3-3-0

This course offers a thorough exploration of one branch of the tree of life, that occupied by multicellular animals. The course complements Diversity of Life II, a winter-term course with a focus on prokaryotic and non-animal eukaryotic life. The material in both courses is organized according to a modern phylogenetic framework. In this course students will learn about phylogenetic hypotheses and evidence, and they will study how classifications are created, tested, and, where necessary, rejected. Focusing on animals, we will discuss many of the morphological and physiological adaptations that have arisen. The evolutionary implications of some features, such as bilateral symmetry and the notochord, will be discussed more thoroughtly. Recent advances as well as current contentious issues in animal classification will also be examined.

Prerequisite: collegial Biology or equivalent
Co-requisite: Biology Lab 115a
Professor Savage