Ecology and Evolution Lab Practical Study Guide
Fall 2013
I. Lab Practical format
The materials for the lab practical will be distributed throughout the lab, positioned at stations. At the start of the lab practical students will arrange themselves throughout the room at odd numbered stations (with an empty station between each pair of students). You are to provide answers on the answer sheet to the question(s) posed to you at each station. You will have 90 seconds at each station on the first rotation, then a second opportunity to see each of four stations of your choosing will occur at the end of the exam. You can only receive credit for answers that are clear and legible. Do not leave blanks, each line is worth 2 points, it is possible to get 1 point partial credit.
II. Date, time, and location
The lab practical is scheduled for Tuesday, November 19 at 4:30 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Please arrive 5 minutes before the start of your schedule time wait in the seating area in the main CMLS lobby. A TA will come and get you at lab time. Upon entering the lab, you will be provided an answer sheet and additional instructions. Students in the two lab sections can take the lab at either time but please take the exam in at the time you are signed up for.
It will be best to take the lab in pencil. So bring at least two writing utensils (dark pencil that will erase easily is best). No other items may be with you during the examination period.
These times are subject to change. Please watch your email.
Important note: The lab will be closed to students for studying for the lab practical after 3:00 p.m. on the day of the practical (Tuesday, May 2) in order to set up the lab practical. Therefore do not depend upon any last minute preparation in the lab.
III. How to prepare
Please take advantage of the time between now and Nov. 19 to prepare carefully for your lab practical. This is an important part of your course grade, and an excellent opportunity for you to demonstrate what you have learned during lab. Materials that you have used during the semester in lab are available in CMLS 068 for your study and preparation. You can go into the lab at any time during regular class hours when there is not a class meeting in there. Watch your email for times over the weekends and during evenings when we will have the lab open for you to prepare. We will do this when the TA’s or Professor Meylan are available. When students ask how to do well on this exam, the standard answer is to spend time with the material. This means more than studying; study with the material that will appear on the exam in front of you.
IV. Lab Practical content
INVERTEBRATES
You should know all of the key characters from Lab 8, Table 1. These include: multicellular, radial cleavage, spiral cleavage, germ layers, endoderm, ectoderm, mesoderm and how they are formed, in which taxa does the blastopore forms the mouth vs. the anus, in what taxa and how a coelom can form by schizocoely or enterocoely. Know the Eucoelomate, Acoelomate and Pseudocoelomate conditions; radial and bilateral symmetry; tissue, organ and organ system grades of organization; complete vs. incomplete digestive tract. Know the following morphological concepts: circulatory system, mantle and shell, ecdysis, spine covered skin, nematocysts, segmentation, notochord, and dorsal hollow nerve chord.
Be familiar with these TEN INVERTEBRATE PHYLA (given in alphabetical order here)
1. PHYLUM ANNELIDA (Segmented worms). May be represented by members of three different classes of segmented worms: earthworms (Oligochaeta), marine worms (Polychaeta) and leeches (Hirudinea).
2. PHYLUM ARTHROPODA (joint-footed animals). May be represented by members of four different classes of arthropods: The insects (Hexapoda), crustaceans (Crustacea), spiders and their relatives (Chelicerata), and centipedes/millipedes (Myriopoda). Know the representatives of these classes and how to tell them apart.
