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Biology

Undergraduate Special Topics Fall 2018

Data & Analysis in Natural Sciences

ZOO4926 section 1F61

Instructor: Dr. Michal Kowalewski

Credits: 03
Class meetings:   Monday, Wednesday and Friday, period 3; Wednesday, periods 8-9
Text Recommended: Readings: will assigned and provided in class

Brief Description:
This course will combine lectures and hands-on lab activities with focus on practical applications of classic statistical methods in natural sciences. Examples will primarily derive from ecology, paleobiology, and geological sciences. Lab sessions will provide practical training in using R for data processing and analyses. The course will consist of self-contained modules built around empirical examples. Although some of the topics are inherently biological, many aspects of the course should be transferable to other disciplines of natural sciences. This course will provide intuitive (rather than mathematical) introduction to common methods used in natural sciences to analyze empirical and experimental data. The course will NOT cover phylogenetic methods.

Spider BIOLOGY

ZOO4926, Class#

Instructor: Dr. Lisa Taylor

Credits: 02
Class meetings: Monday & Wednesday, Per. 6;  12:50-1:40, Bartram 211.
Textbook: Levi, H. & Levi, L. A Guide to Spiders and Their Kin. St Martins Press. (Tiny field guide) Edwards, GB and Marshall, S. 2002. Florida’s Fabulous Spiders. World Pubns.Foelix, R. 2011. Biology of Spiders. 3rd Edition. Oxford Press. Bradley, RA & Buchanan, S. 2012. Common Spiders of North America. U. California Press.

Brief Description:

This course will introduce you to the fascinating world of spiders and their relatives. You will learn about many aspects of their biology, especially their ecology, behavior, and evolution. Spiders are diverse and while identification is not the focus of the course, your goal will be to comfortably recognize and be familiar with the diversity and biology of members of ~20 common spider families as well as several common Gainesville species. S

BIOLOGY EDUCATION SEMINAR

BOT4935 & ZOO4926

Instructors: Dr. Christine Davis

Credits: 02
Class meetings:   Monday, period 9;  Room Location: TBA
Text Required: There is no text for this course.

Brief Description:
The Biology Education Seminar is designed to help Learning Assistants in BSC2011 integrate learning theory and effective practices for engaging students. In this course, LAs will read articles from the education literature, engage in discussions about their experiences with students and how this relates to the literature, complete weekly online teaching
reflections, conduct interview or observation – based investigations into students.  See attached syllabus.