Fall 2019

BIOL

BIOL 1108 Week 3 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

These are the class notes taken for week 3 (08/26- 08/30/19). Topics include coevolution, misconceptions about evolution, beginning of Hardy Weinberg and population genetics, microevolution vs. macroevolution, and the beginning of our discussion of what defines a species.

BIOL 1108 Week 4 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

These are the class notes from week 4, Weds. and Thurs. (09/04 and 09/06/29; Monday was labor day.) Some of the things we touched on were the morphological and biological species concepts (what defines a species), the different types of isolation, speciation events, and the aspects of phylogeny as well as evolutionary trees.

BIOL Week 5 class notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

Here are the class notes from the days we had class on week 5 (09/11 and 09/13/19), which was also the week we had our first exams. Here, we begin a new unit focusing on evolutionary milestones, the 5 important dates documenting Life on earth, extinction events, classification of nature, background information on LUCA, prokaryotes, eukaryotes, bacteria, archaea, and eukarya.

BIOL 1108 Week 6 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

These are the notes for days of class (Mon, Weds, Fri) in week 6! We begin to dive into more characteristics that distinguish the first branches of life (bacteria, archaea, eukarya), some facts about LUCA, benefits of diversity, different energy/ metabolism mechanisms, structures of bacteria vs. eukarya, endosymbiosis theory, advantages and disadvantages of being unicellular/multicellular.

BIOL 1108 Week 7 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

This week, we continue discussing the adaptations that Earth's first organisms on land developed after their transition from the ocean. We discuss the benefits and trade offs of single cellularity vs. multicellularity. We talk about the specific structural and behavioral adaptations of plants as they adjusted to a terrestrial environment, such as the development of waxy cuticles to prevent water loss, stomata to help regulate the exchange of gases and water loss, chlrophyll and other pigments for protection from sunlight, the difference in reproductive cycles, etc.

BIOL 1108 Week 9 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

Here are the class notes for Weds (10/ 09/19) and Fri (10/11/19). (Mon and Tues were our exams). We begin our focus on ecology and climate change, taking into account ecological physiology (study of interactions on an individual level) vs global ecology (study of interactions on a global level of environments). We distinguish the characteristics of biomes by identifying the different factors and patterns that contribute to life on those biomes. We talk about the significance of precipitation and temperature in identifying different biomes. We also focus on population ecology and the use of demographics and models/mathematical equations to help predict future population rates.

Fall 2019

BIOL

BIOL 1108 Week 10 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

Here are the class notes for this week (10/14/19, 10/16/19, and 10/18/19). We discuss growth models and the factors influencing them, such as resources, mortality events, and carrying capacity. We also examine disturbance and mortality events and their roles in killing off species and reducing population sizes. We go over the R-selected and the K-selected reproductive strategies and their characteristics of life expectancy, energy cost, fitness, etc. In community ecology, we review the different interspecific relationships, interactions, competition, and facilitation between species. We then examine the two types of succession and their characteristics. We go over the traits of early successional species and their relationships between each trait. We also discuss equilibrium and disturbance within a forest and how that leads to complexity of all kinds of species.

BIOL 1108 Week 11 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

Here are the class notes for 10/21, 10/23, and 10/25. This week, we finished community ecology, which encompassed forest gaps, horizontal and vertical complexity, colonizers and competitors, and the stages/characteristics of a forest. We discussed the importance of biodiversity and how it provides ecosystem services for humans. We went over some formulas to measure biodiversity taking into account species richness and the relative abundance/diversity of species present. We discussed the characteristics of ecosystems allowing for more biodiversity, as well as the relationship between biodiversity and latitude. We talked about the link between the amount of energy present in a system (food web) and its flow through trophic levels (energy levels). We discussed the various ways of competition and resource partitioning between different species and their relation to niche sizes. We discussed the differences between competitive exclusion and the different ways of partitioning resources betwe

BIOL 1108 Week 12 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

These are the class notes for Weds. and Fri, the class days after our third exam. This week, we begin content on homeostasis, as well as other physiological mechanisms involved in the endocrine system. We discuss the role of feedback mechanisms in thermoregulation, learn about the differences between regulators and conformers, go over the types of thermoregulators, as well as examples of animal and human adaptations of thermoregulation. We discuss osmoregularity and osmoregulation that can be used to predict an organism's internal balance in different environments. We discuss the importance and function of hormones, chemical messengers that bind to receptors and cause chain reaction of events helping to regulate the amount of substances in our body. One such example was the glucose regulation, in which insulin and glucagon bind to organs to regulate the amount of glucose in the bloodstream.

BIOL 1108 Week 13 Classnotes

Fall 2019

BIOL

In this week, we continued on hormone regulation starting with the role of insulin in glucose uptake and metabolism in muscle and fat cells. We also discussed the unique ability of lipid hormones to directly alter gene expression through formation of an HRC (hormone receptor complex). We discussed the 4 main categories of hormone regulation that alter the amount of hormones/receptors present, as well as the promotion/inhibition of binding to receptors, and the production of counteracting/amplifying hormones. We discussed the role of feedback systems and the possible consequences as a result of their failure to respond accordingly, specifically referring to the child growth system as an example. We talked about the different hormone interactions and how secondary hormones affect each other through the different levels present. We then moved into the start of reproductive endocrinology, focusing on the function of the reproductive system for both genders, with more emphasis on the female

BIOL 1108 Week 15

Fall 2019

BIOL

Here are the class notes for this week (11/18-11/22/19). We touched up on the hormonal processes during fertilization, and began to explore the technical methods of contraceptives and birth control. We then moved onto the components of the Nervous system, where we identified the parts of a neuron and their functions, as well as the occurrence of an action potential. We went over the process of neural communication and ion movement through sodium and potassium pumps and channels. We talked about the action potential being an electric charge caused by the flow of charged ions in and out of the membrane, altering the membrane potential as well as the internal charge of the neuron. We went over the different increases and reductions (depolarization, re-polarization, hyper polarization, etc.) of the charge in membrane potential.

Fall 2019

BIOL

BIOL 1108 Week 9 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

Here are the class notes for Weds (10/ 09/19) and Fri (10/11/19). (Mon and Tues were our exams). We begin our focus on ecology and climate change, taking into account ecological physiology (study of interactions on an individual level) vs global ecology (study of interactions on a global level of environments). We distinguish the characteristics of biomes by identifying the different factors and patterns that contribute to life on those biomes. We talk about the significance of precipitation and temperature in identifying different biomes. We also focus on population ecology and the use of demographics and models/mathematical equations to help predict future population rates.

BIOL 1108 Week 11 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

Here are the class notes for 10/21, 10/23, and 10/25. This week, we finished community ecology, which encompassed forest gaps, horizontal and vertical complexity, colonizers and competitors, and the stages/characteristics of a forest. We discussed the importance of biodiversity and how it provides ecosystem services for humans. We went over some formulas to measure biodiversity taking into account species richness and the relative abundance/diversity of species present. We discussed the characteristics of ecosystems allowing for more biodiversity, as well as the relationship between biodiversity and latitude. We talked about the link between the amount of energy present in a system (food web) and its flow through trophic levels (energy levels). We discussed the various ways of competition and resource partitioning between different species and their relation to niche sizes. We discussed the differences between competitive exclusion and the different ways of partitioning resources betwe

BIOL 1108 Week 10 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

Here are the class notes for this week (10/14/19, 10/16/19, and 10/18/19). We discuss growth models and the factors influencing them, such as resources, mortality events, and carrying capacity. We also examine disturbance and mortality events and their roles in killing off species and reducing population sizes. We go over the R-selected and the K-selected reproductive strategies and their characteristics of life expectancy, energy cost, fitness, etc. In community ecology, we review the different interspecific relationships, interactions, competition, and facilitation between species. We then examine the two types of succession and their characteristics. We go over the traits of early successional species and their relationships between each trait. We also discuss equilibrium and disturbance within a forest and how that leads to complexity of all kinds of species.

BIOL 1108 Week 15

Fall 2019

BIOL

Here are the class notes for this week (11/18-11/22/19). We touched up on the hormonal processes during fertilization, and began to explore the technical methods of contraceptives and birth control. We then moved onto the components of the Nervous system, where we identified the parts of a neuron and their functions, as well as the occurrence of an action potential. We went over the process of neural communication and ion movement through sodium and potassium pumps and channels. We talked about the action potential being an electric charge caused by the flow of charged ions in and out of the membrane, altering the membrane potential as well as the internal charge of the neuron. We went over the different increases and reductions (depolarization, re-polarization, hyper polarization, etc.) of the charge in membrane potential.

BIOL 1108 Week 13 Classnotes

Fall 2019

BIOL

In this week, we continued on hormone regulation starting with the role of insulin in glucose uptake and metabolism in muscle and fat cells. We also discussed the unique ability of lipid hormones to directly alter gene expression through formation of an HRC (hormone receptor complex). We discussed the 4 main categories of hormone regulation that alter the amount of hormones/receptors present, as well as the promotion/inhibition of binding to receptors, and the production of counteracting/amplifying hormones. We discussed the role of feedback systems and the possible consequences as a result of their failure to respond accordingly, specifically referring to the child growth system as an example. We talked about the different hormone interactions and how secondary hormones affect each other through the different levels present. We then moved into the start of reproductive endocrinology, focusing on the function of the reproductive system for both genders, with more emphasis on the female

BIOL 1108 Week 12 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

These are the class notes for Weds. and Fri, the class days after our third exam. This week, we begin content on homeostasis, as well as other physiological mechanisms involved in the endocrine system. We discuss the role of feedback mechanisms in thermoregulation, learn about the differences between regulators and conformers, go over the types of thermoregulators, as well as examples of animal and human adaptations of thermoregulation. We discuss osmoregularity and osmoregulation that can be used to predict an organism's internal balance in different environments. We discuss the importance and function of hormones, chemical messengers that bind to receptors and cause chain reaction of events helping to regulate the amount of substances in our body. One such example was the glucose regulation, in which insulin and glucagon bind to organs to regulate the amount of glucose in the bloodstream.

BIOL 1108 Week 7 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

This week, we continue discussing the adaptations that Earth's first organisms on land developed after their transition from the ocean. We discuss the benefits and trade offs of single cellularity vs. multicellularity. We talk about the specific structural and behavioral adaptations of plants as they adjusted to a terrestrial environment, such as the development of waxy cuticles to prevent water loss, stomata to help regulate the exchange of gases and water loss, chlrophyll and other pigments for protection from sunlight, the difference in reproductive cycles, etc.

BIOL 1108 Week 4 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

These are the class notes from week 4, Weds. and Thurs. (09/04 and 09/06/29; Monday was labor day.) Some of the things we touched on were the morphological and biological species concepts (what defines a species), the different types of isolation, speciation events, and the aspects of phylogeny as well as evolutionary trees.

BIOL Week 5 class notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

Here are the class notes from the days we had class on week 5 (09/11 and 09/13/19), which was also the week we had our first exams. Here, we begin a new unit focusing on evolutionary milestones, the 5 important dates documenting Life on earth, extinction events, classification of nature, background information on LUCA, prokaryotes, eukaryotes, bacteria, archaea, and eukarya.

BIOL 1108 Week 3 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

These are the class notes taken for week 3 (08/26- 08/30/19). Topics include coevolution, misconceptions about evolution, beginning of Hardy Weinberg and population genetics, microevolution vs. macroevolution, and the beginning of our discussion of what defines a species.

Fall 2019

BIOL

BIOL 1108 Week 6 Class Notes

Fall 2019

BIOL

These are the notes for days of class (Mon, Weds, Fri) in week 6! We begin to dive into more characteristics that distinguish the first branches of life (bacteria, archaea, eukarya), some facts about LUCA, benefits of diversity, different energy/ metabolism mechanisms, structures of bacteria vs. eukarya, endosymbiosis theory, advantages and disadvantages of being unicellular/multicellular.