BIO 311D: Introductory Biology II

30 April 2012

I am not going to make any more changes to the term list or the article questions.

Check the site before each discussion section

Welcome to your 311D discussion website. You should visit this website often for updates, links, and other information. Please feel free to let me know how to make this site more helpful for you! There will be a quiz each week.

 

 

READ ARTICLES: 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 21, 39, 42, 43, Tennessee schools

Watch the following videos:

Becoming Human Part I, Part II, Part III

 

 

These videos are just for fun, but worth the time:

 Megabeasts' Sudden Death, Little People of Flores

 

Exam #1 Term List

Exam #1 Article Questions

Exam #2 Term List

Exam #2 Article Questions

Exam #3 Term List

Exam #3 Article Questions

 

You can contact me anytime via email at:

quedensley@mail.utexas.edu  

Link to the class website (articles can be found here)

 

Here are some sample quiz questions:

 

A lichen is a symbiotic relationship between a __________ and either a ______ _______ or a ____________________.

What are characteristics of a cloud forest ecosystem?

What are 4 density-dependent factors that regulate population size?

What is the relationship between the number of bird species present on an island and the number of habitats used by each species?

What is phenology?

In which continent is HIV most prevalent?

Why are there no Argentine fire ants in west Texas? Why are are there none in Kansas?

What is resource partitioning?

 

Discussion Instructor: Taylor Sultan Quedensley

Email: quedensley@mail.utexas.edu

Phone number: 471-8854 (this my lab number, so other people may answer)

Office hours: Wednesday 9:00 – 9:50 AM, Thursday 9:00 – 9:50 AM, or by appointment

My office: BIO 225

Discussion website: www.sbs.utexas.edu/quedensley/bio311d.htm

 

 

You need to look at the discussion website before each discussion section.  There you will find useful information regarding lab.  Discussion is worth 10% of your final grade.  DO NOT BLOW DISCUSSION OFF OR YOU WILL PAY FOR IT AT THE END OF THE SESSION.  Your grade will be based on attendance and weekly quizzes.  There are no make-up quizzes.  If you are sick you need to let me know before you attend discussion.

 

Please make use of Dr. Levin’s website as well.  There are many useful pages to look at it.  (This site is DIFFERENT from the course website.)

 

http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/levin/bio311d/

 

Good luck.  Everyone is capable of receiving a good grade in this course.  I will help you in anyway I can.  Keys to success in this course and the receipt of a good grade include:

 

1)                  Keeping up with the material: this means looking at your notes after each lecture, understanding the material, and asking questions in lecture and discussion regarding the material you do not understand.

 

 

2)                  Attending all lectures and discussion sections.  If you do not attend class, you cannot learn the material.

 

 

3)                  Some people benefit from forming a study group.   However, it is most helpful to form a study group with people that actually study.  Do not let lazy students take advantage of you.

 

 

GRADING:

Attendance is mandatory and accounts for 50% of your discussion grade.

Quizzes account for 50% of your discussion grade.

 

 

 

Check out the links below for practice problems and tutorials:

 

The Polyploidy Portal

Blood Types Tutorial

Monohybrid Cross Problem Set

Dihybrid Cross Problem Set

Hardy-Weinberg Tutorial

Hardy-Weinberg Tutorial #2

Some Examples of Beneficial Mutations in Humans

Haldane's Rule

Speciation

Animations:  Check these out for cartoons on cellular processes

Mitosis

Meiosis

 

Admixture

The extent to which the gene pool of a population receiving immigrants moves towards the gene pool of the population that is providing the immigrants.

 

 

Assortative Mating

 

Assortative mating is when organisms tend to mate with individuals that are similar to themselves in some respect (positive assortative mating) or dissimilar (negative assortative mating).  These two types of assortative mating have the effect of increasing and reducing the range of variation, respectively.  An example would be male hobbits with fuzzy toes tending to mate with female hobbits with fuzzy toes.  Assume that there are male and female hobbits with toes that are not fuzzy.  Assortative mating is not an example of selection.

 

Selection Differential

The mean of the population for a given selected trait minus the mean of the whole population.

 

 

Sexual Selection

Sexual selection is a theory that states that the frequency of heritable traits can increase or decrease depending on the attractiveness of the bearer.  For example, more females would choose the male peacock with the most extravagant tail feathers. 

 

 

Qualitative Versus Quantitative Traits

 

        A qualitative trait is one that is controlled by simple Mendelian genetics (one gene) and where the phenotype falls into different categories.  Examples of a qualitative trait are the ABO blood types, albinism, the round/wrinkled quality in a pea seed.  Inherited diseases caused by single mutations are also good examples of qualitative traits.  The environment has very little influence on the phenotype of these traits.

        A quantitative trait in one that is controlled by more complex genetics (polygenic).  A quantitative trait shows continued variation.  Continuous traits are quantitative traits with a continuous phenotypic range.  This is because the trait is the sum of several small effects caused by the gene. An example of this is an animal’s metabolism, like milk production, which is under the influence of many different genes.  Other examples of a quantitative trait are skin color, stature, and intelligence.

 

Selfing Versus Asexual Reproduction

    In asexual reproduction, all of the clones or propagules will genetically identical to the parent (original) plant.  In self-pollinated plants the offspring will not be genetically identical to the parent plant.  Selfing still involves gametes.  During meiosis crossing over may occur and therefore the will be genetic variation from one generation to the next with selfing.