D. Croft Mammal Evolution

Date	Activity	Readings	DVD	Quiz/Lab Report
Aug. 30	Lecture 1: Mammal characteristics	V: Ch. 2 M: i-xli	DVD 1:Food for thought (4:2)	Intro. to osteology (O)
Aug. 31	Lab 1: Intro. to Osteology (O) Clapp 304
Sept. 1	Lecture 2: Zoogeography and classification	V: Ch. 1, 4, 25		Q1: Lecture 1, Lab 1
Sept. 6	Lecture 3: Mammal origins, Monotremata	V: Ch. 3, 5, 20 M: 2-7	DVD 2: A winning design (1:1)
Sept. 7	Lab 2: Introduction to Cladistics	W: Ch. 1-3		Q2: Lectures 2-3, DVD 2
Sept. 8	Lecture 4: Afrosoricida, Macroscelidea, Tubulidentata	V: Ch. 7-8 M: 68-83		Insectivores (O)
Sept. 13	Lecture 5: Erinaceomorpha, Soricomorpha	V: Ch. 14 M: 416-441	DVD 3: Insect Hunters (1:2)
Sept. 14	Lab 3: Monotremes, Afrosoricida, Macroscelidea, Erinaecomorpha, Soricomorpha			Q3: Lectures 4-5, DVD 3
Sept. 15	Lecture 6: Cingulata, Pholidota (O)	V: Ch. 10 M: 114-119, 124-127, 476-477		LR1: Lab 2 Due
Sept. 20	(No lecture: DC out)
Sept. 21	(No lab: DC out)
Sept. 22	(No lecture: DC out)
Sept. 27	Lecture 7: Pilosa	V: Ch. 10 M: 120-123	DVD 4: Life in the trees (3:2)
Sept. 28	Lab 4: Monotremata, Tubulidentata, Cingulata, Pilosa, Pholidota (O)			Q4: Lectures 6-7, DVD 4
Sept. 29	Lecture 8: Scandentia, Dermoptera, Primates 1	V: Ch. 11-12 M: 270-415
Oct. 4	Lecture 9: Primates 2		DVD 5: Social Climbers (4:1)
Oct. 5	Lab 5: Cladistics 2 (P)			Q5: Lectures 8-9, DVD 5
Oct. 6	Lecture 10: Chiroptera 1	V: Ch. 15, 22 M: 442-475
Oct. 11	Lecture 11: Chiroptera 2
Oct. 12	Lab 6: Scandentia, Dermoptera, Primates, Chiroptera (O)			Q6: Lectures 10-11
Oct. 13	Lecture 12: Rodentia 1	V: Ch. 13 M: 128-247	DVD 6: Chisellers (2:1)	LR2: Lab 5 Due
Oct. 18	Lecture 13: Rodentia 2, Lagomorpha	M: 248-269
Oct. 19	Lab 7: Rodentia, Lagomorpha			Q7: Lectures 12-13, DVD 6
Oct. 20	Lecture 14: Carnivora	V: Ch. 16 M: 478-675	DVD 7: Meat Eaters (2:2)
Oct. 25	(No lecture: Fall Break)		DVD 8: Opportunists
Oct. 26	Lab 8: Carnivora (O)			Q8: Lecture 14, DVDs 7-8
Oct. 27	Lecture 15: Proboscidea, Sirenia, Hyracoidea	V: Ch. 9 M: 84-113
Nov. 1	(No lecture: DC out)
Nov. 2	(No lab: DC out)
Nov. 3	(No lecture: DC out)
Nov. 8	Lecture 16: Cetacea	V: Ch. 19, 22 M: 800-873	DVD 9: Return to the water (3:1)
Nov. 9	Lab 9: Hyracoidea, Sirenia, Proboscidea, Cetacea (O)			Q9: Lecture 15-16, DVD 9
Nov. 10	Lecture 17: Artiodactyla	V: Ch. 18 M: 676-687, 704-799	DVD 10: Plant Predators (1:3)
Nov. 15	Lecture 18: Perissodactyla	V: Ch. 17 M: 688-703
Nov. 16	Lab 10: Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla (O)			Q10: Lectures 17-18, DVD 10
Nov. 17	Lecture 19: Marsupials 1	V: Ch. 6 M: 8-67	DVD 2: A winning design (1:1)
Nov. 22	Lecture 20: Marsupials 2			LR3: Zoo lab due
Nov. 23	Lab 11: Marsupials (O)
Nov. 24	(No lecture: Thanksgiving)
Nov. 29	Lecture 21: Extinct South American Orders	Croft (1999)
Nov. 30	Review Lab (O)			Q11: Lectures 19-20
Dec. 1	Lab 12: Extinct South American Orders (E408)
Dec. 6	(No lecture: DC out)
Dec. 7	Review Medical School, E429C			Q12: Lecture 21
Dec. 8	(No lecture: DC out)
Dec. 13	Final Exam, 12:30-3:30 pm Classroom B, CMNH

Required Texts:

• V: Vaughan, T.A., J.M. Ryan, and N.J. Czaplewski. 2010. Mammalogy, 5th Edition. Jones and Bartlett.
• M: MacDonald, D.W. 2009. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Mammals. Princeton University Press.

Other Required Reading (see syllabus):

• Wiley, E.O., D. Siegel-Causey, D.R. Brooks, and V.A. Funk. 1991. The Compleat Cladist; a Primer of Phylogenetic Procedures. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 19. Available on Blackboard.

Videos:

• The Life of Mammals (DVD) 2003. Hosted by David Attenborough. Four volumes, 10 parts in total. BBC. Available via KSL Course Reserves.

Structure:

Lectures: Lectures will consist of a general overview of one or more mammal groups, including taxonomic and morphologic diversity, ecology, evolutionary history, and phylogenetic relationships. Lectures will also include comparative discussions of some key mammal adaptations (e.g., reproduction, echolocation, etc.). Students are expected to complete assigned readings and watch any assigned video segments prior to each week’s lecture (except for the first lecture of the course).

Labs: Osteology labs (O) will focus on osteology of extant mammal groups and will be held at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. These labs will use specimens from the research collections of the CMNH. To prevent damage to these specimens, no touching will be permitted. You should feel free to bring a camera to take photographs of specimens for future reference. However, a photographic guide to mammal skulls has been developed for use with this course and will also be available. Phylogenetics labs (P) will focus on understanding modern phylogenetic techniques and will be computer-based, taking place in Clapp 304. NOTE: You should download Phylip (a free program) for the first phylogenetics lab.

Student Assessment:

Quizzes (50% of final grade): Most labs will begin with a short quiz (10-15 points, short answer and/or multiple-choice questions) covering the previous week’s lectures, readings associated with those lectures, and videos. Details of the schedule and content are noted on the syllabus. Each student’s two lowest quiz scores will be dropped from the final grade.

Lab Reports (20% of final grade): The two phylogenetics labs and the zoo lab will each have an associated lab report. Some activities will be completed during lab, others will require additional out-of-class time. Lab reports from phylogenetics labs will be due at the beginning of the Thursday lecture of the following week. The zoo lab can be completed at any time during the semester, but must be submitted no later than November 22. They will be weighted equally in terms of grading.

Final Exam (30% of final grade): A combined lecture and lab exam will take place at the CMNH during finals week (see syllabus). It will have three components: (1) identification of osteological specimens (mainly skulls) to order and family; (2) identification of photos of living mammals to family, plus associated short answer questions (e.g., size, diet, habitat, geographic range, order, etc., of that particular animal); and (3) written exam, mostly short answer questions (e.g., definitions, compare/contrast), basic phylogenetic methods, and some multiple choice questions.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students (enrolled in ANAT/BIOL 445):

Graduate students will have additional readings from an edited volume on the evolution of placental orders and selected journal articles. Content from these additional readings will be included in the weekly quizzes. The schedule is as follows:

Date	Lecture Topic	Readings	Quiz Date
Sept. 6	Lecture 3: Mammal origins, Monotremata	R&A: Ch. 1, Ch. 3	Sept. 7
Sept. 8	Lecture 4: Afrosoricida, Macroscelidea, Tubulidentata	R&A: Ch. 5, Ch. 6	Sept. 14
Sept. 15	Lecture 6: Cingulata, Pholidota (O)	R&A: Ch. 8	Sept. 28
Sept. 20	(No lecture: DC out)
Sept. 27	Lecture 7: Pilosa	R&A: Gaudin & McDonald 2008	Sept. 28
Sept. 29	Lecture 8: Scandentia, Dermoptera, Primates 1	R&A: Ch. 9	Oct. 5
Oct. 6	Lecture 10: Chiroptera 1	R&A: Ch. 11	Oct. 12
Oct. 13	Lecture 12: Rodentia 1	R&A: Ch. 10	Oct. 19
Oct. 20	Lecture 14: Carnivora	R&A: Ch. 12	Oct. 26
Oct. 27	Lecture 15: Proboscidea, Sirenia, Hyracoidea	R&A: Ch. 7	Nov. 9
Nov. 1	(No lecture: DC out)
Nov. 8	Lecture 16: Cetacea	R&A: Ch. 15	Nov. 9
Nov. 10	Lecture 17: Artiodactyla	R&A: Ch. 14	Nov. 16
Nov. 15	Lecture 18: Perissodactyla	R&A: Ch. 13	Nov. 16
Nov. 17	Lecture 19: Marsupials 1	Rich 1991	Nov. 30
Nov. 22	Lecture 20: Marsupials 2	Asher et al. 2004	Nov. 30
Nov. 29	Lecture 21: Extinct South American orders	Agnolin and Chimento 2011 (read first); Billet and Martin 2011	Dec. 7

In the above schedule, R&A = Rose, K.D., and J.D. Archibald. 2005. The Rise of Placental Mammals. 2nd edition. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 259 pp. Other readings refer to journal articles. PDFs of all readings are available on Blackboard.

Graduate students will also be required to do a research report on an extinct group of mammals. The group must be approved by the instructor by October 1st (sooner is better). The research report will be in the form of a review article for the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Detailed guidelines for manuscript preparation are available here and on Blackboard.

Minimally, the manuscript must:
•    have a body of at least 17 pp. (not including title page, abstract, references, etc.)
•    cite at least 30 references from the primary literature
•    incorporate five figures, including a phylogeny

The final paper will constitute 15% of the student’s final grade, with the other three components weighted as follows: quizzes = 40%, lab reports = 15%, and final exam = 30%.

How to succeed in this course:

•    Do the assigned readings and scan the relevant handouts before class. This will facilitate learning by making you familiar with the groups and names to be discussed.

•    Learn the names and proper spellings of the groups we discuss in class. Taxonomy is how the great diversity of mammals is organized. You cannot learn about mammals without learning names of groups. Make flash cards if you think that will be helpful, or download a flash card app for your smart phone.

•    Learn or review typical mammal osteology. We will have a lab on this early in the course, but one session will not be enough time for you to internalize and recognize all of the relevant structures. Sketching bones is a good strategy for learning anatomy.

•    Appreciate the detailed structure of teeth. Few aspects of a mammal’s anatomy are as important as its teeth. They provide information about ancestry (evolutionary relationships) as well as ecology (diet). Learn how to recognize different types of teeth and how to describe them. As for bones, sketching teeth is an effective strategy.

•    For information on mammals, bear in mind that sources vary, and that the field is constantly changing. In general, more recent references will be more accurate. When in doubt, ask someone or refer to the lecture notes.

•    What do you need to know for each group? Generally speaking: Taxonomy and Phylogeny: What is the group name? Where does the group fall in the taxonomic hierarchy? How is it related to other groups? Biogeography: Where do these animals live on the globe? Ecology: What do these animals eat? How big are they? How do they move and where do they spend their time? In what types of habitats do they live? Identification: How can you recognize a member of this group? Fossil record: What do fossils tell us about the evolution of the group, including the topics noted above?

•    In general, you should focus on topics mentioned in class. Lectures and labs may not cover everything you need to know, but they will cover the vast majority of material.

Handy Web Sites:

Animal Diversity Web (U. of Michigan): Lots of information on specific taxa plus general information on teeth, bones, etc.

Australian Mammal Skulls (Museum Victoria): great photos of mammal skulls, mostly marsupials

BIOSIS (OhioLINK): bibliographic service for biological sciences (including mammalogy)

Digimorph (U. of Texas): NSF-supported site with digitally rendered CT images of many animals, including mammals

ESkeletons (U. of Texas): NSF-supported site with photos of primate postcranial bones and some skulls

Extreme Mammals (American Museum of Natural History): an excellent exhibit highlighting mammalian diversity

Mammals of Australia (Australian Government): PDFs of Australian mammal families with nice images and references

GeoRef (OhioLINK): bibliographic service for geological sciences (including paleontology)

ISI Web of Knowledge (OhioLINK): bibliographic service for general science; mostly recent articles

Mammal Images (American Society of Mammalogists): many excellent mammal photos

Mammal Crania (Dokkyo U.): photo archive with lots of mammal crania, many of very high resolution

Mammal Species of the World (Smithsonian): taxonomy of all described species of extant mammals

Mammalian Lexicon (Michigan State): an interesting list of the meanings of family-level and higher mammal names

Mammalian Species (American Society of Mammalogists): detailed accounts (PDFs) of more than 800 species of mammals. Newer accounts require institutional access.

Mammalogy Database (UMass): neat site with useful taxonomic characters and photos of mammal skulls

Ohio Mammals (Ohio DNR): nice descriptions of Ohio's more common mammals

Phylip: software package for computing phylogenies and doing other useful things related to systematics

Tooth Morphology: good pictures and explanations of teeth from the Animal Diversity Web (see above)

Will's Skull Page (private): lots of nice mammal skull photos (many of British mammals) and descriptions

Other Useful References:

• Elbroch, M. 2006. Animal Skulls: A Guide to North American Species. Stackpole Books. (A good book with nice photographs of skulls, also provides characters distinguishing different species.)

• Feldhamer, G.A., L.C. Drickamer, S.H. Vessey, and J.F. Merritt. 2007. Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, and Ecology. McGraw-Hill. (An alternative mammalogy textbook.)

• Felsenstein, J. 2003. Inferring Phylogenies. Sinauer Associates, Inc. (A book detailing phylogentetics.)

• Hutchins, M., D.G. Kleiman, V. Geist, and M. C. McDade (Eds.). 2003. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition. Volumes 12-16, Mammals I-V. Gale Group. (An excellent resource on mammals, though a bit difficult to find and quite expensive; five volumes on mammals, but others on birds, fishes, etc.)

• Lawlor, T.E. 1979. Handbook to the Orders and Families of Living Mammals. Mad River Press. (Nice succinct summaries of mammal families with distinguishing characters.)

• Martin, R.E., R. Pine, and A.F. DeBlase. 2000. A Manual of Mammalogy with Keys to Families of the World, 3rd Edition McGraw-Hill. (A mammalogy lab manual with some helpful keys.)

• Nowak, M. 1999. Walker’s Mammals of the World, 6th Edition. The John Hopkins University Press. (The standard reference for information on mammals, now a two volume set of more than 2000 pages.)

• Wilson, D.E. and D.M. Reeder. 2005. Mammal Species of the World, 3rd Edition. John Hopkins University Press. (The latest comprehensive word on extant mammal taxonomy.)

• Rose, K.D., and J.D. Archibald. 2005. The Rise of Placental Mammals. The John Hopkins University Press. (A required textbook for graduate students; an edited volume with succinct yet detailed overviews of mammal ordinal diversification.)

This page was last updated on November 22, 2011.