ARCHIVE - Aquatic vertebrate anatomy lab

Freshwater Ecology

Winter Quarter 2003

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Comparative Anatomy Lab Handouts

Number	Date and topic of lab	Title (download here)
1	January 14 (Intro, diversity, lampreys)	Aquatic vertebrate anatomy lab: logistics and expectations
2	January 14	Anatomical terms
3	January 14	Review of evolutionary terms and concepts
4	January 14	Cladogram and taxonomy of major groups of vertebrates
5	January 14	Descriptions of the major groups of chordates
6	January 14	Lab 1: directions, terms, and questions
7	January 21	Schedule and open lab times
8	January 21	Lab 2: External and visceral anatomy of the shark and salamander
9	January 21	Visceral Anatomy Worksheet
10	January 28	Lab 3: Shark head muscles
11	February 4	Lab 4: Salamander head and pectoral muscles
12	February 11	Lab 5: Shark cardiovascular system
13	February 25	Lab 6: Salamander cardiovascular system
14	March 4	Lab 7: Shark neuroanatomy

During winter quarter, we will be doing seven weeks of aquatic vertebrate anatomy labs, plus a final lab practical in week 10. We will be focusing on sharks (genus Squalus, common name dogfish) and salamanders (genus Necturus), and will also investigate lampreys, because they're just so damned cute.
Specifically, we will be looking at visceral, circulatory, muscle, and neuro anatomy. There will necessarily be a lot of memorization, but you will learn a lot, and hopefully have fun doing so. Dissection is a real skill--part technical skill, part art--and perhaps the most amazing thing about a teaching lab in anatomy is getting to see all the diversity of the animals in the room. Unlike roses, a shark is not a shark is not a shark.
Throughout the term, we will be talking about adaptations to an aquatic environment, and the anatomical and physiological ramifications of movement into an amphibious life habit. Some themes will include:

What systems are variable between organisms, and why?

What systems are not variable between organisms? How do environmental constraint and adaptation combine to create systems, such as cranial nerves of the shark, that are both precise and practically invariable?

When did jaws evolve, and how did that affect other features of jawed organisms?

Throughout the quarter, you will be able to go in to the Anatomy lab outside of class time, to study on your own. You will need to do this. Three hours a week is not sufficient to internalize this kind of information. Every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, the labs will be available. If they are not open, go to Lab Stores (2nd floor) to get the keys from them. They will be expecting you.