Syllabus for - Biol290- Spring 2021- PDF

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Syllabus for - Biol290- Spring 2021 and some course guides for starters of population biology. Good for students who wants to take the course....

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Population Biology Syllabus BIO 290 – Spring 2021 Tu & Th 9:30–10:45 am held remotely, linked from Blackboard ‘Web Conferencing’ Instructors: Dr. Solange Brault Associate Professor, Biology Department Email: [email protected] Office Hours: 11 am–12:30 pm Tu/Th, schedule at https://calendly.com/solangebrault/office-hours. If you can’t make those hours please email me to set up a time. Dr. Brook Moyers Assistant Professor, Biology Department Email: [email protected] Office Hours: 3–4:30 pm Tu/Th, schedule at https://calendly.com/brookmoyers/office-hours. If you can’t make those hours please email me to set up a time. Elaine Montes Academic Success Mentor Email: [email protected] Office Hours: 4–5 pm M, email to set up an appointment Email Elaine with your questions and with technical difficulties! Pre- or co-requisite courses: Math 130, 135, or 140 (Calculus), or by permission. Goals of Course: By the end of the course, you should understand:  the mechanisms at the population level that lead to evolutionary change.  the factors causing demographic changes (change in population growth, structure and persistence);  the costs and constraints of behaviors and life history traits.  the effects of interactions among different species: competition, parasitism (including diseases). You should also be able to:  identify common misconceptions in evolutionary and ecological thinking  interpret scientific figures  confidently apply models and math to population biology questions Textbook: We will be using various educational materials (online resources or pdfs of required readings), including Khan Academy (course code: CCKEJAZG), a free pdf of the textbook Ricklefs 2008 6th Ed. The Economy of Nature (available on Blackboard in the Required Readings folder), and one web-based chapter on Epidemiology by SimBio (details to come).

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To join Khan Academy, go to https://www.khanacademy.org/join/CCKEJAZG. Sign up with your UMass Boston email address and use your registered student name. We usually post pdf files of slide presentations on the day prior to the lectures in the Lectures folder on Blackboard. Lectures will also be recorded and available through Blackboard. Grading: Your final grade for this course will be made up of four components: Assignments (30%): Khan Academy assignments, the SimBio epidemiology chapter, prelecture questions, and the iNaturalist assignments. To do well on assignments, get started early so you can take your time and ask questions. There is something to read or watch before almost every class session. *Late assignments are accepted only with 50% credit (see late policy below). Participation (20%): This is based on in-class participation on polls, questions, and activities. To do well on participation, attend at least 75% of synchronous class sessions and participate through the chat and polls. *Make-up activities are not given; instead the lowest activity scores will be dropped. Quizzes (20%): There will be weekly quizzes (on Blackboard) that will be open for 24 hours following Thursday lectures (11 am Thursday – 11 am Friday). These quizzes will have questions similar to those on the exams, but will be graded on 50% completion and 50% correctness. To do well on quizzes, keep up with the readings and lectures. *Make-up quizzes are not given; instead the lowest of the quiz scores will be dropped. Exams (30%): Three exams (two mid-term and one during finals week). The final exam is not cumulative but will cover new material. To do well on exams, practice using the quiz and practice exam questions and attend exam review sessions. *Make-up exams are not given; instead the lowest of the three exam scores will be dropped. Grading Scale Letter grade % range A 85 – 100% A80 – 84% B+ 75 – 79% B 70 – 74% B65 – 69% C+ 60 – 64% C 55 – 59% D 50 – 55% F 0 – 49% Exam Review Sessions: We will hold 2 online review sessions in the days prior to each exam; we will post links to these sessions on Blackboard. We use Blackboard Collaborate or Zoom, which allows you to sign in 2

to a session from anywhere. We usually hold the sessions in the evenings, as more people have time to meet then. Late policy: Our policy is to not grant extensions for quizzes or exams and to accept late assignments with a 50% penalty. We allow for flexibility by dropping the lowest scores of participation, quizzes, and tests. Our philosophy is that a firm deadline makes it easier to be consistent and fair to all students, and removes the subjectivity of trying to evaluate what is a valid excuse for an extension, how much time to give, etc. Looming due dates will be announced on Blackboard! You can submit your assignments any time before the due date. We tend to offer more time than is necessary to complete each assignment. These long deadlines are meant to give you ample flexibility to work around other school, work, and family commitments. With this in mind, we strongly encourage you to start work on each assignment as soon as you can, so that you have ample opportunity to ask questions and seek help if you're having trouble. Starting ahead of time also removes the risk that a last-minute emergency will compromise your ability to meet the deadline.

Philosophy regarding attendance: This is a university-level course, and therefore we believe you are responsible for your own attendance. We will not be monitoring or grading attendance, and you do not need to inform us if you will be absent on a particular day. Although attendance is not mandatory, students are highly encouraged to attend scheduled classes and participation is a part of your grade. In our experience, students that attend classes do better in the course. You are responsible for materials discussed in class. For general attendance guidelines at UMB, see: https://www.umb.edu/registrar/academic_policies/class_attendance

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability that may affect your performance in this class, please know that UMass Boston has resources that can help you succeed in your coursework. Please contact the Ross Center for Disability Services to receive official university services and accommodations; the Ross Center will communicate with us about your specific accommodations. We encourage you to meet with one of the instructors to discuss how we can best meet your specific requirements. Ross Center for Disability Services: 617-287-7430 Campus Center, Upper Level, Room 211 http://www.umb.edu/academics/vpass/disability/

Plagiarism/Academic Honesty: Plagiarism is defined by UMass Boston’s Code of Student Conduct (http://www.umb.edu/life_on_campus/policies/code/). An act of academic dishonesty, plagiarism can include actions such as presenting another writer’s work as your own work; copying passages from print or internet sources without proper citation; taking ideas off the internet, modifying them, and presenting them as your own; or submitting the same work for 3

more than one course. If you plagiarize, you will fail this course. Plagiarism cases will be referred to the Dean. Plagiarism can result in further academic sanctions such as suspension from the University. Incompletes: Incompletes are rarely offered, as they are reserved for students who are unable to complete a small portion of the course at the end of the term due to an extreme circumstance such as illness. Incompletes are not allowed to replace a significant amount of coursework or absences. If you are awarded an Incomplete, you must complete a formal Incomplete Contract with your instructor and have that contract approved by the Department and submitted to the Registrar. The contract outlines the work to be done and due dates. An INC automatically turns into an F after a year if the work is not completed.” Incomplete policy: http://www.umb.edu/registrar/academic_policies/incomplete_policy/

Civility in and out of the classroom: An educational institution is a unique cultural space: here, the open sharing of ideas is not only possible, but valued above all else. Intellectual exchange depends on showing respect for your instructor and peers, taking responsibility for your own course contributions, and demonstrating a mature understanding that learning can involve disagreement over ideas and assessment. If you engage in uncivil behavior, such as making inappropriate comments to your professor or fellow students in the classroom, out of the classroom, or via email or social networking sites, you can be referred to the Dean of Students. If you believe someone is behaving inappropriately or uncivilly, we ask that you contact one of the course instructors or the Dean of Students at [email protected] . University resources for your own reference: 

Distressed and distressing students: Seek help from the Dean of Students https://www.umb.edu/life_on_campus/dean_of_students/resources

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Counseling services: Seek help from Health Services http://www.umb.edu/healthservices/counseling_center

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Services for students experiencing extreme off-campus circumstances, such as homelessness or domestic violence: Seek help from the U-ACCESS Program http://www.umb.edu/life_on_campus/uaccess

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Services for students experiencing academic difficulties: Seek help from the CSM Student Success Center https://www.umb.edu/academics/csm/student_success_center or University Advising Center https://www.umb.edu/academics/vpass/uac

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Tutoring services, including the “Reading, Writing, and Study Strategies Center”: Seek help from Academic Support http://www.umb.edu/academics/vpass/academic_support/tutoring

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOWNLOADING & INSTALLING iNATURALIST iNaturalist is a wonderful Citizen science program dedicated to trying to understand where different species live in nature. We’re going to ask you to do an iNaturalist survey, exploring either where you live or somewhere you’d like to go, and recording at least 20 observations of the organisms (plants, animals, fungi) you see there. We’ll aggregate all of the course’s observations and may use the maps you collectively create for homework or exam questions. To join iNaturalist, use your phone and go to the iPhone App store or Google Play store (depending on the type of device you have), download, and install the iNaturalist app. You can also access iNaturalist on a web browser at https://www.inaturalist.org/home, but you will need some way to take and upload pictures for this assignment. You should register and create a username. Once you have done so, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/P12R9JjLJkT6UzGA7 so we can associate your iNaturalist observations with you as a part of your assignment grade. We’ll demonstrate how to use the app in class.

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BIOL 290 Spring 2021 Schedule Notes: KA = Khan Academy. Important dates are indicated in red. There is a quiz every week, available on Blackboard from 11 am Thursday through 11 am Friday, except for weeks with midterm exams (2/25 and 4/8) and the last week of class. Week

Date

Items Due

Tu 01/26 1

Topic

Assignments/ Readings

Course Intro Register on Khan Academy and iNaturalist Quiz 1

Why Evolution and Ecology

Syllabus, KA (1 article)

Natural Selection

KA (2 videos, 2 articles)

Natural Selection

KA (1 article, 1 video)

Genetic Drift

KA (1 article)

Sources of variation

KA (2 videos)

Random mating & Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

KA (1 article, 2 videos)

HWE and Chisquare tests

KA (1 video, practice questions)

Tu 02/23

Population genetics history and eugenics

PBS Video

Th 02/25

Midterm Exam 1

Tu 03/02

Quantitative traits and heritability

Th 01/28

Tu 02/02 2 Th 02/04

Quiz 2

Tu 02/09 3 Th 02/11

Quiz 3

Tu 02/16 4 Th 02/18

Quiz 4

5

6

6

KA (2 videos, 1 article)

Th 03/04

Quiz 5

Kin selection Cooperation

Tu 03/09 7 Th 03/11

SPRING

Optimality Models

First iNaturalist observations due Games and conflicts Quiz 6 BREAK

Ricklefs Chpt. 9 (pg. 180–197)

SPRING

BREAK

Geometric and exponential growth

KA (2 videos), Ricklefs pg. 222–227

Density-dependence

KA (1 article, 1 video)

Densitydependence; Logistic growth

Ricklefs pg. 234–244

Logistic growth; population variation

KA (1 article), Ricklefs pg. 248–253

Tu 04/06

Dispersal and metapopulation

Ricklefs pg. 211– 216; pg. 257– 262

Th 04/08

Midterm Exam 2

Tu 04/13

Demographic parameters & life tables

Tu 03/23 8 Th 03/25

Quiz 7

Tu 03/30 9 Th 04/01

Quiz 8

10

11 Th 04/15

12

KA (1 article, 1 video), Ricklefs pg. 152–154 & pg. 291–292

Tu 04/20

Last iNaturalist observations due Quiz 9

Ricklefs pg. 227–237

Demographic parameters & life tables Life expectancy & net reproductive rate

7

Ricklefs pg. 227–237

Th 04/22

Pass/fail & withdrawal deadline Quiz 10

Tu 04/27

Life cycle diversity; Life history constraints

Human Evolution

13 Th 04/29

Quiz 11

Parasitism

KA (1 article)

Tu 05/04 Epidemiology: the SIR model

14 Th 05/06

15

KA (1 video, 1 article), Ricklefs pg. 132–138; pg. 142–145 pdf on high altitude adaptation KA (1 video, 1 article), Ricklefs pg. 287–294

Quiz 12

Tu 05/11

Evolution of Cancer

Week of May 17

Third Exam

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SimBio Epidemiology chapter pdf on Evolution of Cancer...