The Biology of Sex
BIOL 106
Spring 2009
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01
02
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The Biology of Sex will be featured as a General Education course within the Department of Biology. Serving to complement courses currently offered within Biology that only touch upon the subject of sex, this course will dive into specifics regarding sexual behavior and will serve to highlight new discoveries that have been facilitated by novel scientific techniques and approaches. As we study the biology of sex in the animal world, it becomes apparent that sex is achieved in a multitude of ways, many appearing rather bizarre and flamboyant. Yet under these guises, animals are still able to mate and reproduce. Sex is often defined according to sexual reproduction, whereby two individuals that are male and female mate and have offspring. However, many organisms engage in asexual reproduction and/or a combination of the two reproductive strategies. Reproductive anatomy and behavior will be addressed as we explore a variety of organisms ranging from marine mollusks and their "sex changes" as well as the (female) marmoset monkey who can give birth to chimeras (an offspring with more than two parents). As an organism pursues sex, what are the mating strategies, are all genes selfish (individual selection vs. group selection), and what are the chemicals of sex (pheromones and hormones)? By examining the biology of sex in detail we will also debate age-old topics such as whether sexual reproduction is sexist, and whether differences in the male and female brain dictate male and female behavioral profiles. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Logical Reasoning, Speaking
All students will give an oral presentation to the class on a scientific paper that they have read and mastered. Logical reasoning is vital in the study of animal behavior when theory and mechanisms are explained and need to be matched with real (animal) behavioral scenarios.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
NSM BIOL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Fedigan, Linda Marie. 1992. PRIMATE PARADIGMS: SEX ROLES AND SOCIAL BONDS. University of Chicago Press.
Forsyth, Adrian. 2001. A NATURAL HISTORY OF SEX: THE ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF MATING BEHAVIOR, Charles Scribner¿s Sons.
Diamond, Jared. 1992. THE THIRD CHIMPANZEE: THE EVOLUTION AND FUTURE OF THE HUMAN ANIMAL, Harper Perennial.
Judson, Olivia. 2003. DR. TATIANA¿S SEX ADVICE TO ALL CREATION: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY OF SEX, Vintage Books.
Cronin, Helena and Smith, John Maynard. 1993. THE ANT AND THE PEACOCK: ALTRUISM AND SEXUAL SELECTION FROM DARWIN TO TODAY, Cambridge University Press.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Grades will be determined by a midterm, a final exam, a short public presentation, and participation in classroom discussions. |
| Instructor(s): Powzyk,Joyce Ann Times: ..T.R.. 01:10PM-02:30PM; Location: SHAN201; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 24 | | SR major: X | JR major: X | | |
| Seats Available: -5 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 6 | JR non-major: 6 | SO: 6 | FR: 6 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 12 | 1st Ranked: 3 | 2nd Ranked: 2 | 3rd Ranked: 2 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 4 |
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