BIOL 108 - Introduction to Biological Diversity

BIOL 108 is intended as an introductory biology course for first year university transfer students.  The course builds a foundation for students in agriculture, forestry, arts, elementary and secondary education, human and veterinary medicine, pharmacy, and science.

Prerequisites: Biology 30
Corequisites: None

Course Learning Outcomes:
A student who successfully completes the course will have reliably demonstrated the ability to

Cognitive Skills

   1.   indicate the hierarchy of study object sizes or scopes and recognize the hierarchy of taxa in biological systems.

   2.   apply the criteria which distinguish life from dead matter. 

   3.   itemize the unique properties of water and carbon, which make life possible on Earth.

   4.   distinguish biological classification schemes: 2 kingdoms based on nutrition and motility (Linnaeus), 3 domains based on ribosomal RNA sequences (Woese), 5 or 6 kingdoms based on presence of nucleus, cell wall, membrane lipids, and body plans (Whittaker).

   5.   quote the rules of taxonomy:  binomial nomenclature, typology, cladism, evolutionism, pheneticism, and the biological species concept based on reproductive barriers and population genetics, the use of morphological versus molecular data.

   6.   describe the importance of genotype and phenotype in natural selection, mutation rates, orthologs and paralogs, sympatric speciation, sexual reproduction and meiosis, genetic recombination, and the alternation of generations in the life cycle.

   7.   discuss the origin of life, the change in atmospheric composition due to photosynthesis, the effect of plate tectonics and continental drift on allopatric speciation.

   8.   explain the foundations of archaean and bacterial taxonomy, lithotrophy, methanogenesis, carbon, nitrogen and sulfur biogeochemical cycles, and the endosymbiotic theory of mitochondrial and chloroplast evolution.

   9.   outline the tenets of protistan taxonomy, the evolution of sexual reproduction, the rise of colonial and multicellular forms, the origin of organelles, modes of cell division, acquisition of photosynthetic pigments, locomotion and symbiosis.

10.   specify the basics of fungal taxonomy, the evolution of parasitic and saprotrophic lifestyles, separation of plasmogamy and karyogamy in the dikaryon, cell connections, airborne sexual and asexual spores, and symbiosis with algae in lichens.

11.   epitomize the arguments for relating green algal and plant taxonomies, importance of genome duplications, the rise of the sporophyte, and its alternation with the gametophyte, the evolution of air borne asexual spores, pollination, seeds, fruit, and flowers.

12.   rationalize the principles of animal taxonomy, the evolution of embryonic cleavage types, germ layers, body polarity and symmetry, DNA-sequencing based concepts of lophotrochozoans and ecdysozoans, animal body plans and the success of mollusks, arthropods, and vertebrates.

13.   list the unique features of sequentially evolved clades of deuterostomes, chordates, craniates, vertebrates, gnathostomes, pharyngopnoi, amniotes, and placentals.

Applied Skills

1. work safely in a biology lab, wearing a lab coat, tying long hair, reporting accidents, cleaning spills, washing hands, disinfecting lab benches, avoiding cuts and burns by keeping a neat workspace. Safe waste disposal.
2. adjust compound and dissecting light microscopes for the study of live and preserved specimens and prepare wet mounts on slides of live cultures of three cyanobacterial species.
3. draw specimens viewed under the microscope, estimate and calculate their sizes using the ocular micrometer, the magnification of the image, and calculate the resolution of the objective lens in use.
4. find peer-reviewed primary research articles on a given topic using databases, such as Biological and Agricultural Index, Agricola, Biological Abstracts, J-Store, and to make interlibrary loan requests.
5. transfer C-fern spores as well as Arabidopsis plant seeds, from sterilized water to solid agar medium under aseptic conditions, by using sterile packaging, and dousing and flaming forceps on alcohol lamps.
6. identify cyanobacteral species by their cell shape, cell arrangement, cell size, and cell differentiation, and by use of a dichotomous key. Later on, a more elaborate dichotomous key aids in lichens identification. 
7. evaluate 5 hypothetical phylogenetic trees of 5 ungulates and the aardvark outgroup, based on a morphological data matrix, when applying the parsimony principle.
8. document genetic drift in small, fragmented populations of the quokka, and the molecular clock, using random draws of poker chips and substitutions of coloured interlocking necklace beads at DNA and protein levels.
9. calculate genetic distance among the 5 ungulate species and aardvark outgroup, based on the multiple DNA sequence alignment (MSA) of mitochondrial cytochrome B, translated into 380 amino acids.
10. label the organs of a live sunflower (Helianthus) seedling, the primary tissues in a prepared Helianthus stem cross-section, and tissues in a prepared lilac (Syringa) leaf cross-section.
11. measure the root growth in phosphate-starved roots compared to control roots with normal phosphate levels; also, calculate the germination rates of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds in low and normal phosphate media.
12. compare root growth at two phosphate concentrations by the t-test, by formulating the null hypothesis, calculating means, variances, degrees of freedom, and t-statistic, at confidence level, determine significance.
13. write lab reports and make poster presentations in scientific format: experimental data analysis and graphing, alternative hypothesis, statistical tests, evaluation and interpretation of results, and citation in APA format.
14. observe the plant life cycle of the cultured Ceratopteris fern: homospores, gametophytes, sperms, eggs (1n), and later sporophytes (2n); graph male and hermaphroditic gametophyte percentage against overall density. 
15. test habitat preferences, light, temperature, and pH, of newly hatched brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) larvae in 1m gradient tubes; at the end, shrimp numbers are counted separately in 4 clamped-off sections.
16. perform a statistical goodness of fit Chi²-test on the shrimp count data, calculating Chi² from expected and observed counts, compare it to the critical Chi², and discuss significance based on the null hypothesis.
17. recognize basidiomycetes by mushroom and basidia, deuteromycetes by conidiophores, yeasts as single cells, impact on humans, symbiosis in arbuscular and ecto-mycorrhiza, symbiosis in lichens (dichotomous key).
18. design and run experiments to study the life of an invertebrate animal (hydra, planarian, earthworm, nematode, pond snail, slug, mealworm, bean beetle, brine or fairy shrimp); read about classification, anatomy, food.
19. create and group-present a laminated scientific poster with title, author names and institutional address, abstract, introduction, results in graphs, pictures, tables, calculations, discussion, references, peer review.
20. dissect a vertebrate (perch fish) for the study of its internal anatomy (mounted rat), name the bones on a perch and cat skeleton, name external features of sea star, urchin, and sea cucumber, their locomotion, their canals.

Durnford D. G., Moyes C. D., and Scott K.  (2021).  Campbell Biology (3rd Canadian ed.).

Don Mills, Ontario, Canada.:  Pearson Canada Inc.

Hagen, M.  (2020/2021).  Biology 108.  Introduction to biological diversity.  Laboratory

manual.  Edmonton, AB: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta.

Cuny, R.  (2020).  BIOL108.  Introduction to biological diversity. Course notes. 

Lloydminster, AB: Lakeland College.

Cuny, R.  (2020).  BIOL108.  Introduction to biological diversity. Online. Desire-to-Learn,

Lloydminster, AB: Lakeland College.

Optional Resource Materials:
Pechenik, J. A.  (2016).  A short guide to writing about biology (9th ed.).  Hoboken, New Jersey:

Pearson.

Conduct of Course:
This is a 3-credit course with 3 hours of lecture and 3 hours of lab per week. (3-0-3).

Lectures - Three hours per week

The lectures are supported by PowerPoint projection, whiteboard, and occasionally by a short movie.  The textbook, printed course notes and electronic files placed on Desire-2-Learn must be supplemented by notes taken by the students.  The library can be used to access biological literature and on-line databases.  Students are expected to do the assigned readings in the textbook and lab manual on a weekly basis.

Labs - Three hours per week

The laboratory enables the students to have direct contact with living and preserved organisms of most kingdoms.  Safety procedures must be followed, and lab coats must be worn when in the lab.  Key experiments teach the students the process of scientific deduction: A hypothesis is formulated, tested experimentally, and the results are evaluated and compared with the theoretical values predicted by the hypothesis. 

In addition to the 8 worksheets, three lab activities are submitted: Arabidopsis root length (Lab 3) with t-test statistics, Artemia habitat preferences (Lab 5) with Chi² statistics, and a graph of Ceratopteris gametophyte density versus sex ratio (Lab 4).  There is a lab safety quiz (Lab 2) on lab and biosafety (Orientation and Lab 1).  All students must pass the lab safety quiz before continuing with the labs.  Although some laboratory work is performed in groups of up to 4 students, each student is responsible for independent data analysis, and individual interpretation of the results. Citation follows a scientific format (APA).

The WHMIS Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System requires the safe handling and storage of chemicals as specified in the MSDS Materials Safety Data Sheets. Live animals must be handled in accordance with the Guidelines of the Canadian Council on Animal Care, and cruelty or neglect is not tolerated. Microorganisms on Schedule 2 of the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act fall under the regulations of the Pathogens Regulation Directorate of the Public Health Agency of Canada and can only be studied in the Level 2 approved lab BK110. All laboratory equipment is operated as specified in the Operation Manuals.

Attendance is recorded by the instructors, and lab attendance is mandatory. If more than 2 labs are missed, excused or unexcused, the student is required to withdraw (RW) or is assigned a failing grade (F) for the entire course. If you do not meet the lecture attendance requirement of 80%, the Registrar may withdraw you from the course (RW). If you are absent due to illness or due to a critical family situation, please provide the documentation. In any case, it is the responsibility of the student to acquire the missing information, and to complete missed course work.

Students are only allowed to submit lab reports or worksheets for labs that they have attended. If the student’s absence is excusable, the missed lab is not counted. If the absence is inexcusable, the lab assignment will be assigned a mark of 0.

Make-up labs are difficult or impossible to set up in biology. Only students with an excused absence may be granted a make-up lab. 

Content of Course:

The weighting of the course components are as follows:

No supplemental assignments or exam re-writes are allowed in the University Transfer Department.  The lecture exams are composed of a 2:1 mixture of multiple-choice questions and short answer questions.  The laboratory exam may present any living or preserved material that the students studied in the labs; question stations are set up, and students will take turns (5 minutes per station) answering questions at each station.  The lab reports do not exceed 2 pages single spaced, excluding tables or graphs. They follow a scientific format: Title, author’s name and address, abstract, a brief introduction and hypothesis, methods, results, a discussion, reference list (APA), and answers to questions asked in the lab manual or on worksheets.  Late submissions of assignments will suffer a 5% deduction per day late, except under documented extraordinary circumstances.

Cheating, falsifying of laboratory data, plagiarism, and non-compliance with class procedures, safety regulations, copyright, or the code of conduct are academic and professional offenses. Depending on the severity of the offence, a student may be reminded, sent out of the classroom, reported to the department head, may have marks deducted, assigned a failing grade in the course, or may be expelled from the college.

• Official final grades will be available on My Lakeland. Grades posted in D2L should be considered interim grades.  
• “Lakeland College is committed to the highest academic standards. Students are expected to be familiar with Lakeland College policies and to abide by these policies. Violations of these policies are considered to be serious and may result in suspension or expulsion from the College.”  

Students must maintain a cumulative grade of C (GPA - Grade Point Average of 2.00) in order to qualify to graduate.

Every effort has been made to ensure that information in this course outline is accurate at the time of publication. Lakeland College reserves the right to change courses if it becomes necessary so that course content remains relevant.

In such cases, the instructor will give students clear and timely notice of changes.

No part of this course outline may be reproduced in any form or resold without written permission from Lakeland College.

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