LF133-15 Plant Science and Zoology
Introductory description
Welcome to the Animal and Plant Biology course.
The course contains 28 lectures and covers major animal and plant body plans and their evolution in deep time. We take you onto a journey of discovery, to see animals and plants from the molecular and cellular 'inside'.
We show you how organisms changes across vast timescales and how we can trace these processes. This is going to be much different from what you have learned in school, so enjoy the ride!
To make the most of this, we encourage you to look at the lectures, films and papers we put on this website before and after the lectures. They are complementary to the lectures themselves and not a substitute for each other.
More details about the module can be found in the module summary and on this website.
Module aims
The module progresses from a series of lectures covering zoological methods, with an analysis of the evolutionary relationships between different Phyla and groups of animals and plants. A comparison is then drawn of the differences of plant to animal biology in terms of their cell biology, biochemistry and physiological activities. Finally the diversity of major groups is discussed. The aims of the courses for which this is available are to introduce students to a range of Biological subjects and this is the only truly whole organismal material in the degree programmes. The overall objective for students is to acquire the ability to integrate organismal and molecular knowledge in a broad, evolutionary context.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
- Lecture 1: The Tree of life
Lectures 2 and 3: The dawn of multicellular animals, the Metazoans
Lectures 4 and 5: The evolution of the Bilaterian body plan. The Lophotrochozoans
Lecture 6&7 Ecdysozoa
Lectures 8 - 11 Chordates, Tetrapods, Dinosaurs and Birds
Lecture 14 - Hominid evolution
Lecture 15-18: Plant origins
Lecture 19 Co-evolution in the Anthropocene
Lecture 20 Extinctions and the Carbon cycle
Lectures 21-24 - Plant structure-function
Lectures 25-27 - Plant Development and Reproduction -
Lectures 28-30: Plant responses to environmental stress
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- By the end of the module the student should be able to:• Understand and describe the methods used in Zoology to define the major groups of Animals.• Understand and describe invertebrate and vertebrate diversity• Understand and describe plant structure and the function of the various components of a plant.
Indicative reading list
Sadava et al Life: The Science of Biology. Freeman 2006
Subject specific skills
By the end of the module the student should be able to:
- Understand and describe the methods used in Zoology to define the major groups of Animals.
- Understand and describe invertebrate and vertebrate diversity
- Understand and describe plant structure and the function of the various components of a plant.
Transferable skills
- Critical appraisal of source material
- Self directed learning
- Adult learning
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 30 sessions of 1 hour (20%) |
| Private study | 120 hours (80%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
Self directed learning and revision for end of year exam
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group B
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | 100% | No | |
|
100% examined: 1 hour examination in the summer |
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Feedback on assessment
Pastoral meetings with tutors\r\n\r\n
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 1 of UBSA-3 Undergraduate Biological Sciences
- Year 1 of ULFA-C1A1 Undergraduate Biological Sciences (MBio)
- Year 1 of ULFA-C113 Undergraduate Biological Sciences (with Placement Year)
- Year 1 of ULFA-C1A5 Undergraduate Biological Sciences with Industrial Placement (MBio)