ARCHIVE - Vertebrate Evolution, Spring 2008: home page

Announcements (last updated June 4)

As requested by some, here is the Schedule for Eval Conferences (.xls file)

Fair and festive potluck-goers: It was a lot of fun last night! Zack will talk of nothing else. This morning, I find myself in possession of a few new (to me) items--a knife, a red Helly Hansen jacket, and a red North Face fleece, which has keys in the pocket. The owner of that last item might need it before his or her conference; if so, contact me, and we'll arrange a meeting. Wednesday morning I'm working at home, so, since you now know where I live, you can also just come by and pick it up.

There are two new documents on the resources page:

A key to the Birds of a Feather workshop. I read all of your workshops, and there were very well done--ranging from extremely detailed to less so, but every group clearly worked to put together answers to these questions. Because group work--especially when working in newly formed groups--can be difficult, I am not giving feedback on each workshop that I received. If you would like my interpretation of some particular answer that you or your group gave, let me know, and I'll be happy to do so.
A program description. This will comprise the first page of your evaluation for Vertebrate Evolution, and you should refer to it when you are writing your self- and faculty- evaluations for this program. Knowing what will be in your transcript already can help reduce redundancy as you write your self-eval, in particular. Every student must write and submit to me a self-evaluation of their work this quarter, but you are not required to submit that self-eval to the registrar for inclusion in your transcript. That is entirely up to you. If you're not sure, I am happy to advise.

May 14:

On Wednesday, May 14, we are having one student presentation, then an evolution of birds workshop. Make sure that you have done the readings for this workshop in advance of class--they are two downloadable pdfs on the resources page.

April 22:

I have now sent feedback, electronically, on all of the research proposals that I received, and on computer labs 1 and 2--that's three Emails sent on April 22nd, to each of you. If you did not get these Emails from me, then I didn't get one from you, or your Email server has decided to hide my Emails from you. Email problems abound these days; please check your junk folders, add my Email to your address book, switch to your Evergreen account--whatever you have to do to make the electronic transfer of files, and therefore academic feedback, as easy as possible. If we haven't been having any problems communicating by Email--regardless of whether you're using a gmail, comcast, yahoo, hotmail, evergreen, or any other account that others have been having issues with--don't mess with what works. Keep an eye on your account, and be wary if you haven't received feedback that you think you should have.

Your research projects are going to be very interesting. They fall, very broadly, into two types: those that investigate species evolution (e.g. how are the extant corvids (crows, jays, etc) related to each other, and/or where on the planet did they initially diverge?), and those that investigate character evolution (e.g. what has led to the expansion of cognitive function in corvids? Does it have any correlates in this group--that is, did big brains coevolve with, say, wings built for agility rather than speed? What ecological parameters predict such evolution in this or other groups?). In pairing you up in peer-review groups, I am considering not just taxonomic group that you are looking at, but also the bigger level of question you're approaching--again, broadly, as you thinking in terms of character evolution, or species evolution, or something overlapping both? Consider these issues as you continue your early research for your projects--it may help you organize your own thoughts.

FAQs (last updated March 18, 2008)

Q: Is Vertebrate Evolution upper-division?

A: Yes! Students who do consistently high-quality work will receive 16 upper-division science credits, likely in evolutionary biology, vertebrate anatomy and physiology, and philosophy of science.

Q: What knowledge and skills am I likely to take away from this program?

A: This program will give you a solid background in macroevolution (aka origin of species) through lectures, anatomy labs, and computer labs, in which we learn how to build evolutionary trees. You will also learn anatomical terms and dissection skills. In addition, the focus will be on vertebrates, and roughly half of the time in the classroom will comprise a survey of vertebrate zoology, including what anatomical and physiological characters distinguish the major groups of vertebrates.

Q: How will you be assessing student work in this program?

A: I will be evaluating your work (your rigor, intellectual curiosity, and comprehension) in several ways. While this is not a final list, these are likely to include:

7 weekly take-home quizzes
7 sets of study questions, to be completed before class, for discussion on Mondays
One in-class quiz (week 2) on chordate phylogeny (a memory quiz)
Anatomy lab: two practicals, plus weekly dissection skills and participation
Computer lab: Three phylogeny assignments
Student research and lectures on assigned system in anatomy or physiology (teams of two students)
Research papers on topics to be discussed in the Spring, which use at least 15 peer-reviewed sources
Poster presentations following from individual research projects

Q: I'm interested in the program, but don't believe in dissecting animals. Can I opt out of the anatomy lab?

A: No. The anatomy lab will be an integral part of the program--you need to be prepared to take the full 16 credits, or find an alternate program. The cats that we will be dissecting were euthanized by Humane Societies across the U.S., then collected by biological supply companies for use in classroom settings. They were not killed for use in the lab. The sharks that we will be dissecting were killed for use in the lab, however. Dissection of organisms is the best way to fully understand the diversity between both individuals and species, and having respect for the organisms that we dissect is imperative in an anatomy lab. If, despite these considerations, you are unwilling to participate in dissections for six weeks of the quarter, you should look for another program.

Q: Will there be any field component of the program?

A: The answer to this has changed as of March 18th: the logistics on the planned Columbia River Gorge field trip in week 9 did not work out, so it has been cancelled. This means a reduction in your student fees for the class from $160 to $60, all of which is for lab specimens. There will be optional, weekly natural history walks led by two members of the class, which will give students some opportunity to connect what they're learning inside with some actual living organisms.

Q: I have a Summer internship starting during eval week of Spring quarter. When will our work be done?

A: All of the eval conferences will hopefully be done by Friday of week 10.