1. Bio 200 section C Welcome to Evolutionary Biology
Instructor:
Charles Fourtner Ph.D.
Professor Biological Sciences
Faculty Athletics Representative to NCAA
Office = 211 Cooke Hall =
office hours = 9:00 to 12:00 every week day
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2. What are my expectations of you?
Hard work in lecture and lab
Serious attention to concepts covered
Understanding of competition
Good sportsmanship and courteous behavior
Use my office hours and my Friday morning Q & A sessions.
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3. What are your expectation of the course??1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
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4. Your trip in the Iroquois Wildlife Refuge this semester
Each of you will have a teaching intern that will assist you in planning your trip, overseeing your project, developing and writing your paper.
The intern will meet with you in lab the first week of lab and outline a strategy for you. Each intern is required to make two trips to the refuge and you are greatly encourage to go at the same time as your intern. You may go on your own but you must be in contact with your intern when you make your trip. Consider taking a UB ZIPCAR if you have a license and no vehicle..
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5. Needs You should take: binoculars writing and drawing material
Something to sit on -- a camp chair
A camera (cell phones are wonderful)
Insect repellent
Some measuring device.
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6. Teaching interns Cody Coram C-1 & C-2 M 16:30 crcoram@buffalo.edu
Dena Hayes
C-3 & C-4
Almedina Djesevic
C-5 & C-6
T :30
Alisa Li
C-7 & C-8
Megan Klycek
C-9 & C-10
T :30
Brian Stutzman
C-11 & C-13
W :00
James Kostek
C12 & C-14
Steve Grisafi
C-15 & C-16
Tr :00
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7. What is Evolution Change through time. Physical examples
Plate tectonics
Mountain lift zones
Volcanic activity
Atmospheric changes in gas density
Right here in western NewYork
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9. Biological examples
1. YOU
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10. What is Science
Science refers in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome. Wikipedia
Science…is a way of knowing…is the organized, systematic enterprise that gathers knowledge about the world and condenses the knowledge into testable laws and principles. E.O.Wilson
Science is:
A body of facts and principles about the physical world
A method of discovery
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11. Characteristics of Science
Repeatability of observations and experiments
Economy of explanation: Law of Parsimony OCCAM’S RAZOR Largest amount of information with least effort
Measurements are used
Science stimulates further discovery
Conciliance: Principles of many fields are consistent with the discovery
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12. Types of Reasoning
Deductive reasoning General Principles to individual events
Inductive reasoning Specific events to General Principles
Probabilistic statements Hypothetical statements
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13. Characteristics of a good Hypothesis
Simple
Consistent with known facts
Probable
Uses physical explanations
Stimulates research
Makes predictions
Testable
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14. Hypothetico-Deductive Method “Scientific Method”
Step 1. Ask a question
Step 2. Form an hypothesis Inductive reasoning
Step 3. Make predictions Deductive reasoning
Step 4. Test the deductions through observations and experimentation Falsification test
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15. Is a giraffe’s neck long or short??
The Nature Institute - The Giraffe's Short Neck
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16. HYPOTHESIS ONE
Foraging behavior
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17. HYPOTHESIS TW0
Aggressive Behavior
Mating display??
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18. HYPOTHESIS THREE Water Giraffes are herbivores
Main mechanism of escape is probably running
As in many organism longer legs give greater speed due to length of stride
Longer legs – more difficult to get
Water
Examples of other herbivores
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19. Feeding or water balance
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20. Step 5. Draw conclusions about the validity of the hypothesis
If observations and analyses support the hypothesis,
Then hypothesis is valid
Leads to further development of the hypothesis
If observations and analyses do not support the hypothesis,
Then hypothesis is rejected
Leads to modification of original hypothesis
Science is self correcting
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21. When is an hypothesis acceptable
1. When all attempts to falsify it have failed 2. When it is accepted by the scientific community i.e. “True beyond all reasonable doubt”
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22. Most comprehensive model of Science
Hypothesis
Theory
Paradigm
Guess
Major conceptual work
Most comprehensive model of Science
Science moves from:
speculative to certitude
simple to elaborate
“Little explanatory “great explanatory
power” to power”
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