BIO 3001 Compar Anat of Vertebr
This lecture/laboratory course will focus on the principals of the comparative method in studying anatomical structures as well as on the evolutionary relationships of animals. Lecture topics will include the evolution and structure of the major organ systems, study of homologous structures, phylogenetic reconstruction and systematic relationships, developmental pathways and the relationship between form and function. In the laboratory, students will learn dissecting techniques as they compare invertebrate and vertebrate animals and their anatomy. The aim of the lab will be to examine these in a comparative framework, relating structure and form to function and evolutionary adaptation. Students will be responsible for a semester-long dissector journal that will encompass all of the material examined in the lab sessions.