| Relevance of Course Objectives and Core Learning Outcomes(%) |
Teaching and Assessment Methods for Course Objectives |
| Course Objectives |
Competency Indicators |
Ratio(%) |
Teaching Methods |
Assessment Methods |
| On completion of the course the students will become familiar with the basic principles and procedure of delimitation and identification of species and other taxa; acquire a solid theoretical knowledge of phylogenetic analysis with cladistic methods; will become able to read and understand taxonomic papers; and improve their English vocabulary, listening and oral skills. |
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| topic Discussion/Production |
| Discussion |
| Lecturing |
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| Course Content and Homework/Schedule/Tests Schedule |
| Week |
Course Content |
| Week 1 |
Introduction. Taxonomy and systematics as tools of exploring biodiversity. The taxon. Typical taxonomic problems and how to approach them. |
| Week 2 |
An introduction to the theory of taxonomy and systematics. The species. Theoretical problems, species concepts and their limits. |
| Week 3 |
Species and populations: infraspecific variability, genetic and non-genetic variation, polytypic species, infraspecific taxa. |
| Week 4 |
Basic principles of evolution. Speciation and its relevance to classification. |
| Week 5 |
Reconstructing evolution: General concepts of phylogenetic analysis. Different kinds of evidences used in systematics. Constructing and understanding phylogenetic trees, different types of trees and their interpretations. |
| Week 6 |
Morphological evidence: homology and its criteria. Characters, character states, homology, homoplasy. Parsimony. Plesiomorphic and apomorphic characters. Trait evolution, divergent and convergent evolution, parallelism. |
| Week 7 |
Molecular evolution and molecular phylogenetic methods. Evolutionary statements inferred from DNA sequences. Model-based methods. |
| Week 8 |
The quest for integrative taxonomy: involving attributes of the extended phenotype into the classification. New species supported by molecular sequences. |
| Week 9 |
Mid-semester exam. |
| Week 10 |
Taxonomy in practice: descriptive taxonomic procedure and its basic methodology. Establishing identity of a specimen. Delimiting and recognizing species. Examination methods. Species discovery |
| Week 11 |
The taxonomic literature: resources. How to search information online. Taxonomic databases. |
| Week 12 |
The taxonomic literature: publications. Types and structure of taxonomic works. |
| Week 13 |
Higher taxonomic categories, basis for their recognition, ranking. Classification and its criteria, hierarchy. Similarity and relatedness. Artificial and natural classifications. Turning cladograms into formal classifications. |
| Week 14 |
Biological collections and their role in research of taxonomy and systematics. From a dead animal to a biological specimen. Preservation of voucher material and type material. |
| Week 15 |
Naming the diversity: biological nomenclature. A brief overview of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Availability and validity, synonymy, homonymy. |
| Week 16 |
Writing and publishing your own taxonomic paper. Publication strategy.
Review, discussion, extra topics, summary, conclusion of the course.
Final exam. |
self-directed
learning |
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| Evaluation |
Mid-semester exam results: 40%
Final exam results: 40%
Written home assignments: 20% |
| Textbook & other References |
Baum, D.A. & Smith, S.D. 2013. Tree thinking. An introduction to phylogenetic biology. Roberts & Co., Greenwood Village, xx+476 pp.
Futuyma, D.J. & Kirkpatrick, M. 2017. Evolution. (Ed. 4.) Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, [XIX]+[602]+[14]+18+30+4+32 pp.
Mayr, E. & Ashlock, P.D. 1991. Principles of systematic zoology. Ed. 2. McGraw-Hill, New York, St. Louis etc.,
xx+475 pp.
Winston, J.E. 1999. Describing species. Practical taxonomic procedure for biologists. Columbia University Press, New York, xx+518 pp. |
| Teaching Aids & Teacher's Website |
| to be determined |
| Office Hours |
| to be determined |
| Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs(Link URL) |
| | include experience courses：N |
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