students to come and see me with any questionsor concerns about the class. Do not leave it too late; it is easier to identify and try to

overcome any problem areas if they are addressed early, rather than in the last week of

the semester.

Lectures: Tuesday & Thursday 11:00 – 12:15 Dobo 134

Course textbook: Animal Physiology. Hill, R.W., Wyse, G. A., and Anderson, M. 2004.Sinauer Associates, Inc.

The textbook will form an important complement to the lecture material and will alsoprovide you with more detailed explanations of physiological principles and processes.Chapter readings will be assigned prior to lectures; covering this material before coming

to the lecture will aid in your understanding of the topic.

Academic Honour Code: The Department of Biological Sciences strongly supports the

Academic Honor Code as stated in “The Student Handbook and Code of Student Life”

and will NOT tolerate academic dishonesty.

Important dates to remember:

January 16 last day to drop/add

February 26 last day to withdraw with a WApril 28 last day of classes for spring 08 (for us, the last class day will be April 22)

May 6 Final exam 11:30-2:30

BIO 345 Animal Physiology Spring 2008 1

mailto:[email protected]






Evaluation: Assessment will be in the form of two in-class midterm exams, a final

comprehensive exam, a series of unannounced quizzes and homework assignments, AND

(this is new to BIO 345): a writing assignment. Each component is worth the followingproportion towards your final grade:

In-class quizzes/homework assignments 5%Writing assignment 15%

Midterm I February 12 11:00 – 12:15 20%

Midterm II March 27 11:00 – 12:15 25%Final exam May 6 11:30 – 14:30 35%

Exams will cover everything discussed in class lectures, as well as any specifically

assigned textbook reading. Exam questions will be in the form of multiple choice, shortanswers, short essays, and problems. YOU WILL NEED A CALCULATOR.

Quizzes/homework will be worth a total of 5% towards your final grade. Note: the

Animal Physiology Lab (BIOL 345) is a separate course and does not figure into your

BIO 345 grade.

Writing assignment: The writing assignment is intended to meet three objectives: 1) tohave each student carry out independent research in the published literature on a given

physiology topic; 2) to improve the scientific writing skills of each student; and 3) to

expose each student to the process of peer review [yes, you will review the work of your

classmates and they will do the same for you]. Here is how the writing assignment willwork:

1. The class will be divided into two groups. The first group will consist of those with

surnames starting with A-K, and the second with surnames starting with L-Z. Thisdivision serves to have only half of the class turn in any phase of the assignment at once,

making sure I have time to look carefully over each one.

2. On Feb 14, I will provide the topic for the first group. Every student in group 1 willthen have two weeks to write a 1200-word paper (details outlined below) on that topic.

Included in the two-week time frame is a mandatory review of your paper by a fellow

345 student (doesn’t matter which group that student is in). Your “peer reviewer” shouldmake comments and suggestions on your paper, not only for content but also for spelling,

grammar and style. You must then make the appropriate changes to your paper, have the

peer reviewer sign the revised version, and hand it in to me.

3. I will then read and critique each one, and hand it back to you with edits, commentsand suggestions. You will then have two more weeks to make changes to improve the

paper, and hand it back in for final grading. You MUST staple the first version (the one I

edited) to your final version upon resubmission for final grading.4. On Feb 28 date, I will provide the topic for group 2, and the rest of the described

procedure will be followed. The reason the dates are staggered is to prevent group 2

from having an undue advantage imposed by knowing the topic farther in advance andthus having more time to complete the first draft of the assignment.

5. Failure to hand in any part of the assignment (first or final draft) on time will result in

a grade of zero for the assignment.




Schedule for writing assignment:

Group 1 (A-K) Group 2 (L-Z)

Topic(s) assigned Feb 14 Feb 28

First draft due to me Feb 28 Mar 18

First draft will be returned to you by Mar 20 Mar 27

Final draft due to me Apr 3 Apr 10

Details of writing assignment:

- must contain an introduction, the main point you are trying to make, supporting (and

refuting) evidence from the literature, and a summary/conclusion section.- length: 1200 words + list of references

- double-spaced, font 12 point

- MUST include at least 5 references from the primary literature. This meanspublished

in scientific journals. NO material from websites/internet will be accepted; you must find

actual journal articles. Some examples of journals to search in include Journal of

Comparative Physiology, American Journal of Physiology, Comparative Biochemistry

and Physiology, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, Journal of ExperimentalBiology and others of that nature. Use the reference format used by the Journal of

Comparative Physiology. Example of reference format : Stokes DR, Josephson RK

(2004) Power and control muscles of cicadia song: structural and contractileheterogeneity. J Comp Physiol A 190:279-290.

When referring to one of your references within the text of your assignment, you would

state “Previous work on cicadas has shown a strong relationship between muscular activity and the frequency of cicada songs (Stokes and Josephson 2004)” or “Stokes and

Josephson (2004) demonstrated that the songs of cicadas”…..

- pay attention to spelling, grammar and sentence structure, as well as use of punctuation.Make sure that you write in the passive voice, that every sentence says exactly what you

intend it to say and does so clearly, and that you have agreement among tenses andsingular/plural forms. I will beextremely picky about language, grammar and clarity.

Makeup policy: If you have a legitimate conflict with an exam, and you contact me well

ahead of time, I may consider giving you an early midterm exam. Please contact me as

early as possible if you have a legitimate conflict with an exam date (see schedule above).Missed exams will be given a grade of 0, unless you have a signed doctor’s note for a

serious medical condition or family emergency, or if you are carrying out University

business. In such casesmakeup exams will NOT be offered; instead the other examswill be adjusted to compensate for this missed exam (i.e. the other exams will be worth

more to make up the difference) but only if you have provided official documentation –

otherwise you will get zero. Any missed quiz/assignment will result in a grade of 0, withabsolutely no make-ups. I do not give extra credit assignments, so don’t ask for them;

and also, I don’t grade on a curve.

Students with disabilities: I am more than willing to make accommodations for studentswith disabilities. Students should first contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) in

Westside Hall (3746). Once a referral is obtained from ODS, please contact me.




Course topics:

We will cover many aspects of animal physiology, using as many diverse examples as

possible. We will start with a brief introduction to important basic physiologicalprinciples (membranes, diffusion, electrochemical gradients), and then move on to cover:

• the nervous system

•muscles

• gas exchange and transport

• body fluids and circulation

• osmoregulation (water and salt balance)

• digestion and nutrition

• endrocrine systems

• energetics & thermoregulation

A detailed course outline can be found below, with each topic listed with the

corresponding chapter in the textbook. Every attempt will be made to stay on schedulebut there may be some flexibility as we go along!




Detailed course outline for BIO 345 Spring 2008

Day Date Topic Chapter

1 Th Jan 10 Introduction to course, expectations -

2 Tu Jan 15 membranes, epithelia, diffusion, enzymes 2, 3

3 Th Jan 16 osmosis, electrochemical gradients, active

transport

3

4 Tu Jan 22 neurons, resting potential, Nernst equation 11

5 Th Jan 24 Goldman equation, action potentials,

voltage-gated channels

11

6 Tu Jan 29 nerve conduction, events at the synapse 11, 12

7 Th Jan 31 sensory structures 13

8 Tu Feb 5 muscle filaments, myosin/actin, contraction 17

9 Th Feb 7 muscle contraction cycle, action potentials,effects of CA++, types of muscle fibres

17

Tu Feb 12 exam I

10 Th Feb 14 gas in air and water, CO2 and O2 diffusion,

gas exchange surfaces; writing assignment

topics given to Group 1

20, 21

11 Tu Feb 19 the globins: Hb, Mb, Nb, and O2 transport 22

12 Th Feb 21 CO2 transport, structure of the heart 22, 23

13 Tu Feb 26 circulation, blood pressure, specialized

adaptations (diving and giraffes)

23, 24

14 Th Feb 28 introduction to osmoregulation; function of

the mammalian kidney; first draft of writing

assignment due for Group 1; writing

assignment topics given to Group 2

25, 27

Tu Mar 4 no class, spring break

Th Mar 6 no class, spring break

15 Tu Mar 11 FW vs. SW osmoregulation 25, 26

16 Th Mar 13 extreme osmoregulation: insects, birds,

desert life

27, 28

17 Tu Mar 18 feeding structures, stomachs; first draft of writing assignment due for Group 2

4

Th Mar 20 no class; state holiday

18 Tu Mar 25 digestion, specializations for eating 4

Th Mar 27 exam II




19 Tu Apr 1 the endocrine system, hormones and their

main modes of action

14

20 Th Apr 3 classic hormones and their effects; final draft of writing assignment due for Group 1

14, 15

21 Tu Apr 8 Energetics: MR, effects on MR, and

relationship with body size

5

22 Th Apr 10 energy cycles: ATP, CAC, electron

transport; final draft of writing assignment

due for Group 2

6

23 Tu Apr 15 anaerobic vs. aerobic metabolism, COT,

energetic extremes

6, 7

24 Th Apr 17 introduction to thermoregulation; TNZ,

homeothermy, Q10

8

25 Tu Apr 22 thermoregulation in hot & cold habitats,

CCHE

8, 9

26 Th Apr 24 no class – review session for final exam

scheduled for reading day (April 29) from14:00-15:00 in Dobo 134

Tu Apr 29 Review session for final exam 2-3 pm Dobo

134.

Tu May 6 FINAL EXAM 11:30 – 14:30


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BIO345syllabus_spring08