ZOO * 4330 – Biology of Fishes W (2-3) [0.50]

This course provides a comparative examination of selected freshwater and marine fishes to illustrate the significance of environmental influences on life styles, behavioral patterns, physiological responses, population biology and community structure. The use of niche, habitat and ecotope concepts in defining the role of fishes in representative types of aquatic ecosystems will be examined.





Posted By : Anonymous
Posted On : August 19, 2020

Is the textbook recommended by the student? No
Did the student enjoy the professor? Yes
Professor : Dr. Nicholas Bernier

Comment :
Interesting topic, required course for Marine&Freshwater Bio students. There is a lot to learn as it covers a wide range of topics, from the body shape to systems physiology and behavioural response. Bernier is a great prof and passionate about the class, but he was struggling to fit the day\'s topics into lectures. Every week there were required readings/case studies to discuss within the class, not for marks but it was sad to see the prof disappointed when no one could answer his questions so people usually try to keep up with them. No textbook for the course, but the lab outline has important details in some of the topics. References to case studies and reading assignments also important and a few came up in the midterm and final. Lab component was fine and followed the lectures closely, so it was a good way to reinforce what you learned. Writing assignments were lab activity based too, and the marking is appropriate for a 4th year level bio course; i.e. don\'t expect a last minute paper to get over 75. Midterm was fair, but covers a lot. Lecture and lab finals were fine (both written assignment/worksheet type, 2hr time limited for lecture final) but this was after the switch to online due to the pandemic. If this is a required course, you can work through it to a decent grade. It encompasses a lot of things previously taken in physiology courses, so not a lot of brand new info. Not a particularly easy or difficult course, but needs time put into the material.
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