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Hi Folks, Here the things I hope to teach you and conversely you will learn
in this Bio 1309 Life on Earth class. These are in no particular order. The
order will depend on how I present the class and its topics.
Science as a Process
 Describe the process of scientific inquiry and apply this
knowledge to examples.
• Identify the components of a scientific experiment and explain why control
groups are used.
• Explain the difference between a hypothesis and a scientific theory.
• Compare what theory means to a scientist vs. a non-scientist.
Classification and Scientific Nomenclature
• Define phylogeny, describe a phylogenetic tree and interpret a
phylogenetic tree.
• Explain the purpose of the biological classification system,
• List the categories of the biological classification system in the correct
order.
• Describe the parts of a scientific name.
• Describe the biological species concept and apply it to examples.
• Name and describe the organisms in the three domains.
• Compare and contrast prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure at a simple
level.
• Describe the endosymbiotic origin of eukaryotic mitochondria and
chloroplasts.
• Compare and contrast the major types of eukaryotes: plants, animals,
fungi and protists.
Evolution—an Introduction
• Define evolution.
• Describe the various kinds of evidence for evolution and apply this
knowledge to examples.
• Recognize teleological statements and rephrase them to remove the
teleology.
Darwin and Natural Selection
• Discuss the observations of Charles Darwin leading to the theory of
natural selection.
• Describe the historical background of the development of evolutionary
theory in the 19th century.
• Explain how Charles Darwin used artificial selection, comparative anatomy
and embryology to understand and explain evolutionary mechanisms.
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Name and describe the following aspects of natural selection, including
applying this knowledge to examples:
 Genetic variation
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Overproduction of offspring
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Competition for resources
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Differential survival and reproduction.
What the Rocks Say
• Describe the processes of fossil formation.
• Explain how relative and absolute dating work in general and apply this
knowledge to examples.
• Outline the major events in the evolution of life on earth and briefly
describe the evidence for each.
• Describe the evolution of oxygen-producing photosynthesis and its effects
on early life forms.
Early Earth & First Life
• Describe Snowball Earth, the geological evidence, and its importance to
the evolution of complex life forms.
• Outline the major events in the early evolution of animals and briefly
describe the evidence for each.
• Describe the main features of various animal body plans and their
evolutionary significance. Apply this knowledge to examples.
The Tree of Life
• Describe tetrapod evolution. This includes anatomical changes and
ecological changes, such as the shift from an aquatic environment to a
terrestrial environment.
• Discuss the role of transitional fossils in understanding tetrapod evolution,
using examples.
• Describe the amniotic egg and explain its importance in tetrapod evolution.
• Describe the characteristics of mammals.
• Compare monotremes, marsupials and placental mammals, using
examples of each.
• Describe the role of Archaeopteryx as a transitional fossil demonstrating
the evolution of birds within the reptiles.
• Explain how information from the fossil record and living organisms is
used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of a group of organisms.
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The Ways of Change
• Describe the function of DNA in cells.
• Explain the relationships among these terms: DNA, chromosome, gene,
protein, allele.
• Explain that all living organisms use DNA in a similar fashion and explain
the implications of that for the evolutionary history of life.
• Describe and compare asexual and sexual reproduction.
• Describe the sources of genetic variation in a population, including the
differences in the kinds of variations produced by mutations and by
recombination.
• Explain the differences between harmful, neutral, and beneficial mutations
and their effects on organisms’ fitness.
• Explain what is meant by evolutionary fitness and give examples.
• Explain the following evolutionary mechanisms and give examples:
o Genetic drift o
Gene flow o Sexual
selection.
• Describe and give examples of negative selection, positive selection,
stabilizing selection, and balancing selection
The History in Our Genes
• Describe in general how molecular data are used to construct
phylogenetic trees.
• Explain what a molecular clock is and how it is used.
Adaptations
• Describe adaptation and explain the role of natural selection in their
evolution.
• Recognize a variety of adaptations and discuss how natural selection
could have resulted in the evolution of these features.
• Describe the evolution of a complex adaptation that requires many
different parts working together. Explain the roles of gene duplication and
gene recruitment in the evolution of these adaptations.
• Describe the importance of the "genetic toolkit” (Hox genes) in the
evolution of animals.
• Explain the factors that constrain evolution.
• Define convergent evolution and apply this concept to examples.
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The Origin of Species
• Explain different species concepts and the usefulness of each.
• Describe various reproductive barriers and their effects on speciation.
• Explain different methods of speciation, using examples.
Radiations and Extinctions
• Define biogeography.
• Explain the role of vicariance, dispersal and reproductive isolation in
determining the distribution of organisms, using examples.
• Define adaptive radiation and extinction. Describe how these two types of
events affect patterns of biodiversity, using examples.
• Describe the Cambrian Explosion and discuss hypotheses for the causes
of this adaptive radiation.
• Compare background extinctions and mass extinctions, using examples.
• Explain how humans are currently involved in causing the next mass
extinction.
Intimate Partnerships (symbiology)
• Explain coevolution, using examples.
• Distinguish between positive-negative, positive-neutral, and positivepositive relationships using examples..
• Explain symbiosis, using examples.
• Explain the concept of a natural arms race, using examples.
• Explain the process of endosymbiosis and its effect on evolutionary
history.
Primate and Hominid Evolution
• Describe the characteristics shared by all primates.
• Describe the major groups of primates and their evolutionary relationships.
• Describe the characteristics and evolutionary history of hominids.
• Compare hominids to other primates.
• Describe the general pattern of human evolution.
• Apply evolutionary mechanisms to current human evolution, using
examples.