Spring 2007 Syllabus and Schedule
Biology 504: Topics in
Barrie D. Robison
LSS 266B
Course Goals: The aim of this course is to provide a forum for discussion of topics pertaining to fish biology, including reproduction, genetics, ecology, behavior, conservation, immunology, and physiology. The scope of the course is intended to be broad, thereby accommodating a diverse set of interests among the participants.
Format: Each student is expected to lead discussions at least once during the semester. During their designated week, the discussion leader will do one of the following:
1) Lead discussion of a paper from the primary literature. If this option is selected the student must provide to everyone the paper to be discussed at least one week prior to the discussion date. The paper should be approachable by the majority of the class, should test one or more hypotheses, and should not be too brief (i.e. a note) or too long (a 100 page monograph). Review papers and manuscripts discussing new techniques are generally not appropriate. The discussion leader will provide a 5 to 10 minute introduction to the paper, placing it in a broader scientific context. At this point, general discussion by the whole class will begin.
2) Lead discussion of a paper written by the student. If the student has a manuscript that is close to its final form, it may be appropriate for class discussion. The class will be able to make constructive comments that may improve the submitted manuscript. All guidelines pertaining to option 1 (above) apply.
3) Give a presentation prior to a scientific meeting. If the student is about to present at a scientific meeting, it may be appropriate to give that presentation to the class. In this case, giving the class a paper that contains relevant background material one week prior to the class may be warranted (but is not strictly required). The student can present his or her research and receive constructive comments prior to public presentation.
Grading: Grades of Pass or Fail are earned based on satisfactory participation. This includes both leading discussion for at least one week, attending all weekly meetings, reading all assigned material, and participating in discussions lead by other students.
Schedule: Discussion leaders are responsible for the following dates:
|
Date |
Leader |
|
January 29th |
Class
organization |
|
February 5th |
Rob Drew |
|
February 12th |
|
|
February 19th |
President’s Day
Holiday |
|
February 26th |
Joe Cloud |
|
March 5th |
Rolf Ingermann |
|
March 12th |
Spring Break |
|
March 19th |
|
|
March 26th |
|
|
April 2nd |
Tim Cavileer |
|
April 9th |
|
|
April 16th |
|
|
April 23rd |
Open |
|
April 30th |
Open |
|
|
|