Offered every year in the spring semester, 4 credits, lab

Vertebrate life is complex, elegant, precise, and extremely adaptable. Vertebrates fly highest, swim deepest, and move the fastest of any organisms. They can be as small as an aspirin or bigger than a bus, and occupy virtually every habitat on the planet. This course investigates the nature of vertebrate form and function through the lens of evolutionary history and dissection of representative vertebrates. Emphasis is placed on the origin and diversification of the basic vertebrate body plan and the resultant evolutionary, functional, and morphological patterns.

Major Topics of Study Include:

• Anatomy of vertebrate systems (skeletal, organ, respiratory, etc)
• Form and function
• Vertebrate dissection