This course surveys the environmental factors, historical processes and ecological interactions that influence the distribution and abundance of plant species in the landscape and informs conservation of rare and threatened plant species. The class examines how plant communities are assembled and what processes influence their structure and diversity, including past and present human activities, climate change and exotic species.

Diverse fields from ecology to neuroscience rely on measures of animal behavior to reveal new insights into how individuals interact with their physical and social environments. Scientists integrate both high-tech (remote imaging, AI) and low-tech (human observation) solutions to record, track, and analyze patterns of behavior in the wild and in the lab. This course gives students experience with several methods of quantifying and analyzing animal behavior in both field-based and lab-based investigations.

There is increasing evidence of epigenetic phenomena influencing the development of organisms and the transmission of information between generations. These epigenetic phenomena include the inheritance of acquired morphological traits in some lineages and the apparent transmission of RNA caches between generations in plants, animals and microbes. This seminar explores emerging data on epigenetics and discusses the impact of these phenomena on evolution. Participants write an independent research paper on a topic of their choice. Prerequisite: BIO 230, BIO 232 or equivalent.

This colloquium explores a class of phenomena broadly categorized as “resistance.” Specifically, the course asks whether the heterogeneous settings in which that term arises suggest a single underlying mechanism leading to resistance, or conversely, whether disparate phenomena have been inappropriately grouped together under a single rubric. Resistance is a concept has been evoked at all levels of biological (and non-biological) organization, from the viral to the political.

This lab covers genomic analysis pipelines from nucleic acid isolation to sequence analysis in Linux and R environments. Students independently design and execute a high-throughput sequencing experiment to measure genetic variation in natural populations. Corequisite: BIO 336. Prerequisite: BIO 230, BIO 232 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 15.

Ongoing developments in high-throughput sequencing technologies have made genomic analysis a central feature of many scientific disciplines, including forensics, medicine, ecology and evolution. This course reviews the scope and applications of genome sequencing projects. After completing the course, students are prepared to design a high-throughput sequencing project and interpret the results of genomic analysis. Corequisite: BIO 337. Prerequisite: BIO 230 or BIO 232. Enrollment limited to 15.

Instrument specific course highly recommended for students interested in using state-of-the-art microscopy techniques in research (special studies, honors, SURF, etc.). Participants get exposure to basic and advanced light and electron microscopy techniques available at Smith. Mechanical and optical components are reviewed. Operational parameters for improving image quality and data collection using digital imaging and image analysis techniques are discussed.

Offered as BIO 308 and NSC 308. Formerly BIO 310. Molecular level structure-function relationships in the nervous system. Topics include development of neurons and glia, neuron-specific gene expression, molecular biology of neurological disorders and the mechanisms of nervous system plasticity and repair. Prerequisites: BIO 200 and NSC 210 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20.

How does a single cell give rise to the complexity and diversity of cells and forms that make up humans? Developmental biology answers this question by spanning disciplines from cell biology and genetics to ecology and evolution. The remarkable phenomena that occur during embryonic development is presented in concert with the experiments underlying the current knowledge. This is an interactive class experience using “flipped classroom” approaches as well as web conferencing with the prominent developmental biologists whose research the class covers.