Biology 318G. Course Introduction

Lectures:  Monday       11:00 am    Room 34 Physics and Astronomy Building
               Wednesday  11:00 am     Room 34 Physics and Astronomy Building

Laboratory:  Wednesday, 2:00-5:00 pm, B&G 263. Tutorial: Wednesday, 2:00-5:00 pm, B & G 46

Introduction

The world can be divided up into producers (plants), consumers (animals) and decomposers (fungi). While this is very much an oversimplification it does convey a sense of the importance of fungi. Fungi are extremely important in many ways – think of food (bread, wine, cheese), magnificent forests (trees and many other plants need fungi to survive), of drugs such as penicillin or cyclosporine, of diseases of plants such as blights, mildews, rusts and smuts or diseases of animals (ringworm, athlete’s foot, thrush). Then remember all those hidden species so busily decomposing dead material. In this course we will be emphasizing not just the different types of fungi but exploring their impact on humans and the ecology of the world we live in.

Format of the Course.

The course consists of lectures, laboratory exercises, tutorials, demonstrations, and visits to relevant sites.
There will be two exams, one in midterm and one in the final exam period.  Many lectures will be illustrated using 'Powerpoint' and these lecture visual aids will be available to you on this course Web site

Laboratory classes will involve both observation of and experimentation with fungi and will feature brief lab reports plus lab quizzes.

During the term you will be expected to research a particular fungus, hand in a "Fungus Profile" and give a 10 min seminar on ‘your’ fungus.

Tutorials will feature student seminars and discussion. Marks will be given for participation in tutorials.

Text.

The text is "The Fifth Kingdom" (3rd Edition) by Bryce Kendrick (Focus publications)
A CDROM with a great deal of extra material – illustrations etc., is also available from the publisher.

Dr Kendrick has an excellent Web site at:-
http://www.mycolog.com/fifthtoc.html

This contains many colored pictures of fungi – many of which I use in my lectures.
Other excellent mycological resources can be found on the 'Other useful links' page.

Grade Distribution:
 

Fungus Profile
20 %
Seminar
10%
Tutorial quiz/participation
10 %
Laboratory Report Exercises
10 % 
Midterm Examination
20 %
Final Examination
30 %

 


Fungus Profile.

During the first laboratory sessions, students will select a particular fungal species from a list. Your assignment (worth 20 is to research and write a brief report on this organism - as follows:-

Choose ONE of the organisms from the list which will be made available during an early lab and write a brief report concentrating as appropriate on:

1. its classification
2. its biology and lifecycle including formation and type of sexual and asexual spores.
3. its importance to Man or to ecology - including, if appropriate, details of any disease it causes.

The report should about 10 text pages - double spaced - font size 12.  Illustrations are encouraged if appropriate and properly documented.   Provide references to all important statements and list these in the biography using the style found in the Canadian Journal of Microbiology. The report should be based primarily on scientific articles published in scientific books or journals. Occasional Web based references are acceptable. Grading is primarily based on content (completeness, accuracy) but style (absence of excessive typos or bad sentence structure) and use of the literature will also be taken into account.

IMPORTANT. Make sure that the report is your own work. Rewrite material you find in your sources in your own words. You may use an occasional quote from a source but make sure it is clear that it is a quote - use quotation marks and cite the reference. These reports must be submitted as follows:-

Submit 1 copy electronically to Turnitin.com ( instructions will be given in class or on a later version of this page)

Submit your typed copy to Dr. Day by the Due date.

 

DUE DATE.


    No later than 4pm on last day of term (April 8). Penalties will apply after this date.

 

Seminar on 'your' fungus.

You will be asked to give a 10 - 15 min talk about your fungus, with 5 min for questions - during which you must cover the three areas mentioned above (classification, lifecycle, importance to Man/Nature). You may use Powerpoint or the Overhead projector. Use pictures to explain a lot of material quickly. Try to be clear, well-organized and give some thought to how to make your 'delivery' interesting. You will be graded on content, delivery, quality of visual aids and ability to answer (reasonable) questions.

Quizzes

During most tutorials there will be short quizzes based on the previous week's seminars - so be prepared to take notes (main points only). 10 % of the course grade will come from these quizzes (4 quizzes @ 2.5% each).

Attendance at Laboratories and Tutorials

Mycology is a laboratory-based science.  Approaches to the study of fungi and the skills required to gather information can best be obtained through laboratory exercises.  The time you spend in the laboratory is an essential component of the course.  Attendance at laboratory sessions is compulsory and will be monitored.

Participation.

This is evaluated partly on attendance and partly on your involvement in tutorials as you listen to other student seminars - i.e. ASK QUESTIONS - GOOD ONES!

Submission of Laboratory Exercises.

A laboratory book is required for this course. Lab reports on individual sheets of paper will not be accepted.  At various points during the term we will collect your laboratory books for evaluation.  This collection maybe unannounced and is our way of evaluating your laboratory performance. Therefore always bring your lab book to the laboratory and keep it up-to-date (which is easy to do if you understand the role of the laboratory book).
There is a maximum of 10% of the course assigned to lab reports. Unsatisfactory or missing work will result in ‘minus’ points which will be deducted from this number.

 

Lecture and Lab Schedule.

See the lecture outline page and the Lab manual page

Getting help.

- See me asap if you find you have a problem whether it is about understanding material or a personal problem/conflict etc. Your T.A is also a good source of help for lab material.

Absences.

Previous experience shows a strong link between poor marks and a high absentee rate ! If you have medical / personal problem and can’t make a LAB or an EXAM – get documentation, see the counsellors in the Dean’s office and inform me (visit, tel., email) BEFORE the occasion if at all possible. I will accept valid documentation and not penalize you on exams or labs/tutorials. Otherwise the grade for the missed assignment will be 0.

Making up for missed work.

- For labs you may be required to make up the experience in your own time – check with me.

- There is no make-up for the midterm exam - students who are excused this exam on medical grounds etc will have their final exam reweighted.

Students who cannot make the final exam must go to the office of the Dean of Science to get a 'Special Exam form' which they must then bring to me for signature so as to be registered for the special exam which will be held on a day to be announced later.

TIPS for success.

1. ATTEND and pay attention ! Don’t try to write too many notes in lecture – the presentation will be highly ‘visual’ so you will miss much if you have your head down writing. Just make notes of what was covered then revisit the lecture slides in your own time to make more detailed notes then.

2. Read the text pages given and make detailed notes from them. There is of necessity much memory work. I will try to keep this reasonable by deliberately reducing the number of terms and species covered compared to the many more given in the book and will provide guidelines as to what to study each lecture.

Concentrate on:-

I) the ways in which different groups of fungi are distinguished from each other.
II) Major spore types, life cycles of the key species I mention, incl. times when ploidy changes
III) Economically important species
IV) Key terms and their meanings as given during each lecture.
V) See the ‘Classification of Fungal Groups’ summary table included in the Lab manual – it gives much information on the major groups and how they are defined and also provides a check list of key genera.

3. Use the other resources – WEB or CDROM as indicated. Explore more deeply yourself using the links indicated or finding your own.

4. Take the labs and fungal profile seriously  - together they add up to a sizable fraction of your grade.

5. Finding fungi interesting  makes learning much easier !

6. Come and see me if you are getting bogged down.