Chordate types with emphasis on the structure of vertebrate animals and the evolution of vertebrate systems. Laboratory includes some comparative dissections. Historical and modern evolutionary theory, including concepts of population genetics, natural selection, and speciation. The fossil record is reviewed. Major systems of the body and their functions.
Course work involves the use of charts, models, and slides, but no dissection.
Microbial life, including bacteria, fungi, protists, and viruses. Basic structure and function, antimicrobial drugs, and the roles of microbes in ecology and disease. Includes laboratory exercises in handling and culturing microbes, and in microbial activity. Biogeochemical cycles, food webs, predator-prey relationships, competition, population growth, succession and human impact on natural ecosystems. Morphology, ecology, and diversity of insects.