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Marine Mammals Lab
(BIO 4322/5322) |
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Spring 2009
Dr. Aldemaro Romero
Arkansas State University |
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1. Course Objectives
1.1.
Introduction: Marine
Mammals is one of the most fascinating subjects you
can imagine. Part of that is because humans seem to
have a special (and sometimes fatal) attraction
toward these animals; part because few organisms
present so many questions yet to be resolved in the
realm of scientific inquiry.
The objective of
the course is to give students a hands-on experience
in (a) identifying different species of marine
mammals through pictures, skulls, and skeletons, and
sounds; (2)
understanding the internal anatomy of marine mammals
through the dissection of cadavers and the mounting
and articulation of skeletons; (3) field procedures
of collecting and analyzing underwater sounds
produced by marine mammals; (4) to practice some
field methods of field observations. This course
will be presented to you as a two-credit course.
1.2.
Methodology: You will be
trained in how to recognize the most important
species of marine mammals and to further develop the
knowledge and skills required of the research
scientist, skills which are also required in many
other professions. Whether you enter graduate
school, pursue a teaching career, or follow some
other career path, you will be compelled to
understand and integrate a large body of knowledge,
to think analytically, identify and critically
evaluate pertinent literature, to communicate
effectively, and to work with others.
1.3. Expected
Outcome: By the end of
the semester, you should have a solid understanding
of the diversity of marine mammal species; being
able to identify most of the species on sight, have
a good understanding of their internal anatomy and
develop practical skills in recording and analyzing
sounds and collecting field data. |
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2. Instructor
Dr. Aldemaro
Romero, (B.S.- Master: University of Barcelona,
Spain, 1977; Ph.D.: University of Miami, 1984).
Chair and Professor, Department of Biological
Sciences, Arkansas State University. I have
published numerous papers and books related to
marine mammals. Here are some of the most recent:
Romero, A., A. I. Agudo & S. J.
Blondell. 1997. The scientific discovery of the Amazon river
dolphin
Inia geoffrensis. Marine Mammal Science 13:419-426.
Romero, A., I. Agudo & S. Green. 1997.
Exploitation of cetaceans in Venezuela.
Reports of the
International Whaling Commission 47:735-746.
Romero, A. 1999. The whales have not been saved.
Meadowlark (Spring):15-16.
Romero, A. 2000. Should Venezuelan
botos be imported into the U.S.? Whalewatcher
32:13-
15.
Romero, A. & K. Hayford. 2000.
Past and present utilisation of marine mammals in
Grenada,
West Indies.
Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 2(3):223-226.
Romero, A., A. I. Agudo, S. M. Green, & G. Notarbartolo di
Sciara. 2001.
Cetaceans of
Venezuela: Their distribution and conservation
status. NOAA Technical Reports NMF
151:1-60.
Romero, A., R. Baker, J. E. Creswell, A. Singh, A. McKie &
M. Manna.2002.Environmental
history of marine mammal exploitation in
Trinidad and Tobago, W.I. and its ecological impact.
Environment and History 8:255-274.
Romero,
A., K. T. Hayford, Andrea Romero & J. Romero. The marine mammals
of Grenada,
W.I., and their
conservation status. Mammalia
66:479-494.
Romero, A. & J. Creswell. 2005. In the land of the
mermaid: how culture, not ecology,
influenced marine mammal exploitation in the Southeastern
Caribbean, pp. 3-20,
In: Romero, A. & S. West (eds.). Environmental Issues in
Latin America and the
Caribbean. Springer.
Romero, A. & S.D. Kannada. 2006b.
Comment on “Genetic
of 16th-century whale bones
prompts a revision of
impact of Basque whaling
on right and bowhead whales in the western
North Atlantic”.
Canadian Journal of
Zoology
(7):1059-1065.
Romero, A.
2006. “More private
gain than public good”: whale ambergris exploitation in
seventeenth-century Bermuda.
Journal of
Archaeology and
Maritime History
17:5-27.
Romero, A.
2008. Between war and poverty:
whaling in eighteenth century Bermuda. Bermuda
Journal
of Archaeology and
Maritime History
18:7-32.
Manuscripts in Preparation
The marine mammals of Trinidad: their
distribution and conservation Status (with J.
Creswell, R.
Baker, J.E. Creswell, A. Singh,
A. McKie & M. Manna).
Romero, A. & S.M. Green.
Environmental History of Marine Mammal Exploitation
in the
Caribbean. Florida
University Press (Book).
Romero, A. & J.E. Creswell. Until the
whales were gone: the environmental history of
whaling in
Barbados.
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3. Graduate
Assistant
Michel Conner will be the TA. He
will be helping me with course and lab preparation
and field assistance. He will be available to help
you with your assignments. Tracy Klotz will
be aiding with the dissections and skeleton
mountings. |
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4. Textbook
and Supplies
4.1. The
Textbook
I will be
providing you with all the written material that you
will need in the course that will be posted in
BlackBoard 8.
4.2. Other
Supplies
I recommend that
you obtain a CD-ROM or a flash drive to download the electronic
material I will be e-mailing you. |
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5. Other
Resources
5.1. Library
Resources: Our Library is
very poor in terms of marine mammals literature.
However, I have a private library with numerous
books and more than 8,400 catalogued reprints on the
subject and the CD-ROM and paper version of the
complete collection of Marine Mammal Science.
You are welcome to use those resources in my office
under Michel's supervision.
5.2. Computer
Resources: All officially
enrolled students have access to the E-mail system.
I heavily use the system to communicate with you (up
to several times a week). Please check your email
regularly for class announcements (and keep your
email box as empty as possible). You can also send
me email to ask me questions or to engage in
discussions with your colleagues. Please avail
yourself of this opportunity. |
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6. Academic
Approach
I give the best
of myself in each one of my classes in order to
offer you the opportunity to maximize your chances
of learning lasting lessons in science. I consider
myself motivational, challenging, and enthusiastic.
I encourage questions during lectures and will stop
lecture until you are satisfied that your question
has been answered. I greatly appreciate students
who come to me for further discussion and
inquiring. Please do not hesitate to see me to
discuss the subject as well any problem that may
arise regarding class schedule and grading. At the
same time, I have high expectations for your
personal growth and success as a student in this
semester. If you cannot figure something, I expect
you to see me so we can seek a solution to the
problem. I will do my best to ensure that you learn
the maximum and that your effort is rewarded with
good grades. I take a great deal of pride on how
much my students learn and on the well-earned grades
they receive.
Note that this
is a two-credit course. Your total effort per
week should average 4 hours.
Recording and
Duplication of Course Materials
Lecture
presentations, lecturer's notes and outlines,
handouts, and exam materials are the property of the
instructor and may not be recorded or duplicated for
commercial use or sale without the permission of the
instructor. Students are permitted to record
lectures for individual use only. Commercial
note-taking services are expressly prohibited. |
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7. Office
Hours
My policy
regarding office hours is that if I am in my office
or my lab, I am available. I will try not to have
scheduled meetings right after class, the most
convenient time to talk for all. If you need to
discuss something that requires a lot of time,
please make an appointment.
Room Number: LSE 201A
Phone Number: (870) 972-3194
Email address: aromero@astate.edu |
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8. Evaluation
Criteria
Exams:
Your performance in this course will be evaluated
based on two exams: a mid-term and a a final.
No
make-up exams or quizzes will be given under any
circumstances, not even in cases of tardiness. If a
student misses a scheduled examination s/he will
receive a grade of zero. All deadlines must be
met. No excuses will be accepted.
The grading
scale is as follows:
Points Grade
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
Below
60 F
Incomplete
grades will be given only in rare cases where the
student suffers from some type of physical
disability or illness that prevents the completion
of the second half (that is after the first exam) of
the quarter. Medical documentation will be
required.
If you feel I
have erred in grading, please let me know, and I
will regrade your entire exam. You might get points
back, but then again, I might see something I missed
before... |
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9. Letters of
Recommendations
Those students
that have excelled in my class can always count on
strong letters of recommendation upon request. |
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10.
Attendance
Attendance is
expected at ALL sessions. This is a hands-on
course, so class that you will cannot be recouped.
Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each
class. I can be flexible if in a very occasional
fashion you are late and I will give you an
"attended" mark for that day. However, regular
tardiness will not be excused. Since there is not
textbook, students are expected to come to all
sessions. I reserve the right to penalize those who
do not attend by not granting favors. Class
attendance is one of the major characteristics that
employers are interested in when hiring new
employees because it tells a lot about one's
commitment to assigned tasks and the ability to deal
with varying life situations. For example, there is
an increasing tendency for some students to miss a
class in one course in order to study for a test
scheduled later in the day. Although there might be
times when such decisions are necessary, studies
suggest this is usually not a valid decision. Not
only does it seldom result in a significant increase
in the test score, it is considered an indication of
lack of confidence and/or poor time management. The
problem is usually magnified when one is later
tested without adequate notes (or no notes) from the
missed class. If you must miss class for any
reason, you should get notes from two classmates,
review the notes, and then see me to clear up any
questions about the missed class. It is best to do
this by the next class period since the importance
of the missed notes often quickly diminishes with
time only to resurface the day before a exam or
perhaps during the exam. |
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11. Academic
Honesty
To ensure the
highest standards of academic honesty and ethical
behavior, the Honor Code will be strictly enforced.
In other words, do not even think about any behavior
that may be construed as academic dishonesty,
plagiarism, misrepresentation, or cheating.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to
the following:
A. Cheating on an examination, taking
information or allowing information to be taken from
test.
B. Receiving help from others in work
to be submitted, if contrary to the stated rules of
the
course.
C. Plagiarizing, that is, taking and
passing off as one's own the ideas, writings or work
of another, without citing the source. This is true
whether the material used is only a brief excerpt or
an entire paper or article and whether the original
source is the work of another student or some
publication.
D. Submitting work from another
course.
E. Stealing examinations or course
material.
F. Falsifying data and/or records.
G. Assisting anyone to do any of the
above.
The honor code protects the honest
student, the reputation of Arkansas State
University, and the value of degrees earned here.
We should all support it both by personal honesty in
all things and by refusing to tolerate dishonesty in
others. Any graded work must be performed
completely unaided. Students must report to me any
suspected cheating. If you have any questions about
your assignment, plagiarism, or the Honor Code,
please contact me. |
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12.
Withdrawals
You are the sole
responsible for fulfilling all necessary steps to
formally withdraw from this course. |
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13. Students
with Special Instructional Needs
If you have any
special needs related to learning or testing in this
course, please let me know as soon as possible so I
can address those needs. |
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COURSE OUTLINE
January: Introduction.
Dissection of a seal and preparation of a baleen.
February: Survey of Marine
Mammals by using slides, posters, and videos. Study of skull casts.
Lecture on
Skull Anatomy
Review
Session
1st.
Exam
March:
Study of casts continues. Skeleton articulation
starts.
Spring Break
March-April: Complete skeletons
articulation. Marine mammals acoustics lab. Review Session
Final
Exam |
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Pictures of the
2005 Seal Dissection
(Pictures by Joy
Trauth)
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Disclaimer:
The information contained
in this syllabus is as accurate as possible, but may
be subject to change with reasonable advance
notice. The schedule and content of lectures and
assignments may be changed at the discretion of the
instructor upon oral notification in class. Changes
may involve additions, deletions, substitutions, or
changes in sequence or due date.
FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS
CONTAINED IN THIS SYLLABUS COULD CAUSE YOU TO GET A
POOR GRADE IN MARINE MAMMALS LAB
The cover:
A seal dissection of the class of 2002.
This page is
maintained by
aromero@astate.edu |
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Dissection of a
porpoise (Spring 2007)
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