The biology of vertebrate animals, emphasizing their diversity, adaptations, and evolutionary history. Introduces aspects of behavior, physiology, morphology, and ecology that emerge from the comparative study of vertebrates.
Laboratory includes local field trips, films, and introduction to regional vertebrate fauna.
Class Description Students will learn how to identify selected species, families or orders of North American vertebrates in the laboratory. The taxa selected will emphasize species found in Washington. In addition, they will learn a set of life history characteristics for each group, for example general diet and habitat preferences. In the lectures, students will learn about the biogeographic distributions and species diversity of major vertebrate groups. Thee course will also focus on life histories of a few taxa, unique adaptations, and specialized behavioral patterns of each vertebrate class.