BIOL 3360: Marine Biology
FALL 2007
Meetings: T/Th, 9:25- 10:40 AM in LSC 170
http://faculty.uca.edu/~jmurray/BIOL3360/

FACULTY:
Dr. James A. Murray, Associate Professor of Biology
Tel: 501-450-5923
Email: james.murray@mac.com or biol3360@mac.com
Anonymous feedback: http://www.gilc.org/speech/anonymous/remailer.html (please make use of this, better to provide feedback that I can respond to, than to only give it to me after course is over)
Office: Lewis Science Center 156
Office Hours: MWF 11-12p, T/Th 1050a-1205p, or by appt.; PLEASE COME VISIT

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

REQUIRED:
0.  Prerequisites.  BIOL 2490 (C or better), CHEM 1451, and PHYS 1410.  Those without prerequisites will be dropped from the course.

1. Castro and Huber, 2005. Marine Biology 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill,  ISBN: 0073215775 (online1 $75; online2 $116 (used $75); used from $33Ebook $61


2. YOU MUST CHECK YOUR UCA EMAIL ACCOUNT FOR IMPORTANT COURSE INFO.  Such as extra credit opportunities and other course announcements.
You can check it from any computer on the web at this address [http://bearmail.uca.edu/] by following these instructions.  If you do not want to use the UCA system, just click on "Rules" and forward any email your receive to any other account you check regularly.  All emails will also be copied to the Yahoo Group.
Recommended:
3. Essential Study Skills for Science Students, Daniel D. Chiras. Brooks/Cole Pub Co (October, 1999) ISBN: 0534375952.  It only costs $2 (or $0.05 used) and has a lot of excellent info on how to study effectively.  The UCA bookstore should have it, but you can get it at other places too.
CONTENT & STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE:
This course is designed for upper division biology majors and counts as elective credit. The course will begin with an overview of the marine environment as habitat, with focus on its particular physical and chemical features, and on basic ecological relationships. The main body of the course will survey the marine environment, community by community, and examine the common problems faced by the plants and animals in each community and their adaptations to these problems. Particular emphasis will be placed on species of special commercial, medical, ecological or aesthetic importance. The course will end by considering the ocean as a resource, and particularly issues of overharvesting, mariculture, pollution, and other human impacts.

Attendance:  You are expected to attend every class session.  Any student accumulating four absences will be dropped from the course with a WF regardless of the grade carried in the class at that time.

Some students tend to think that because they have paid tuition fees they can come to class at any time.  This is not so because coming to class late is disruptive to both the faculty member and other students in the class.  Paying your fees does not give you the right to disrupt other students' education.  Four late arrivals to class will result in the student being dropped from the course with a WF.

Disclaimer: Every attempt will be made to keep within the schedules set by this syllabus.  The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus as needed to best serve the needs of the students taking the course.  The class will be informed of any changes as soon as possible.

Advice: REMEMBER, KEEP UP WITH THE MATERIAL.  READ AND STUDY EVERY DAY, NOT JUST THE DAY BEFORE AN EXAM.  Please understand that I want each student to be successful in this course, but I am unable to help you unless you come see me to seek help.


GRADING:

Graded assignments:
Each
Semester
Email Dr. Murray from Bearmail
5 pts
5 pts
Midterm 1, 2, 3
100 pts    
300 pts
Exercise 1- Marine labs
15 pts
15 pts
Exercise 2- Literature Search
40 pts
40 pts
Exercise 3- Jobs in Marine Bio 20 pts
20 pts
Exercise 4- Policy Statements
20 pts
20 pts
Exercise 5- Class presentation
50 pts
50 pts
Exercise 6- Final paper
150 pts
150 pts
Optional Book Report
100 pts
100 pts
 or 600 pts if skip book report
TOTAL
700 pts

EXAMS:

Lecture exams will include material covered in lecture, occasional classroom demonstrations, and required readings.  Exams are constructed to test your ability to reason, correlate, and integrate information; your performance will depend more on your ability to think and understand, rather than just memorize material.

There will be three exams during the semester.  Each of these exams will be comprehensive.  This means that you cannot afford to memorize some material for one exam and forget it for all subsequent exams.  Grades will be based on the following scale:

  89.5 - 100%  A
  80 - 89.49%  B
  70 - 79.49%  C
  60 - 69.49%  D
  59.49% and below F

Percentages will be calculated based on total points earned out of total points possible in the course (lecture and laboratory combined).  If during the semester you wish to know what your grade to date is, add up the total points earned, and divide by the total points possible, and use the scheme above.

If you require or desire a certain grade in the course, you should expect to meet the requirements outlined above on your own accord.  Do not plan for any curves or extra credit to "save" your grade.

Makeup exams will be oral and are available only to those students that contact me before the exam with a legitimate excuse.  The result of two or more missed exams may be a WF grade.

EXERCISES & BOOK REPORT: are described on this page:

ATTENDANCE:
Your performance in this course will be greatly impacted by your attendance. Some material covered in lecture will not be in the textbook.  A student with a poor attendance record may not be eligible for any grade curving, if done, conducted at the end of the course.  See "Exams" above for policies on missing tests.

HONOR CODE:
A student in this course is considered to be a mature adult whose attitude and conduct are compatible with the ethical standards of the health professions.  All academic work is conducted under an honor code, which states: "I have neither given nor received aid for this work, nor am I aware of anyone giving or receiving aid for this work."  Any student caught cheating or giving assistance on an exam will be dropped from the course with a WF.  The admissions committee for the student's proposed major will also be notified.

Students are expected to show respect for the instructor and their fellow students while in class and (other than asking relevant questions) refrain from talking or disrupting the class.  Should you be asked to leave the class for any conduct violation, you will be dropped with a WF grade.

DISABLED STUDENTS:
Any student with a documented disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the instructor and Disability Services (450-3135) at the beginning of the semester.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT:
Sexual harassment by any faculty member, staff member, or student is a violation of both law and university policy and will not be tolerated at the University of Central Arkansas.  If you are being sexually harassed by another student, please see the professor, or contact the UCA Counseling Center (UCA Bernard Hall 313 ; 450-3138).  See the student handbook for more information at: http://www.uca.edu/divisions/student/handbook/


BIOL 3360 homepage | UCA Biology Department | UCA Homepage | Prof. Murray homepage | Contact Page Maintainer

modified 8-22-07