Lecturer:
Rafael de Sá, Office: Gottwald E-108, phone 289-8542.
Office Hours T and Th 10:00-11:00 am, or call for an appointment, preferably
use e-mail: rdesa@richmond.edu
Recommended Text:
Biology of Amphibians. W.E. Duellmand and L. Trueb. McGraw and Hill
Class Meets:
4:00-6:45 pm T & Th, room S-110
Exams:
Exams will cover lecture and lab materials. No makeup lab exams will be
given. Exams will consist of multiple choice and essay questions as well
as material identification.
Lab specimens:
All lab specimens are UR property. Students must replace the specimens if
loss or damage occurs, regardless of fault.
Lab hours:
The lab may be used for review outside of regularly scheduled lab hours,
a lab key will be available at the front desk of the science library. The
lab will close at noon on the day of the exam. Students are not permitted
to study in lab while another class is meeting.
Lab Cleanup:
Each student is responsible for cleaning his/her table area and surrounding
floor area after each lab and when reviewing material outside lab hours.
Students may be assigned duties (e.g. cleaning sinks) on a rotating basis.
Grading:
There will be three tests, tests will cover lecture and lab materials as
well as material covered in class discussion of assigned readings. This
course will have a strong component of reading primary literature, student
presentations, and class discussion. Each graduate student is required to
do a literature survey to locate a published paper that relates to amphibian
phylogeny and systematics but that did not use cladistic methodology. Students
are required to reanalyze and reinterpret the data, complementing it with
additional data, and write a 5 pages term paper on the reanalysis and reinterprettion
of data. Paper topics must be identified by no later than February 28.
| Exam I | 100 points |
| Exam II | 100 points |
| Exam III | 100 points |
| Class participation | 100 points |
| Additional readings and quizes | 100 points |
| Term paper | 100 points |
| TOTAL | 600 POINTS |
Grades will be assigned on a 90-80-70-60% basis, no "curve".
| Date | Day | Lecture |
| Jan. 13 | T | Introduction. History of discipline |
| Jan. 15 | Th | Phylogenetic principles and species concepts |
| Jan. 20 | T | Phylogenetic principles and species concepts |
| Jan. 22 | Th | Monophyly of Lissamphibia |
| Jan. 27 | T | Phylogeny-Biogeography:Caecilians |
| Jan. 29 | Th | Structure & morphology: Caecilians |
| Feb. 3 | T | Phylogeny-Biogeography:Salamanders |
| Feb. 5 | Th | Structure & morphology:Salamanders |
| Feb. 10 | T | Structure & morphology:Salamanders |
| Feb. 12 | Th | TEST I |
| Feb. 17 | T | Phylogeny-Biogeography:Anura |
| Feb. 19 | Th | Structure & morphology: Anura |
| Feb. 24 | T | Structure & morphology: Anura |
| Feb. 26 | Th | Structure & morphology: Anura |
| Mar. 3 | T | Reproductive Strategies & Parental care |
| Mar. 5 | Th | Vocalizations and Courtship |
| Mar. 17 | T | Eggs and Development |
| Mar. 19 | Th | Larvae |
| Mar. 24 | T | Larvae |
| Mar. 26 | Th | TEST II |
| Mar. 31 | T | Metamorphosis |
| Apr. 2 | Th | Metamorphosis |
| Apr. 7 | T | Water economy and Thermal biology |
| Apr. 9 | Th | Food and Feeding |
| Apr. 14 | T | Enemies and Defense |
| Apr. 16 | Th | Population Biology |
| Apr. 21 | T | Amphibian communities |
| Apr. 23 | Th | Species Diversity |