In general at the end of Biology 1B students will be able to:
  • describe the scientific method and explain how it would be applied to a novel problem.
  • explain the consequences of random variation when extrapolated over time.
  • distinguish between positive and negative feedback processes and identify such processes in novel situations.


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Evolution Learning OutcomesPlant Biology Learning OutcomesEcology Learning Outcomes

Lecture Topics

The number of hours spent on each lecture topic

Learning Outcomes

Evolution
Introduction, Analyzing & classifying organic diversity

Systematics, biological diversity, phylogeny

Evidence of evolution, the Darwinian theory

Process and patterns of inheritance

Genes within populations, Hardy-Weinberg

Origins of species, Intro. to Macroevolution

Is a new synthesis needed?

Evolutionary time scale and the fossil record

Plate tectonics, biogeography, changing climates

Origin of life, Diversification of animals

Radiation of vertebrates and origin of life on land

Mass extinctions and amniote evolution

Changing climates and origin of the modern biota

The development of Darwinian thought (1.5)

The genetic basis of evolution (1.5)

Population genetics & Microevolution (3)

Natural Selection & Speciation (3)

Geological Time and the fossil record (1.5)

Macroevolution (1.5)

Systematics and classification (1.5)

Evolution and Ecology (1.5)

explain how life might have originated on this planet

describe the experiments of Mendel and use Mendel's principles to solve novel problems.

describe the Hardy-Weinberg law and explain the conditions that must be met for it to hold true

explain the consequence of violating each of the assumptions of the Hardy-Weinberg law and explain when a population is in equilibrium.

use cladistic analysis to better understand and explain the phylogenetic relatedness among organisms.

describe Darwin's theories and how the principles of natural selection can lead to speciation.

give examples of adaptation and of both allopatric and sympatric speciation.

contrast alternate models for macroevolution and describe the major patterns in the fossil record.

relate broad patterns in the fossil record to major geological events and plate tectonic movement.

Ecology
What did Darwin really say?

What is a species?

Microevolution

Natural selection

Population growth

Dynamics of populations

Demography

Organism interactions and competition

Ecological studies

Communities

Island biogeography

Ecosystems

San Francisco Bay

Aquatic ecosystems

Ecology and the ecological method (1.5)

Individuals - adaptation and behavior (1.5)

Population biology (3)

Community Structure (3)

Species Diversity - patterns and maintenance (1.5)

Ecosystems (1.5)

Ecology, environment and man (1.5)

describe the different levels of organization used in ecology.

distinguish between biotic and abiotic factors.

explain how single species populations grow and are regulated.

distinguish between density dependent and density independent birth and death rates.

describe how population data can be analysed using statistics, graphs, life tables, and survivorship curves.

describe the principal interactions between different species and how they affect the respective species.

describe the major forces structuring communities and explain how community structure can be represented by food webs.

explain how communities change in both space (biomes and gradients) and time (succession).

explain the large scale patterns of biodiversity, describe how biodiversity is measured and predict the consequences of continued species loss.

Plants and Fungi
Introduction / Fungi

Algae, mosses, lower vascular plants

Ferns and Gymnosperms

Angiosperms

Angiosperms

Cells, tissues

Roots, structure and development

Shoots, primary structure

Shoots, secondary structure

Plant growth substances

Plant growth substances

Flowering, fruit development

Water relations

Water relations, plant mineral nutrition

Introduction, classification
and the origin of life (1.5)

Plants in water and on land (3)

Plant ecology (1.5)

Water relations and mineral nutrition (1.5)

Plant sex (1.5)

Plant Growth Hormones (1.5)

Fungi (1.5)

describe and distinguish the variety of possible life cycles for a sexual organism and diagram a generalised lifecycle for animals, plants, and fungi.

describe the distinguishing features of the major plant phyla and their evolutionary relationships.

show how the evolution of plants is associated with the morphological and physiological adaptations required for a terrestrial life.

explain the mechanisms of xylem and phloem sap movement in plants.

describe how plants control and co-ordinate actions using hormones and give examples of the effects of each of the major groups of plant hormone.

explain how reproduction and embryo development occurs in gymnosperms and angiosperms.

distinguish between primary and secondary growth in plants and explain how both occur.

list the major groups of fungi and describe their life cycles.