Herpetology (Biology 489)
University of Idaho, Fall 2019
Lecture:
- Monday, Wednesday, Friday
- 1:30-2:20 pm
- LSS 163
Lab:
- Thursday
- 12:30-3:20 pm
- Life Sciences 341
Instructor:
- Dr. Luke Harmon
- lukeh@uidaho.edu
- Office: LSS 347
- Office hours: after class, or make an appointment
Teaching assistant:
- Samuel McCauley
- mcca6713@vandals.uidaho.edu
Textbooks:
Stebbins, R. C. 2003. A Field guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 3rd edition. Houghton Mifflin.
OR
Stebbins, R. C. and S. M. McGinnis. 2018. A Field guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 4th edition. Houghton Mifflin.
It is helpful, but not required, to have a herpetology textbook, either:
Herpetology by Pough et al., 4th Edition, 2015
or
Herpetology by Vitt and Caldwell, 4th Edition, 2013
Additional required reading will be available here.
Important dates:
- Exam I 1:30 PM, October 25
- Exam II To be determined
- Presentations November 21 (during lab)
- Final will be take-home, during finals week
Internet resources:
- Course website: lukejharmon.github.io/herpclass. This page has my lecture notes as pdf files, and posted assignments and quizzes.
- OneZoom summarizes the evolutionary relationships among living things, and includes a large section on amphibians and reptiles.
- AmphibiaWeb and Amphibian Species of the World have species accounts for all known species of amphibians.
- The Reptile Database is the equivalent for reptiles.
- Idaho-specific information can be found at the Digital Atlas of Idaho.
- On my lab website (Harmon Lab), you can find some information about my research.
Course objectives:
This course has three goals. First, I want to introduce you to the diversity of reptiles and amphibians around the world, and their evolutionary history. Second, I believe that classes like this introduce students to integrative biology. This is an approach to doing science where one tries to integrate as much information as possible to understand an organism and its relationship to the environment. This requires the combination of scientific information from evolution, ecology, physiology, behavior, genetics, and other fields; we will try to weave all of these things together to understand the interactions between species and their natural environment. Finally, I hope this class provides you an entry point into the scientific literature of herpetology. At this point in your education it is time to stop reading about science, and time to start reading scientific research!
Grading:
- Assignment, % of grade
- Class assignments, 20%
- Group research proposal, 10%
- Lab, 25%
- Exam I, 15%
- Exam II, 15%
- Final exam, 15%
- Total, 100%
Plagiarism:
Your exams are expected to reflect your own work, and plagiarism will not be tolerated. There can be absolutely no copying during exams. On some assignments, you can work as a group, but it is not OK to copy another student’s work and turn it in as your own.
Make-up Policy:
I will schedule a make-up for exams and class presentations only if notified in advance. University policy prohibits students from taking the final exam at any time other than the regularly scheduled time.
Late assignments:
See schedule above and lab schedule for assignment due dates. Ten percent will be deducted for every day late.
DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT:
Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have documented temporary or permanent disabilities. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Support Services, located in the Idaho Commons Building, Room 306, in order to notify your instructor(s) as soon as possible regarding accommodation(s) needed for the course. Contact DSS at 208-885‐6307, email dss@uidaho.edu or go to www.uidaho.edu/dss.