51³ÉÈËÁÔÆæ

Course Description

Summary

How do animals work? Why do different animals work in different ways? The blue whale in the Pacific, the tapeworm lodged in the gut of a fox, and the flour beetle in your cupboard all must eat and grow and reproduce yet they differ enormously in size, longevity, and environment. The particular ways in which each of these animals has solved these problems are different yet there are also underlying similarities in the mechanics of their solutions. Evolutionary theory makes the diversity understandable and cell physiology reveals the unity of function. In this course, evolutionary theory and cell physiology converge as we examine whole animal form and function. We will have the happy opportunity to study the remarkable diversity of animals on this planet. We will examine the array of strategies (adaptations) which animals possess that enables them to survive and reproduce in an often unpredictable world. The central question that we will consider is how do animals maintain their organization in the face of environmental perturbations? Corequisite: Students must also register for the lab, BIO2102L.