Herpetology (WFSC 315), Spring 2016, page 1 Herpetology (WFSC 315) (W 1:50-3:40 Nagle Hall room 104; Lab Tuesday 12:45-2:30; 3:00-4:40, TCWC) Professor: Lee A. Fitzgerald [email protected] 862-7480, office hours by appointment Teaching Assistant: Kristina Chyn; [email protected]; BRTC: 845-5783 TEXTBOOKS: Vitt, and Caldwell. 2013. Herpetology, an introductory biology of amphibians and reptiles, 4th Edition, Academic Press Robert Powell, Joseph T. Collins, Errol D. Hooper. A Key to Amphibians & Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada (Paperback) 150 pages, 257 illustrations, 8-1/2 x 11 Paper ISBN 978-0-7006-0929-1. OPTIONAL: Conant, R. and J.T. Collins. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians of eastern and central North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. COURSE DESCRIPTION This one semester course will review the phylogenetic relationships, diversity and biology of the amphibians and reptiles. Herpetology will focus on the evolution of reptile and amphibian lineages and the evolutionary ecology (i.e., diversity of reproductive strategies, foraging modes, life histories) of the major groups. Evolutionary trends among and within the orders and families of amphibians and reptiles will be reviewed in conjunction with geological events, anatomy, physiology, behavior, and life history. Labs will introduce students to the global diversity of reptiles and amphibians, then concentrate on the herpetofauna of Texas. Lab must be taken concurrently. COURSE GOALS Upon completion of this course the successful student should have a familiarity of all the families (appearance, distribution, basic biology) of amphibians and reptiles of the world; be exposed to interesting areas of research that use amphibians and reptiles as study organisms; have a working ability to identify all amphibian and reptile species from Texas. GRADING SCHEME FOR HERPETOLOGY WFSC315 ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. We only meet on Wednesdays. I will take roll every time. Grade penalty: 2.5% off final average for each class missed. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy Statement The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life, Services for Students with Disabilities, in Cain Hall or call 845-1637. AGGIE HONOR CODE “An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do.” Upon accepting admission to Texas A&M University, a student immediately assumes a commitment to uphold the Honor Code, to accept responsibility for learning, and to follow the philosophy and rules of the Honor System. Students will be required to state their commitment on examinations, research papers, and other academic work. Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the TAMU community from the requirements or the processes of the Honor System. Pledge for all work in this course: “On my honor, as an Aggie, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this academic work." Herpetology (WFSC 315), Spring 2016, page 2 HERPETOLOGY (WFSC 315) LECTURE SCHEDULE Typical organization of herpetology lecture periods Lecture is Wednesday afternoon, 1:50-3:40 for a total of 110 minutes. We will take attendance and I will only accept university-excused absences. Each lecture period will be broken down approximately as follows: • 40 minutes formal lecture • 10 minutes for a multiple-choice quiz • 5-10 minute break • 25 minutes more regular lecture or active learning • 25 minute literature discussion or 5-minute presentation WED TENTATIVE LECTURE TOPIC 20 Jan Overview of herpetology course, reading assignments Life History Theory- an integrative lens for herpetology Special Guest: Jared Holmes, Bamberger Ranch: http://bambergerranch.org/ 27 Jan Lecture Quiz 1 Diversity of salamanders and heterochrony; courtship in salamanders 3 Feb Biology of Frogs. Communication in anurans; Declining amphibians and conservation; 10 Feb Lecture Quiz 2 Diversity and adaptations of Caecilians Diversity and adaptations of Amphisbaenians 17 Feb Thermoregulation Water relations, Energetics, Performance 24 Feb Lecture Quiz 3 Catch-up Day 2 Mar LECTURE EXAM I (100 POINTS) 9 Mar Evolution and life history of turtles Rhyncocephalia: Survey of Family and Conservation 16 Mar HAPPY SPRING BREAK! MARCH 14-18. GO FIND SOME HERPS! 23 Mar Lecture Quiz 4 Community ecology and foraging ecology of squamates 30 March Evolution and life history of crocodilians; Conservation of Crocodilians Ecological Integration Symposium Thursday 31 March. Plan to attend the lectures by world-famous ecologists and conservationists. 6 April Lecture Quiz 5 Defense and Escape; Life history and ecology of snakes 13 April Catch-up Day 20 April Lecture Quiz 6 Herpetological conservation -- Community-based management case studies: Tupinambis lizards, Red-Footed tortoises. SPECIES ACCOUNTS WITH THOROUGH ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE 20 APRIL 5PM 27 April LECTURE EXAM II (100 POINTS); Diversity of Herpetofauna fact sheets are due today. 4 May NO CLASS (READING DAY); NO FINAL EXAM. Herpetology (WFSC 315), Spring 2016, page 3 LITERATURE AND VIDEO DISCUSSIONS We will devote 25 minutes during several classes to discuss current technical literature relevant to the study of herpetology and perhaps some videos. Readings or videos will be assigned a week in advance. You will be QUIZZED on the discussion papers during lecture quizzes and there will be questions from the readings on the major exams. Attentiveness and participation is expected during discussions. Above all, please speak out! You will NOT be graded on whether or not your question and comments rock the world of herpetology. Sometimes students are too shy in discussions because they are a little embarrassed about not understanding, or afraid of asking an obvious question. A colleague of mine put it this way, “As a scientist you will be paid to ask questions about things you do not know.” So go ahead, it’s no big deal. The goal of our class discussions is to help each other understand current research topics in the broad field of herpetology, and to practice expressing our ideas. You will gain from the discussions if you read the papers, and ask questions or give opinions during the discussions. You will learn to ask questions that are good for discussion. Ask yourself how someone might be prompted to reply to your question. For example, if we discuss a paper about evolutionary arms races between garter snakes and the toxic salamanders they feed on, someone may ask, “What is an evolutionary arms race?” The reply could be, “Look in the first paragraph. It is defined there.” A question that might be better for discussion might be something about evolutionary arms races that was not mentioned in the paper or might have been hard to understand. An example of this kind of question could be, “Is it only feasible to evolve predator-prey arms races when prey are toxic and sublethal?”, or, “What other kinds of traits and behaviors do herps posses besides toxicity that might stimulate predator-prey arms races? Could running speed coevolve between predator and prey for escape and pursuit?” SPECIES ACCOUNT WITH ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY-- Due dates: Choice of topic and literature review due beginning of class 9 March (before spring break) Final Species account due beginning of class, Wednesday 20 April (week before last class and exam). Email submission is allowed, but it is your responsibility if the email does not work or the attachment does not work. Each student will prepare a 3-page species account of a reptile or amphibian species of their choice, with a distribution map and image (maximum length 5 pages). An example will be fully explained in class, but the accounts will follow guidelines for Catalog of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Guidelines are included below. I expect a very complete, annotated literature search to be completed for these species accounts. Bona-fide literature values much much more than use of unsubstantiated writings from the World Wide Web. AVOID CITING WEB SITES, DO CITE PRIMARY LITERATURE. A majority of the grade for this assignment will be based on comprehensiveness of the bibliographic material and literature citations. FIVE-MINUTE PRESENTATIONS ON YOUR SPECIES ACCOUNT Each student will be randomly assigned a time-slot to present their outline and research on their species account to the class. Each presentation must be a MAXIMUM of 5 minutes in length. The presentation will be timed and halted after 5 minutes. Thus, it is strongly recommended that you rehearse your presentation! A one-page handout and 2 quiz questions must be prepared before class and the professor will make copies and pass them out. The handout should include: brief summary of the topic in one or two paragraphs; sources of information used; bullet-list of major points; two sample quiz questions based on the information provided. The handout must fit on one page, double-sided if necessary. DO NOT READ A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION. You may use images, make a brochure, whatever you decide. BUT DO NOT READ A LIST OF BULLET POINTS FROM POWERPOINT SLIDES. DIVERSITY OF FROGS, LIZARDS, AND SNAKES You are responsible for using your text to understand and know the diversity of frog, lizard, and snake families. This means knowing the identifying characters of the families and their geographic distribution in the world. I will assign a worksheet of 50-100 factoids about diversity of these families that you can fill out for partial credit on the last exam. Fifteen questions from this sheet will be chosen at random and will count for 15 points on the exam. Thus you will have a study guide that gives you a small amount of partial credit and you will study your guide to prepare for the exam.