BIOL 112

Biology 112: Integrative Biology II

Credit Hours: (3)

Designed to teach students to more deeply explore integrative biological questions and concepts, engage in discussions with knowledgeable peers, and explore a range of topics around a broad, central theme. A theme-centered approach aims to unify the disciplines of biology by changing the mindset that biology is learned as disconnected sub-fields. This course provides students with a deeper appreciation of integrative biological concepts, with a focus on developing and applying a research mindset and fostering analytical problem solving. Students in this course will expand their understanding of foundational topics from across biology including evolution, genetics, cell biology, organismal biology, and ecology, and spend time in both the lab and field gaining hands-on experience with a wide range of ideas and information from across the discipline of biology. They will also design and conduct original research projects, developing them from concept through to presentation.

 

Content 

Integrative Biology II will build on the foundational topics already learned, teaching students how to integrate and more deeply understand specific micro- and macroscale topics, including: 

• Evolutionary concepts such as genetic drift, gene flow, patterns of evolution and speciation, and the basic ideas evolutionary developmental biology
• Cell/micro concepts such as meiosis, gene transfer, microbial ecology, endosymbiosis, morphogenesis and cell differentiation, and applied cell/microbiology
• Organismal concepts such as organ system interaction and interdependence, chemical signaling and signal transduction, allostatic adaptation, and plasticity
• Ecological/systems concepts such as community succession and responses to disturbance, nutrient cycling, trophic cascades and ecosystem complexity, services, engineering

 

Course objectives

Upon the successful completion of this course, students will also be able to:

1. Recognize and discuss multilevel integrative biological problems;
2. Develop an integrative research plan to address biological questions;
3. Apply key concepts and skills to actualize their research plan;
4. Analyze findings from the research plan;
5. Derive and detail the implications of their findings both for specific issues and larger integrative concepts;
6. Explain the impact of their findings and fundamental integrative biological concepts to others

 

Assessment Measures

• Weekly topic quizzes (1-7):  5% each (35% total)
• Lab assignments (1-5): 5% each (25% total)
• Group research proposal: 15%
• Group research log: 10%
• Group research findings presentation: 15%

 

Review and Approval

March, 2023