Lecture: 4 hours/week
and
Laboratory: 3 hours/week
Classroom time may include a mixture of lecture, group discussions, and in-class activities. The course content is integrated with laboratory experiments, problem sets and textbook readings.
1. Evolution and Diversity of Life
- Theory of evolution
- Hierarchical organization of life: cells to biosphere
- Classification of life: taxonomy, systematics, and phylogenetic analysis
- Survey of the living world: viruses, prokaryotes, protists, fungi, plants, and animals
2. Ecology
- Population dynamics
- Trophic interactions and energy flow
- Community ecology
- Ecosystems and global ecology
- Biological diversity
- Impacts of human activity
3. Form and function in plants and animals
- The plant body
- Resource acquisition and transport in plants
- The animal body
- Animal support and movement
- Animal nutrition and digestion
- Animal respiration and circulation
- Excretion
- Nervous systems
4. Laboratory skills
- Experimental methods
- Common laboratory equipment
- Compound and stereomicroscopes
- Plant and animal dissections
- Dichotomous keys
- Analysis and presentation of experimental results
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Discuss the relationships between the biotic and abiotic components of the biosphere, their interactions, and the impact of human activities on the biosphere;
- Discuss the diversity of life through phylogeny and evolutionary histories of the major lineages;
- Discuss the factors that affect the size and growth of populations;
- Discuss interactions between species, including trophic interactions;
- Discuss the energy flow through food chains and the global energy budget;
- Discuss ecological disturbances and succession;
- Describe global climate patterns and the distribution of biomes;
- Describe biogeochemical cycles and how they are impacted by human activities;
- Discuss global warming and climate change;
- Discuss the global ramifications of biological diversity and biological processes;
- Examine the relationship between form and function in plants and animals;
- Describe, compare, and contrast the anatomy and physiology of major body systems in plants and animals;
- Identify and describe plant, animal, and microbial species, as well as cells and tissues through the use of dichotomous keys and other biological methods, such as dissections;
- Use common laboratory equipment;
- Use compound and stereomicroscopes to examine cells, tissues, and organisms, including the preparation of wet mounts;
- Interpret and present observations and results from lab experiments;
- Critically analyze scientific data and observations.
Assessment will be in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The instructor will present a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. Evaluation will be based on the following:
| Quizzes and assignments | 15-25% |
| Laboratory assignments | 5-15% |
| Laboratory examination - final | 10-15% |
| Term examination(s) | 20-35% |
| Final examination | 20-35% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
Laboratory assignments are a compulsory component of this course. A minimum of 50% of the laboratory assignments must be completed to receive a letter grade D or higher in the course.
Consult the Douglas College Bookstore for the latest required textbooks and materials. Example textbooks and materials may include:
Reece, J.B. et al., Campbell Biology, Pearson (current edition)
Douglas College Biology 1110 Course Manual (current edition)
BIOL 2300, 2301, 2302, 2321, 2400, 2421, 3205, 3305, 3500, 3600 and 3700