Zoology 310 Animal Physiology Spring 2005

Professor: Joe Szewczak

Office: Science B 324B Telephone: 826-4132

Email: joe@humboldt.edu Web Site: http://www.humboldt.edu/~jms139/

Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday/ 11-12, Tuesday 1-2, and by appointment

Text: Animal Physiology, 5th ed, Knut Schmidt-Nielsen, 1997. Cambridge.

ISBN 0-521-57098-0. Available at the HSU Bookstore and from other booksellers.

Course Web Site: http://www.humboldt.edu/~jms139/zool310.htm

***most course materials will be available on Blackboard.

On Reserve: Five A.D.A.M CD-ROMs are on Reserve in the HSU Library. The CDs for the Muscular, Cardiovascular & Respiratory Systems are packaged together in a single binder. The CDs for the Nervous & Urinary Systems are each packaged in a separate binder.

Course Objective. The course endeavors to impart an appreciation and understanding of the problems and challenges that confront organisms in the processes that maintain life, and the diversity of solutions that have evolved. Physiology encompasses the function of the organism and its parts. This course follows the comparative approach to the function and regulation of animal systems with an emphasis on vertebrates, and a focus on physiological adaptations that allow animals to live in different environments. The physiological systems considered in this course include circulation, gas exchange, neuromuscular function, excretion, acid-base and ion regulation, and temperature regulation. The unity and diversity of physiological processes in animals differing both in phylogeny and environmental adaptation is maintained as a general theme throughout this course.

Lecture Schedule Zool 310, Spring 2005

Week	Date	Topic	Reading *
1	Jan 18	Introduction to animal physiology; gen'l principles	Chapter 1
	Jan 20	Oxygen & Gas Exchange; Respiration in Water	Chapter 1
2	Jan 25	Respiratory exchange; aquatic respiratory organs	Chapter 1
	Jan 27	Respiratory exchange; aerial respiratory organs	Chapter 1
3	Feb 1	Respiratory wrap-up & cardiovascular intro; blood	Chapter 2
	Feb 3	Blood; Respiratory & cardiovascular integration	Chapter 2, 3
4	Feb 8	Respiratory & cardiovascular integration; symmorphosis	Chapter 3
	Feb 10	Feeding & digestion	Chapter 4
5	Feb 15	Digestion; nutrition	Chapter 4
	Feb 16	Lecture Exam 1
	Feb 17	Energetics (metabolic rate) & scaling	Chapter 5
6	Feb 22	Thermal physiology; ectotherms vs. endotherms	Chapter 6
	Feb 24	Thermal physiology II	Chapter 6
7	Mar 1	Thermal physiology; mechanisms and adaptations	Chapter 7
	Mar 3	Torpor and hibernation	Chapter 7
8	Mar 8	Freeze tolerance; cryophysiology	Chapter 7
	Mar 10	Homeostasis; cells & water; osmoregulation	Chapter 8
9	Mar 15	Spring Break
	Mar 17
10	Mar 22	Osmoregulation and water balance; terrestrial challenges	Chap8, App E
	Mar 23	Lecture Exam 2
	Mar 24	Osmoregulation and water balance; excretion	Chapter 8, 9
11	Mar 29	Acid-base regulation, ectotherms and endotherms	Chapter 9
	Mar 31	Cesar Chavez Holiday (no class)
12	Apr 5	Renal physiology; comparative renal function	Chapter 9
	Apr 7	Salt glands; nitrogen excretion	Chapter 9
13	Apr 12	Energetics and locomotion, cost of transport	Chapter 10
	Apr 14	Muscle – comparative aspects; specialized adaptations	Chapter 10
14	Apr 19	Electrophysiology; Nernst equation; action potentials	Chapter 11
	Apr 20	Lecture Exam 3
	Apr 21	Neural integration & conduction	Chapter 11
15	Apr 26	Control; endocrinology	Chap 10, 11
	Apr 28	Sensory physiology	Chapter 13
16	May 3	Integration; exercise physiology	tba
	May 5	Review & overview	tba

* Chapter assignments refer to the textbook, additional readings will be assigned throughout the course.

Attendance. Class participation is mandatory if you endeavor to succeed in this course. This class has a small enough size that your absence will be noticed by your instructor and peers. Throughout the course, you are expected to attend all lectures and labs, be prepared, and be on time. If you must unavoidably miss a class, you are responsible for getting lecture and/or lab notes from another student in the class. Labs require extensive preparation that prohibits the possibility of arranging to make them up at another opportunity. Lab assignments will not be accepted from any student not present during the lab.

Missed exams. Make-up lecture exams and lab quizzes may be arranged only upon demonstration of serious extenuating circumstances (e.g., serious illness, family emergency, etc.). In the case of illness, you will need formal documentation (e.g., a note from your doctor or the Student Health Center). Other reasons for requesting a make-up will be considered on a case by case basis. No makeup exams will be given without approval prior to the scheduled time of the exam. 

Due dates. Late assignments (e.g., lab reports) are strongly discouraged - for each day late you will lose 10% of the total possible grade.

Drop policy. After the University deadline, the course may be dropped only for serious and compelling reasons. In accord with University policy, I interpret “serious and compelling” to mean “unforeseeable.” Illness, sudden impoverishment, and similar catastrophes qualify; poor academic performance does not qualify. Incomplete (I) is given only when extenuating circumstances (“serious and compelling” or “unforeseeable”) prevent you from completing work in the course; earlier exam scores stand unchanged. Per University policy, an “I” grade remaining incomplete after one year will automatically convert to “F”.

Students with disabilities. Please discuss your needs with me during the first week of class. If you will be taking exams at the Testing Center, I ask that you remind me of this at least two business days prior to the scheduled exam so that arrangements can be made to accommodate you.

Grading. In a perfect world, I would know all of your abilities and needs, and create tests that precisely examine your knowledge. In lieu of that I will assume a random Gaussian distribution of student abilities such that some of you will be “A” students and will set the scale (that’s a fancy way of saying the grading will be on a curve). The A/B dividing line will be about 90% of the top student's score, the B/C line will be 80%, the C/D line will be 70%, and the D/F line will be 60%. Plus and minus grades (i.e., A-/B+) will be assigned around these dividing lines.

Exam I 100 pts, exam II, 100 pts, exam III, 100 pts, Final Exam 200 pts, Lab participation, papers & submitted materials, 100: total evaluation pts for the course: 600.

Examinations. The lecture portion of the course will have four examinations, three midterms, and a (partially) cumulative final exam. About two thirds of the final will be new material presented after the second midterm. The other third will be material presented earlier in the course. Examination questions will cover lecture material and conceptual material learned in labs and discussions. Exam questions may come in a variety of formats, including (but not limited to) multiple choice, matching, short answer, and essay.