Instructor: W. M. Schaffer.
Office: 215 Biological Sciences East;
Telephone: 621-7295;
Email:
wms@u.arizona.edu;
Office Hours: T 1:00-2:00 PM; W 2:00-3:00 PM or by appointment.
TA: Tony Dee.
Office: 317 Biological Sciences East;
Telephone: 232-4577;
Email: dee@email.arizona.edu;
Office Hours: T, W 1:00-2:00 PM or by appointment.
Class Meetings.
Days/Times/Places:
Lecture: Tues 3:30-4:45 PM. 219 Biosciences W.
Recitation: Wed. 3:30-4:45 PM. 422 Optical Sciences; Thurs. 3:30-4:45 PM. 219 Biosciences W.
Lectures. Principal lecture topics are as follows
(associated readings in brackets):
The Balance of Nature: Just what do we mean when we assert there is
"balance" toward which Nature would tend in the absence of human disturbance?
Island Biogeography and its Relation to Conservation Biology
and Long-Term Ecological Change (Quammen, Simpson).
The Galapagos Islands: Crucible of Evolution (Darwin, Quammen, Wallace, Eiseley).
History of Life: The First 3+ Billion Years.
Evolution of the Vertebrates with Emphasis on the Origins of Mammals
and Archosaurs and the Demise of the Dinosaurs (Alvarez).
Malaria: Its Biology, Impact and Control (Desowitz).
Recitation Sections will be
devoted to extension and discussion of lecture material, to readings and to homework. These sessions
will also be the occasion for discussion of essay topics (see below) and student presentations.
Lecture / Recitation Section Schedule.
Readings:
Readings will be assigned from the following books and articles - available online, at the
bookstore or are on reserve at the Main Library and in Isabelle's office. If you plan to
purchase the books and are looking for a good price, we suggest you check out an on-line book
seller such as Amazon. Often, you can get
a used copy at minimal cost.
Alvarez, W. T. rex and the Crater of Doom. Princeton Univ. Press. (1997)
[Bookstore and Library].
Borges, J. L. 1998. On Exactitude
in Science. [Online].
Darwin, C. Voyage of the Beagle. Chapter 17. (1845)
[Online].
Darwin, C. and A. R. Wallace. Darwin / Wallace Papers (1858)
[Online].
Desowitz, R. The Malaria Capers. W. W. Norton & Co. (1993). [Bookstore and Library].
Eiseley, L. Darwin's Century: Evolution and the Men Who Discovered It. Anchor
Books. Doubleday, NY (1961) [Library and Isabelle].
Quammen, D. The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction. Simon
& Schuster. New York (1997) [Bookstore and Library].
Simpson, G. G. 1950. History of the fauna of Latin America. Amer. Scient. 38:
361-389.[Online].
Wallace, A. R. On the law which has regulated the introduction of new species. Ann.
Mag. Nat. Hist. 16: 184-196. (1855) [Online].
Additional readings may be distributed in class or linked to this website.
We expect everyone to read all the assigned material.
Attendance is mandatory: two missed
meetings without a doctor's excuse and you start losing points. You are responsible for
all in-class announcements including deviations from the published syllabus and
the assignment of homework.
Essays:
Each student will prepare one 5-15 page essay due on the dates indicated in the
Schedule of Lectures. In composing these papers, you are expected to use the assigned readings as
jumping off points for your own independent forays into the scientific literature. In
addition, each of you will present the results of your investigations orally. Follow the link for
a list of topics, what we expect you to cover and additional references to get you started.
Previous Year's Best Essays:
Class Debates: Each student will participate in class
discussions either Climate Warming or on the problems posed by malaria and how
best to deal with them. For further information on malaria, go
here. For an introduction to the "Warming Wars"
literature, see Climate Links first posted on 1/22.
A list of climate issues to be addressed will be posted in the coming weeks.
Vocabulary Notebooks: In the course of lectures, discussion
and your readings, you will probably encounter words with which you are not familiar. Each of you
is expected to keep a handwritten (so you can't just cut and paste) Vocabulary Notebook
in which you will write down such words, along with their definitions, etymological
origins and a sentence or phrase illustrating their use. In keeping your notebooks,
you will find Dictionary.com a useful resource,
though certainly not the last word.
Notebooks will be collected twice during the semester (before Spring Break
and on the last day of class). To keep everyone honest, Isabelle and I will be keeping our own
lists. We reserve the right to administer quizes based on our lists and those of your
peers.
Grades: Grades will be based on the essays, oral
presentations, homework to be assigned on an ad hoc basis, vocabulary notebooks, quizes (we
will probably have at least one)
and contribution to class discussion. Students taking 182 Honors will receive a single
grade for 182, i.e., the entire class will be worth 5 honors credits.
Points earned in the honors section itself will be 40% of the total.
Student Code of Conduct: We have been asked to post the
following link and encourage
you to visit it.
Not sure? Look it up!
