Undergraduate Course Listing

- Department of Biological Sciences -

Undergraduate Course Listing

(F=Fall Semester; Sp=Spring Semester)



BIO 129 - Perspectives in Human Biology (3.5) (F): Lectures and laboratory for students who need to fulfill one year of science plus one semester of lab, a general education requirement. A non-majors course focusing on human biology. Topics include conception, prenatal development, birth, postnatal development, reproduction, aging, disease prevention and treatment, and end of life. LEC/LAB A non-majors course; not an elective for any degree program in the Department of Biological Sciences.
BIO 130 Perspectives in Human Biology (3.5) (Sp): Lectures and laboratory for students who need to fulfill one year of science plus one semester of lab, a general education requirement. Structural and functional characteristics of living things emphasizing human biology and genetics; the significance of these characteristics with respect to the future of humanity. LEC/LAB A non-majors course; not an elective for any degree program in the Department of Biological Sciences.

BIO 200 Evolutionary Biology (5) (F): Evidence for evolution; principle of genetics; population genetics; selection natural, sexual, kin; evolution of major groups of organisms; speciation; adaptation; coevolution; and sociobiology. LEC/LAB

201 Cell Biology (4) (Sp): Lectures emphasize experimental foundations of our understanding of cells and cell organellesand cover the mechanisms underlying cell reproduction, cell motility, and cell energetics. Laboratories provide practice in quantitative analysis emphasizing pipetting, pH, spectrophotometry, and centrifugation. LEC/LAB

BIO 203 General Physiology (3) (F) (Formerly BIO 328)
Prerequisites: BIO201: Material covers general principles of physiology, using cells, plants, and animals as models to illustrate mechanisms by which living organisms maintain internal function and adapt to their external environment. LEC

BIO 205 Fundamentals of Biological Chemistry (3) (Sp)
Prerequisite: CHE201, CHE203, or CHE251: A basic course in the fundamentals of biological chemistry for students majoring in biological science and nonmajors with an interest in the subject. LEC

BIO 211 Cell Biology Honors Enrichment (2) (Formerly BIO 338)
Co-requisites: Any Section of Cell Bio (BIO 201 A, B, or C)
BIO 213 General Physiology Laboratory (2) (F) Formerly BIO38 Pre- or Corequisite: BIO203: Computer lab experiments to familiarize students with the types of experiments used to demonstrate physiological principles developed in BIO 203.
BIO 215 Fundamentals of Biological Chemistry Laboratory (2) (Sp)
Prerequisites: CHE101: An introductory laboratory course in biological chemistry. Experiments will deal with the basic methods of isolation, measurements, and characterization of macromolecules. LAB/LEC

BIO 302 Introduction to Molecular Biology (3) (F)
Prerequisites: BIO205 OR Pre-co-requisite BCH 403: Structure and function of molecules, such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids. Enzymes and energetics. Nucleic acid synthesis, replication, transcription, protein synthesis, the genetic code. LEC

BIO 309 Ecology (3) (F)
Prerequisite: BIO200: Processes that control the abundance and distribution of organisms in their natural environments; emphasizing population, community and evolutionary ecology. LEC

BIO 310 Ecology Methods (2) (F)
Pre- or corequisite: BIO309: Field exercises to illustrate major concepts of modern ecology, and the techniques and procedures used in ecological research. LAB/LEC

BIO 317 Medical Entomology/ Parasitology (3)
Prerequisite: BIO201: The course will relate to latest scientific advances in medical entomology, and vector ecology. It will synthesize information gathered about arthropod-borne disease from a variety of research areas, such as evolutionary biology, biochemistry, epidemiology, and ecology. The course will involve field trips and experiments in the Greater Buffalo Region and/or adjacent states. The course is especially suited for students planning a career in the medical, veterinary and public health/ epidemiological sciences. LEC

BIO 318 Plant Biology(3) (S)
Prerequisites: BIO200, BIO201: This course focuses on land plants and algae. Topics include photosynthesis, water relations, plant nutrition, reproduction, development, ecology, economic botany, and others, depending on student interest. Topics will be covered from molecular to organismal levels.

BIO 319 Genetics (3) (F)
Prerequisites: BIO205 or BIO403: Basic principles of genetics emphasizing the molecular basis of heredity. Structure, replication, and function of the genetic material, regulation of gene expression, and genetic recombination. LEC

BIO 329 Genetics Laboratory (2) (F)
Pre- or corequisite: BIO319: This semester-long series of experiments is planned to simulate an actual research project. The students will generate a mutation and isolate the normal gene to complement it. The normal and mutant genes will be analyzed using techniques from molecular biology and bioinformatics. LAB/LEC

BIO 330 Development and Evolution (3) (F)
Required: BIO367 or permission of instructor: In recent years, evolutionary biology has begun to significantly inform developmental biology, and developmental biology has been increasingly important for the study of evolution. Evolutionary patterns long apparent in morphological disjunctions among organisms have sought mechanistic, regulatory explanations, and many cell and molecular processes known from developmental regulation in model organisms have yearned for a comparative framework. The new 'science' of evo-devo is thought to hold this promise, and this course will both review important findings from recent decades, and explore topics on the current cutting edge. LEC
BIO 332 Development Biology (3) (S)
Prerequisites: BIO 302 or BIO 319: Hands-on experience with cellular and molecular techniques used in today's research environment. These techniques include the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoblotting, and recombinant protein purification. REC/LAB

BIO 367 Developmental Biology (3) (Sp)
Prerequisite: BIO319: Cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in growth and differentiation in animal and plant development. LEC

BIO 369 Biology of the Microbes (3) (F)
Prerequisites: BIO205: This course gives an overview of the cell biology, genetics, development, physiology, ecology, and pathology of a wide variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes. The course also includes information about the immune system and its interactions with microbes. LEC

BIO 370 Developmental Biology Laboratory (2) (Sp)
Pre- or corequisite: BIO367: The morphological aspects of vertebrate development as seen in the chick embryo will be studied. Various techniques used to study developmental processes will be presented. LAB

BIO 400 Bioinformatics / Genome Analysis (4) (Sp)
Prerequisites: BIO319 or permission of instructor: Computerized analysis of genetic information from a biological perspective. Lectures focus on assumptions, limitations, and strategies of bioinformatics algorithms and statistics. Labs use computers to address biological questions. LEC/LAB

BIO 401 Advanced Biological Chemistry I (4) (F)
Prerequisite: BIO205 or BCH403: Structure and function of biological macromolecules: proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates; mechanisms of enzyme catalysis, energy transduction, and metabolic regulation. LEC

BIO 402 Advanced Cell & Developmental Biology (4) (F)
Prerequisites: BIO205: Major topics in cell and developmental biology are covered at the advanced textbook level. Emphasis is placed on the experimental basis underpinning our current knowledge. LEC

BIO 404 Advanced Molecular Genetics (4) (Sp)
Prerequisite: BIO319: Studies of genetic fine structure of eucaryotes and procaryotes and their viruses, the structure of controlling regions and their interactions with regulatory molecules, the organization of the genome, the structure and function of repetitive DNA sequences, and the mechanisms of transcription and replication. LEC (Prerequisite: BIO 319 or equivalent)

BIO 405 Advanced Cell & Developmental Biology (3) (Sp)
Prerequisite: BIO 402: A continuation of Bio 402 covering recent advances in cell and developmental biology at the research article level. LEC

BIO 406 Signal Transduction (3) (F)
Prerequisites: BIO 201: This course discusses how cells respond to stimuli, which encompasses the mechanisms that transmit signals, "crosstalk" between signaling pathways within a cell, and how these signaling pathways generate the multitude of output responses by the cells

BIO 407 Advanced Ecology (3) (Sp): Advanced course in the foundations of ecology emphasizing population and community ecology. Supplements lectures on basic ecological principles and models with discussions of both current and historically important issues. LEC

BIO 410 Biophysical Aspects of Macromolecules (4) (F)
Prerequisites: BIO 205 or BCH403
Corequisites: None: Applications of spectroscopic techniques to determinations of kinetic, thermodynamic, and equilibrium constants characterizing interactions between biological macromolecules. Microtubule assembly, hormone/receptor interactions, and lac repressor binding to DNA. LEC

BIO 411 Tropical Marine Ecology (3) (F)
Prerequisites: BIO 309: Surveys tropical marine ecosystems, with an emphasis on coral reef communities. Examines processes controlling abundance and distribution of marine taxa using primary literature. LEC

BIO 412 Field course in Tropical Marine Ecology (3) (F)
Prerequisites: BIO 411: An intensive two week field course in the Bahamas focusing on coral reef communities. Combining lectures, fieldwork, and laboratory analyses, students conduct in depth studies of Carribbean marine habitats. LEC/LAB



BIO 417 Neurobiology (3) (F)
Prerequisite: BIO 205, or permission of instructor: This course is the first of a two semester sequence with 418 and covers cellular and physiological aspects of the nervous system, including the electrical properties of neurons, signalling within and between neurons, sensory systems and neuroanatomy.

BIO 418 Integrative Neuroscience (3) (Sp) Prerequisite: BIO 417: This course examines the nervous system at the molecular, cellular, and systems levels, focussing on major functions such as perception, motor control, and development, as well as the basis for neural diseases. Second of a two-semester sequence with BIO417.

BIO 440 Experimental Endocrinology (2) (F)
Prerequisites: junior standing in biology or other life sciences, or permission of instructor: Molecular mechanisms mediating cellular integration of peptide hormone influences: role of hormones in cellular function, surface membrane receptor-transduction mechanisms, and nonmembrane receptor-transduction mechanisms. LEC

BIO 448 Endocrinology (3) (F)
Prerequisite: BIO203: Structure and function of the ductless glands as they coordinate physiological activities and influence animal behavior. LEC

BIO 449 Evolutionary and Developmental Biology (3) (F) Prerequisite: BIO 367: This course will explore how growing knowledge of developmental circuits, and their variation, affects our understanding of how organisms evolve. LEC

BIO 456 Evolutionary Genetics (3) (F)
Prerequisite: BIO 319, or permission of instructor: Genetic and population-level processes that underlie evolutionary change; topics include population genetics, the effects of population size and selection, population structure, molecular evolution, intragenomic conflict, molecular phylogenetics, and evolutionary development. LEC

BIO 458 Molecular Ecology(4) (Sp)
Prerequisites: permission of instructor: The use of molecular genetic markers is becoming a wide-spread and important approach to studying ecological phenomena, such as population structure, migration, mating systems, and natural selection. Students in this course learn to isolate and use molecular markers for ecological and evolutionary studies. LEC

BIO 461 Basic Radiation Science (4) (F): Production, properties, interactions, dosimetry, detection, and instrumentation of radiation from radioisotopes, radiation-producing equipment and nuclear reactors, safe-handling procedures, and survey methods. LEC/LAB



495 Undergraduate Supervised Teaching (3) (F; Sp)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor: Enrollees participate as undergraduate teaching assistants under the supervision of faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences. TUT

497 Honors in Biology (1-4) (F; Sp)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor: Research experience during the senior year. Enrollees are sponsored by a member of the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences. Upon completion of the requirements of an honors research project, recognition is noted on the student’s transcript. TUT
498 Undergraduate Research (1-4) (F; Sp)
Prerequisite: permission of instructor: Students collaborate with faculty research mentors on an ongoing faculty research project or conduct independent research under the guidance of a faculty member. TUT

499 Independent Study
Prerequisite: permission of instructor: A program that may include laboratory experience, library research, or tutorial study arranged with a faculty sponsor in the Department of Biological Sciences.

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