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Graduate Biology Courses

5301 Conservation Biology (3-0). Theory and practice of conservation biology with emphasis on the maintenance of species diversity, factors affecting extinction, genetic impacts of rarity, and practical management considerations, including design of reserves and captive breeding and release programs. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4301 but requires additional readings, papers, discussion, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Biology 3301 or equivalent. Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5401 Ornithology (3-3). A study of the biology of birds, their anatomy, evolutionary history, diversity, ecology, behavior, and zoogeography. Laboratory exercises will emphasize the identification and natural history of Texas birds. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4401 but requires additional readings, papers, discussions, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Biology 1413 or equivalent. Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5402 Mammalogy (3-3). A study of the biology of mammals, their anatomy, evolutionary history, diversity, ecology, behavior, and zoogeography. Laboratory exercises will emphasize the identification and natural history of Texas mammals. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4402 but requires additional readings, papers, discussions, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Biology 1413 or equivalent. Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5403 Natural History of Bats (3-3). A study of the ecology and evolution of the order Chiroptera with emphasis on unique adaptations related to the life history strategies and echolocation of North American bats. Students will gain hands-on experience with the use of taxonomic keys and field techniques used in sampling and identifying bat species in natural habitats. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4403 but requires additional readings, papers, discussions, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Biology 1413 or consent of the instructor. Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5404 Herpetology (3-3). A study of the biology of amphibians and reptiles, their anatomy, evolutionary history, diversity, ecology, behavior, and zoogeography. Laboratory exercises will emphasize the identification and natural history of Texas amphibians and reptiles. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4404 but requires additional readings, papers, discussions, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Biology 1413 or equivalent. Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5421 Developmental Biology (3-3). A study of the molecular and genetic mechanisms regulating the development of animals. Specific topics include gametogenesis, embryogenesis, and tissue development. Laboratory explores the development of various invertebrate and vertebrate model organisms and emphasizes the application of techniques used with these model systems. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4421 but requires additional readings, papers, discussion, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Biology 3301, 3403.

5423 General Physiology (3-3). An advanced course in fundamentals of vertebrate physiology emphasizing functions of molecular levels of activity. Laboratory exercises combine animal surgery, biochemical techniques, and electronic instrumentation. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4423 but requires additional readings, papers, discussions, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Biology 1413, 2423 or consent of instructor. Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5425 Bioinformatics (3-3). Introduction to methods for acquiring, analyzing, and employing biological sequence information. Topics will include- Theory and process of PCR, mass spectroscopy, and DNA microarrays. Algorithms for searching and clustering sequences. Applications of bioinformatic data to questions such as the geographical movement of Zika virus, horizontal gene transfer in bacterial viruses, and changes in human gene expression in response to disease and treatment. Students will access remote sequence databases (NCBI, EMBL-EBI) and analyze sequences with open source bioinformatics software running natively, in a Linux virtual machine, and on remote servers. Analyses will include protein structure prediction, phylogenetics using molecular data, and genome annotation. Students will annotate a novel viral genome and submit the completed annotation to NCBI. (Credit may not be earned for this course and Biology 5425.)

5435 Plant Taxonomy (3-3). Laboratory and field studies emphasize the use of a dichotomous key using flowering plants of the Concho Valley as topics of study and recognition of the major families of flowering plants. Lecture emphasis is on current problems in plant taxonomy and systematics. (Credit for both RWM 4435 and Biology 5435 cannot be awarded.) Course meets concurrently with Biology 4435 but requires additional readings, papers, discussions and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5441 Parasitology (3-3). A study of the anatomy, life cycles, ecology, diseases, diagnosis, and treatment of protozoa, helminths, and arthropods parasitic in man. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4441 but requires additional readings, papers, discussions, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Credit for two courses in biology for majors, or Biology 2323/2123 and 2324/2124, or Health Science Professions 2301/2101 and 2302/2102. Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5442 Arachnology (3-3). A study of the origin of the arachnids and their evolutionary relationships to other early arthropod groups. A survey of the recognized ordinal groups will be presented in both lecture and laboratory with respect to the existing literature on distribution, morphology, ecology, reproductive life cycles, and their relationships to man. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4442, but requires additional readings, papers, discussions, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisite: Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5443 Invertebrate Zoology (3-3). A survey of major invertebrate phyla with emphasis on the classes of Cnidarians, Annelids, Mollusks, Arthropods, and Enchinoderms. Particular attention will be given to phylogenetic relationships and natural history. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4443 but requires additional readings, papers, discussions, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Biology 1413 or equivalent. Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5450 Molecular Biology (3-4). A study of the synthesis, function, and regulation of biologically important macromolecules (DNA, RNA, and proteins). Laboratory exercises are designed to develop skills with standard techniques in molecular biology such as electrophoresis, PCR, recombinant DNA technology, DNA sequencing, and bioinformatics. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4450 but requires additional readings, papers, discussions, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: “C” or better in Biology 3403 or consent of instructor. Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

5480 Introduction to Biometry (3-2). An introduction to the application of statistics to biological research. This course will include an introduction to probability, sampling theory, and hypothesis testing. Emphasis will be on common statistical techniques for biological research. Course meets concurrently with Biology 4480, but requires additional readings, papers, discussions, and/or presentations for graduate students.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 1314 or equivalent. Mathematics 2312 or 3321 is recommended. Permission of Graduate Advisor and Graduate Dean.

6171 Seminar in Science Teaching (1-0). Weekly seminar will involve discussion of current methods of teaching in the life sciences. Students will also gain practical experience as group facilitators in lecture/lab for 1307/1107 or 1306/1106. Must have permission of instructor to enroll.

6181 Seminar (1-0). A review of the literature and current research in various biological fields. (May be repeated once for credit when topic varies.)

6191, 6291, 6391 Research. Individual research problems. (May be repeated to a total of six semester hours credit.) Approval from the Chair of the Department is required prior to enrollment.

6301 Biometrics and Experimental Design (3-0). An examination of statistical methods used in biological research. Emphasis will be on the application of statistical procedures and the design of experiments. This course will include an overview of more complex statistical procedures including multivariate methods, randomization tests, and resampling techniques.
Prerequisite: Biology 4480 or equivalent.

6302 Advanced Biology (3-0). A study of the basic principles of biology and levels of organization from the molecule to the community.

6304 College Science Teaching (3-0). An interdisciplinary approach to science teaching in higher education. This course introduces students to effective science teaching and is designed to prepare future college educators for their duties. Topics will include the nature of science, how students learn, pedagogy, curriculum development, assessment, and current trends in college science education.

6330 Scientific Writing (3-0). The study and practice of all aspects of scientific writing skills. This will include the preparation and critical review of manuscripts, notes, abstracts, grant applications, reports and research presentations.

6342 Advanced Genetics (3-0). The study of recent advances in genetics with an emphasis on modern methods of analysis and applications such as genetic testing, gene therapy, genetic engineering, and forensic genetics.
Prerequisite: Biology 3301 or equivalent.

6341 Plant and Animal Interactions (3-0). Plant-animal interactions focuses on the major types of interactions that occur between plants and animals. These include herbivory, pollination, frugivory, granivory, their evolutionary and ecological patterns, and conditions that favor adaptation, coadaptation, and coevolution. In addition, the importance of plant-animal interactions to fields of study such as biochemistry, physiology, conservation biology, community ecology, and ecosystem management will be addressed.
Prerequisites: Biology 4303 and 4451 or permission from the instructor.

6342 Advanced Genetics (3-0). The study of recent advances in genetics with an emphasis on modern methods of analysis and applications such as genetic testing, gene therapy, genetic engineering, and forensic genetics.
Prerequisite: Biology 3301 or equivalent.

6351 Evolutionary Ecology (3-0). An examination of theoretical models and empirical studies of life history and foraging strategies, competition, predation, mate choice, parental care, community structure, and other topics in ecology.

6353 Limnology (2-3). An examination of the physical-biological interactions in aquatic ecosystems. Emphasis will be placed upon the composition, variation, and dynamics of fresh water communities.

6381 Special Topics (3-0). Selected topics in advanced biology. (May be repeated once for credit when topic varies.)

6399 Thesis. A total of six semester hours are required for thesis credit. Students have the option of enrolling in either BIOL 6399 (twice) or BIOL 6699 once to fulfill the six semester hour thesis requirement. (This course may be repeated once for credit.)

6431 Principles of Molecular Systematics (3-3). A study of the basic principles of molecular systematics. This course will include the history and concepts of systematics as well as a review of selected current topics in the field. The laboratory will emphasize the understanding of methodologies used to address specific phylogenetic questions with molecular data.

6433 Ecological Applications GIS (3-2). A study of advanced geospatial techniques for modeling the spatial distributions and relationships of organisms. Topics to include home range estimation, environmental niche modeling, spatial pattern analysis, and introductory remote sensing. Laboratories will build proficiency in geospatial analysis techniques through task-oriented learning.

6699 Thesis. A total of six semester hours are required for thesis credit. Students have the option of enrolling in either BIOL 6399 (twice) or BIOL 6699 once to fulfill the six semester hour thesis requirement.