Biological Sciences

The course provides an in-depth introduction to the neurobiology of social behavior with a focus on model systems. Following a refresher on the general principles of what it means to be social, why it is useful, and how social drives lead to specific behaviors, the topics covered include a description of different animal models used to examine social behavior from invertebrates up to mammals. Emphasis is placed on understanding the brain areas and circuits involved, including the effects that key players, such as specific genes, environmental situations, neurotransmitters, and peptides, have on the circuits underlying social behavior. Finally, the course gives an overview of both well-established and novel assays used to measure different social behaviors.

The purpose of this course is to introduce all categories of marine organisms and ecological systems including: marine organism history, ecological environments, intertidal ecology, ocean geography, coral reefs, ocean vegetation, marine invertebrates, pollution, marine organisms adaptation to environments, conservation, etc. Text: Peter Catro and Michael E. Huber, MARINE BIOLOGY.

This course provides a survey of the role of plant-animal interactions in the evolution of biodiversity. It covers various subjects from an evolutionary approach and uses examples from recent and ongoing research. Topics include antagonistic and mutualistic types of plant-animal interactions; generalization versus specialization; evolutionary approaches to study plant-animal interaction, including understanding phylogenies; herbivory and grazing from both a plant and animal perspective; pollination ecology, especially plant-insect interactions; attractants and rewards; seed predation and dispersal; plant protection; arms race and co-evolution; physical and chemical plant defenses; plant-plant and other interactions; grazer-algae interactions in the marine environment; and community-level interactions including plants as habitat and food webs. The course consists of lectures and small in class exercises, hands-on activities, visits to the botanic gardens, and literature-based discussions. Training in scientific writing and oral and written communication skills is provided through workshops, journal clubs, an essay and an oral presentation. Students choose a plant-animal interaction and write an individual essay in the form of a scientific article (in review form) using primary literature.

This course offers a study of the components and response mechanisms of the immune system in physiological situations. It discusses clinical analysis in order to distinguish between health and disease states, including in hematology.

This course covers essential topics of whole-organism biology, introducing the theory and mechanisms of evolution and speciation, the fossil record and human evolution.