BIOLOGY 319 VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY
VERTEBRATES IN THE NEWS DISCUSSION & SUMMARIES

On 10 dates during the semester (specific Fridays, see dates below) you will be required to discuss and hand in summaries of recent news items concerning non-human vertebrates (minimum of 3 summaries per date, maximum of 5 summaries per date). These items can be taken from newspapers, magazines, internet, television, or radio. For each item, include:

a) the source (where you found it),
b) the date of the source,
c) the title of the article, and
d) a brief, one or two sentence summary.

Please number each summary 1, 2, 3, and so on. The summaries need not be typed, but if I can't read your handwriting, you won't get credit for your work, so be neat. The purpose of this assignment is to make you aware of the many interesting things happening with vertebrates every day and to get you talking about these issues with your peers. We will spend time (~30 minutes) on each of those 10 dates discussing these vertebrate current events.

Examples of news stories that you may find include:

- new species of deer discovered in Thailand

- dolphins dying mysteriously along Atlantic coast
- monitor lizards having virgin births around the world

- massive search underway for Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Arkansas

- frogs populations declining dramatically on all continents

- "living fossil" fish discovered off coast of India

You will not receive credit for summarizing:

- articles about non-vertebrate animals: REMEMBER--VERTEBRATES INCLUDE FISH, AMPHIBIANS, REPTILES, BIRDS, AND MAMMALS.  Do NOT summarize articles about insects, crustaceans, jellyfish, clams, and other such invertebrates.

- human news stories
- local fishing tournament results

- livestock market reports

- pet blog updates

If you know you will not be attending class on a date when these summaries are due (I am certain this will never happen, but just in case), you must turn in your written summaries early. Summaries turned in late (after I call for them in class) will be credited to the following date's assignment. Summaries delivered to my office or mailbox during or after class will not be accepted for that date's assignment. Failure to participate in a weekly discussion (due to lack of attendance or displaying no willingness to participate in discussions) will result in a loss of points (50% of points possible) for that week (see below).

These assignments will comprise up to 100 points. Each date's discussion and summaries will be worth up to 10 points.

5 summaries + participation = 10 points; 5 points lacking participation

4 summaries + participation = 8 points; 4 points lacking participation

3 summaries + participation = 6 points; 3 points lacking participation

2 or fewer summaries = 0 points

Assignment due dates:

Friday, January 12

Friday, January 26

Friday, February 2

Friday, February 9

Friday, February 23

Friday, March 15

Friday, March 22
Friday, April 5

Wednesday, April 10

Friday, April 19