Lectures:

Lectures will include systematic treatments of amphibians and reptiles covering their taxonomy, distribution, fossil history and general morphology but the major emphasis of the course will be discussions of specific topics of biological interest pertaining to certain groups of amphibians and/or reptiles.

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Textbooks:

“Key to the herpetofauna of the continental United States and Canada” second edition, revised, by Powell et al. (2012), is required for the labs.

“A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America”, third edition revised, by Conant and Collins (1998) - highly recommended for labs and field trip.

“Herpetology” 4nd edition, by Vitt and Caldwell (2013) - recommended general text.

Also available in the lab: «Noms français standardisés des Amphibiens et des Reptiles d'Amérique du Nord au nord du Méxique.» (2012) – official names list (French and English), inexpensive ($3) and useful.

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Labs:

Labs will be held weekly. The aim of the lab is for you to learn to recognize, identify, and understand amphibians and reptiles and they will deal primarily with the identification of species and higher taxa. You will be especially responsible for learning to identify the native Quebec herpetofauna and know about their habits and life histories. A few live animals will be on display but there will necessarily be a heavy reliance upon preserved specimens. The lab manual contains information about classification and keys for identifying North American species. However, the lab is about animals and not about how to use keys. You are encouraged to use other books also, particularly the recommended field guides. The labs will be "open" in that there will be no formal assignments or other things to hand in. Materials, information, and assistance will be available during lab periods but, except for certain demonstrations, all materials will be available at any time. You can arrange with the T.A. to look at specimens outside of the regularly scheduled lab period. The final lab exam may contain questions about any of the materials or topics presented in the lab course.

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Field Trip:

There will be a field trip to [the Arboretum] to learn some field techniques and see live animals. Details will be announced. Wear clothes suitable for walking through the forest and in mud. Expect to remember something of the field trip for the final lab exam.

 

Marking Scheme and Assignments

Quizzes (based on lecture material, given during lab time) - 15% (in total).

There will be 10 short quizzes given every week, except for the week of the lab exam, at the beginning of lab periods that will concern lecture material from the preceding weeks (or 2).

Final Exam - 30%

This will be a cumulative final exam that will be based solely on lecture material. It will be scheduled for the formal exam period in December.

Lab Exam - 20%

There will be a single, final lab exam which will consist of two parts: a closed book "musical chairs" exam concentrating on local fauna, morphology and the characteristics of genera and higher taxa; and an open book exam where you will be asked to identify to species 20 North American amphibians and reptiles.

Essay - 25%

Each student will prepare an essay (ca. 2500 words) on a topic concerned with some aspect of the biology of amphibians and/or reptiles. Topics must be cleared with [the professor] before September 17th so please see him about this as early as possible so that a suitable topic can be agreed upon. A first draft will be due October 25th.

The first draft will be marked and returned and you will have the option to revise and resubmit your essay by the end of the last day of classes for the term. Marks will be deducted for late essays. The final mark will be the average of the marks for all drafts submitted.

Seminar - 10%.

The findings contained in your essay will be presented to the rest of the class in the form of a short seminar lasting no more than 12 minutes. The last three lab sessions will be reserved for these seminars. The order of speakers will be chosen at random. The seminar schedule will be announced as soon as all the essay topics are cleared. Seminars will be evaluated in part by the entire audience, the TA and the professor. The seminar sessions simulate the atmosphere of an actual scientific meeting, complete with a break for tea, coffee, and cookies.