Program Requirements
The Major Concentration Biology - Organismal is a planned sequence of courses designed to permit a degree of specialization in organismal biology.
Students may complete this program with a minimum of 36 credits or a maximum of 37 credits depending if they have already taken CHEM 212 or its equivalent, and on their choice of complementary courses.
Advising Note: Freshman students should be aware that PHYS 101 and/or PHYS 102 are required for some of the courses in the major and minor concentrations in Biology.
Required Courses* (28 credits)
* Required courses taken at CEGEP or elsewhere that are not credited toward the B.A. & Sc. or B.Sc./B.Ed. must be replaced by 3-credit courses from the Complementary Courses list. Regardless of the substitution, students must take at least 36 credits in this program.
** Students who have already taken CHEM 212 or its equivalent will choose another appropriate complementary course, to be approved by the Biology Adviser.
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BIOL 200 Molecular Biology (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : The physical and chemical properties of the cell and its components in relation to their structure and function. Topics include: protein structure, enzymes and enzyme kinetics; nucleic acid replication, transcription and translation; the genetic code, mutation, recombination, and regulation of gene expression.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Bureau, Thomas E; Roy, Richard D W; Zetka, Monique; Hastings, Kenneth E M (Fall)
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BIOL 201 Cell Biology and Metabolism (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : This course introduces the student to our modern understanding of cells and how they work. Major topics to be covered include: photosynthesis, energy metabolism and metabolic integration; plasma membrane including secretion, endocytosis and contact mediated interactions between cells; cytoskeleton including cell and organelle movement; the nervous system; hormone signaling; the cell cycle.
Terms: Winter 2016
Instructors: Brown, Gregory G; Roy, Richard D W; Dent, Joseph Alan (Winter)
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BIOL 202 Basic Genetics (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences.
Terms: Winter 2016, Summer 2016
Instructors: Schoen, Daniel J; Moon, Nam Sung; Nilson, Laura (Winter) Dankort, David; Hipfner, David (Summer)
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BIOL 205 Biology of Organisms (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Unified view of form and function in animals and plants. Focus on how the laws of chemistry and physics illuminate biological processes relating to the acquisition of energy and materials and their use in movement, growth, development, reproduction and responses to environmental stress.
Terms: Winter 2016
Instructors: Dhindsa, Rajinder S; Krahe, Rudiger; Sakata, Jon (Winter)
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BIOL 206 Methods in Biology of Organisms (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Introduction to modern methods used in organismal biology, including ecological sampling, experimental methods and statistics, taxonomic and phylogenetic analysis of biodiversity, experimental behavioural ecology, microbiological methods, and library search procedures.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Lechowicz, Martin J; Miller-Nesbitt, Andrea; Lefebvre, Louis (Fall)
Fall
1.5 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory and local field trip in week 1
Prerequisite: BIOL 111 or equivalent
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BIOL 215 Introduction to Ecology and Evolution (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : An introduction to the fundamental processes of ecology and evolution that bear on the nature and diversity of organisms and the processes that govern their assembly into ecological communities and their roles in ecosystem function.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Price, Neil; Potvin, Catherine; De Martino, Gemma (Fall)
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BIOL 304 Evolution (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : This course will show how the theory of evolution by natural selection provides the basis for understanding the whole of biology. The first half of the course describes the process of selection, while the second deals with evolution in the long term.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Bell, Graham (Fall)
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BIOL 308 Ecological Dynamics (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Fussmann, Gregor (Fall)
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CHEM 212 Introductory Organic Chemistry 1 (4 credits) **
Overview
Chemistry : A survey of reactions of aliphatic and aromatic compounds including modern concepts of bonding, mechanisms, conformational analysis, and stereochemistry.
Terms: Fall 2015, Winter 2016, Summer 2016
Instructors: Daoust, Michel; Sewall, Samuel Lewis; Gauthier, Jean-Marc; Sleiman, Hanadi; Pavelka, Laura (Fall) Daoust, Michel; Gauthier, Jean-Marc; Huot, Mitchell; Lumb, Jean-Philip (Winter) Pavelka, Laura; Gauthier, Jean-Marc; Daoust, Michel (Summer)
Fall, Winter, Summer
Prerequisite: CHEM 110 or equivalent.
Corequisite: CHEM 120 or equivalent.
Restriction: Not open to students who are taking or have taken CHEM 211 or equivalent
Each lab section is limited enrolment
Note: Some CEGEP programs provide equivalency for this course. For more information, please see the Department of Chemistry's Web page ().
Complementary Courses (9 credits)
9 credits selected from:
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BIOL 303 Developmental Biology (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : A consideration of the fundamental processes and principles operating during embryogenesis. Experimental analyses at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels will be presented and discussed to provide an overall appreciation of developmental phenomena.
Terms: Winter 2016
Instructors: Hendricks, Shelton; Rao, Yong; Dufort, Daniel (Winter)
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BIOL 305 Animal Diversity (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : The characteristics of the major groups of animals, their ancestry, history and relationship to one another. The processes of speciation, adaptive radiation and extinction responsible for diversity. Methods for constructing of phylogenies, for comparing phenotypes, and for estimating and analyzing diversity.
Terms: Winter 2016
Instructors: Millien, Virginie; Larsson, Hans Carl; Bell, Graham (Winter)
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BIOL 306 Neural Basis of Behaviour (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Neural mechanisms of animal behaviour; neuroethology; cellular neurophysiology, integrative networks within nervous systems; neural control of movement; processing of sensory information.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Watt, Alanna; Dent, Joseph Alan; Sakata, Jon (Fall)
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BIOL 307 Behavioural Ecology (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : The relationship between animal behaviour and the natural environment in which it occurs. This course introduces the subject of ecology at the level of the individual organism. Emphasis on general principles which relate to feeding, predator avoidance, aggression, reproduction and parental care of animals including humans.
Terms: Winter 2016
Instructors: Lefebvre, Louis; Sakata, Jon (Winter)
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BIOL 310 Biodiversity and Ecosystems (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Ecological bases of the natural causes and consequences of current global environmental changes, including how biodiversity and ecosystem processes are defined and measured, how they vary in space and time, how they are affected by physical and biological factors, and how they affect each other and human societies.
Terms: Winter 2016
Instructors: Davies, Thomas (Winter)
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BIOL 331 Ecology/Behaviour Field Course (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Methods of sampling natural populations. Testing hypotheses in nature.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Lechowicz, Martin J; Lefebvre, Louis; Barrett, Rowan (Fall)
Fall
Note: Preregistration in March and April. See Course web page: . Meets 12-days just before the fall term, with a project report early in the fall term.
The field portion of this course is given at the University's Gault Nature Reserve in Mont St. Hilaire over a two-week period in August. In the fall, students prepare a report based on projects carried out during this field portion. This course has an additional fee of $562.86 which includes room and board and handouts. The Department of Biology subsidizes a portion of the cost for this activity.
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BIOL 342 Contemporary Topics in Aquatic Ecology (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : An introduction to freshwater and marine biology and ecology. Topics include structure and function of the major aquatic ecosystems and how these are affected by environmental change.
Terms: Winter 2016
Instructors: Gregory-Eaves, Irene; Price, Neil (Winter)
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BIOL 350 Insect Biology and Control (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Introduction to insect structure, physiology, biochemistry, development, systematics, evolution, ecology and control. Stress on interrelationships and integrated pest control.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Dunphy, Gary Brian (Fall)
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BIOL 352 Vertebrate Evolution: Dinosaurs and Mammals (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Detailed description of the origin, evolutionary history, diversity and adaptations of archosaurian and mammalian radiations. Aspects of their anatomy will be emphasized with lab dissections and demonstrations. Extensive collections and exhibits of the Redpath Museum will be used.
Terms: Winter 2016
Instructors: Millien, Virginie; Larsson, Hans Carl (Winter)
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BIOL 373 Biometry (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Elementary statistical methods in biology. Introduction to the analysis of biological data with emphasis on the assumptions behind statistical tests and models. Use of statistical techniques typically available on computer packages.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Leung, Brian (Fall)
Fall
2 hours lecture and 2 hours laboratory
Prerequisite: MATH 112 or equivalent
You may not be able to receive credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar.
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BIOL 418 Freshwater Invertebrate Ecology (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : The life history and ecology of freshwater invertebrates in lakes, rivers and wetlands; habitat requirements, functional ecology and food web interactions; the role of invertebrates in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems; threats to freshwater diversity.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2015-2016 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2015-2016 academic year.
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BIOL 427 Herpetology (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Principles of biology as exemplified by amphibians and reptiles. Topics include: adaptation, social behaviour, reproductive strategies, physiology, biomechanics, ecology, biogeography and evolution. Laboratories will emphasize structure, systematics and identification of local and world herpetofauna as well as field methods.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Green, David M (Fall)
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BIOL 435 Natural Selection (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Explains how the selection of undirected variation accounts for some of the leading features of the natural world. Its main focus is evolutionary change and adaptation, but it will also include material from ecological, economic, biochemical and computer systems. It emphasizes experimental studies of evolution.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2015-2016 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2015-2016 academic year.
Fall
3 hours of lecture
Prerequisite: BIOL 304 or permission of instructor.
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BIOL 441 Biological Oceanography (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : An introduction to how the ocean functions biologically: biology and ecology of marine plankton; regulation, extent and fate of production in the sea.
Terms: Winter 2016
Instructors: Price, Neil (Winter)
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BIOL 463 Mammalian Evolution (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : The origin, diversity and evolutionary history of mammals, systematic review of fossil and living orders of mammals, aspects of mammalian paleoecology, functional morphology and adaptation.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2015-2016 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2015-2016 academic year.
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BIOL 465 Conservation Biology (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : Discussion of relevant theoretical and applied issues in conservation biology. Topics: biodiversity, population viability analysis, community dynamics, biology of rarity, extinction, habitat fragmentation, social issues.
Terms: Fall 2015
Instructors: Chapman, Lauren; Green, David M; Gonzalez, Andrew (Fall)
or other appropriate course at the 300 level or higher with permission of the Biology Adviser.