Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Culum Brown culum.brown@mq.edu.au
Credit points	Credit points 10
Prerequisites	Prerequisites 130cp at 1000 level or above including BIOL262 or BIOL208 or (BIOL2310 or BIOL228) or (BIOL2210 or BIOL229)
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status Open University
Unit description	Unit description Evolution is a dynamic process that has occurred over many millions of years (deep evolution) and continues to this day (contemporary evolution) shaping all aspects of vertebrate biology. This unit considers the major events in vertebrate evolution: invertebrate chordate to vertebrate; jawless to jawed; water to land; ectothermy to endothermy; and land to air. The newly emerging synthesis of evolutionary and developmental biology is having considerable impact on current vertebrate evolutionary theory, as are molecular techniques for constructing phylogenies. These topics are discussed in relation to deep and contemporary evolution of vertebrate groups. Lecture topics also discuss the main traits associated with each group of vertebrates including anatomy, physiology, brains and behaviour. The practical work reinforces the lectures by focussing on the comparative anatomy, morphology and behaviour of representative vertebrate groups.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

ULO1: Apply taxonomic nomenclature to vertebrate groups
ULO2: Relate anatomical and behavioural traits to the diversity of key vertebrate species
ULO3: Associate the major steps in vertebrate evolution to behaviour, body form and physiological function
ULO4: Evaluate different methods for determining evolutionary relationships
ULO5: Classify vertebrate behaviour to functional roles and interactions at community levels
ULO6: Communicate scientific information relevant to vertebrate biology in oral and in written format

General Assessment Information

Requirements to Pass this Unit To pass this unit you must: - Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%

Late Assessment Submission Penalty Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7 th day (including weekends). After the 7 th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration.

Special Consideration The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short- term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Prac Notes	20%	No	29/05/23
Prac Report	20%	No	22/05/23
Science Communication	10%	No	27/03/23
Weekly activities	10%	No	1 per week
Exam	40%	No	TBA

Prac Notes

Assessment Type ¹: Lab book
Indicative Time on Task ²: 30 hours
Due: 29/05/23
Weighting: 20%

As a good scientist it is paramount that you learn to keep an accurate record of your experiments and activities. This usually takes the form of a lab book. Throughout this course you will be exposed to a series of lab exercises which involves examination of a LOT of different material. These lab notes should not only consolidate your understanding of each prac but also provide a good resource for review. (I still have my lab notes from my Vertebrate Evolution course from 1993!) It is expected that you will create a word document in which you will paste pictures, diagrams and notes that you take during the practical sessions. The lab “book” will be submitted via iLearn for review after prac 5 and prac 10, but will be reviewed during each prac session.