Biology of Bryophytes and Lichens EEB 3240-001 & 001L (4 credits)
Spring 2017 Lectures: T/TH 11.00 AM-12.15 PM Lab W 1.25-4.25PM
Lectures and laboratory in TLS181.
Contact Information
Bernard Goffinet
Professor
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
office: 300 Pharmacy/Biology Building
voice: +1 860-486-5290
email: bernard.goffinet@uconn.edu
home page: http://bryology.uconn.edu
Teaching Assistant
Charles Delavoi
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
office: 316 Pharmacy/Biology Building
voice: +1 860-486-6306
email: charles.delavoi@uconn.edu
Office hours by appointment
LABORATORY ATTENDANCE
You are required to attend the labs. If you miss 3 labs or more, without a valid written excuse you will automatically fail the class.
If you miss a lab you have to let the TA know no later than the morning of the lab, if you would like to make up the lab at a later point. If you fail to notify the TA and request to make up the lab, you will not have an opportunity to do so.
LECTURE FINAL
You can download the study guide for the final (This is the one from 2011; it may be updated this spring, so check it again later).
Textbook and readings
There is no official text book. Instead, you will be assigned readings from the primary literature to go with the lectures. The reading is required, and the material covered in the paper is part of the lecture material, and hence subject to questions on the midterm and final.
Articles to read will be uploaded onto the UCONN dropbox; each article listed is linked to the dropbox. You will only have 2 weeks following posting for the article to be downloaded.
You can also scroll to the bottom of the page to the list of references where I provide a link to the website that provides access to the pdf (if you are logged into the UCONN system).
Two books that are relevant and available in the library: Introduction to Bryophytes by A. Vanderpoorten & B. Goffinet (2009). This book is the most appropriate external reference for the class. Other books are Shaw & Goffinet (2000) Bryophyte Biology or its latest version Goffinet & Shaw (2008) and Nash (Lichen Biology). If you are interested, you can buy them. I can also order them at a discount (although it may come out close to what you get on line with major distributors).
A great on-line resource is a book composed by Dr. Janice Glime (Michigan Technological University) entitled Bryophyte Ecology. This is a well illustrated and comprehensive text with many interesting facts to any plant biologist.
Grade
The final grade is calculated based on your lecture grade (60%: midterm and – in part cumulative – final each worth 25%, and each of the two assignments worth 5%) and lab (40%: 30% final based on hands-on labs, and 5% of your paper presentation, 2.5% for summaries and 2.5% for participation in discussions).
Bryophytes & Lichens outside the classroom – Twitter
Throughout the semester you will be responsible for “tweeting” at least once a week about Bryophytes and/or Lichens. Your tweets should feature bryophytes or lichens in popular culture, the media, or photos you have taken of bryophytes or lichens. Photos should include info on what the photo depicts. Media links should include a relevant comment or description of the link. In order to receive credit you must include #LichenBryosUConn in your tweet.
Example tweet: Wow! Chimps caught using mosses as drinking sponges! #LichenBryosUConn http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29429405 …
To make a twitter account: https://twitter.com/signup
If you are not able to participate via twitter, see Lily before the end of Lab on 1/28 for an alternative way to participate.
News or other information
Feb. 10. In todays lecture I mentioned the role of micro arthropods in dispersing sperms cells; you can find that short but great to read paper here. Also, following the class a couple of you asked if mosses would produce compounds to attract the arthropods. The answer can be found here (you can just read the abstract).
Schedule
Date | Topic | Reading | Laboratory |
Jan. 20 | General Introduction to course | Lab safety and Microscopy | |
Jan. 22 | Bryophytes in the context of land plant evolution Outline Figures Assignment 1 |
Shaw & Renzaglia 2004Wickett et al. 2014 | |
Jan. 27 | Liverworts: complex thalloids and simple thalloids | ||
Jan. 29 | Marchantiophyta or liverworts | Goffinet& Buck 2013 Read Shaw & Renzaglia and Goffinet & Buck. |
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Feb. 3 | Marchantiophyta or liverworts Lecture notes Assignment 1 answer sheet |
Read Shaw & Renzaglia and Goffinet & Buck. | Liverworts: simple thalloids and leafy liverworts Question on paper for discussion due. See instructions below: |
Feb. 5 | Lecture cancelled | ||
Feb. 10 | Bryophyta or mossesLecture notes1 slide/page2 slides/page | Read Shaw & Renzaglia and Goffinet & Buck. | Discussion 1 on Liverworts Lab on Mosses |
Feb. 12 | Bryophyta or mosses Moss peristome structure |
Read Shaw & Renzaglia and Goffinet & Buck. | |
Feb. 17 | Anthocerotophyta or hornworts Lecture notes |
Read Shaw & Renzaglia and Goffinet & Buck. | Mosses |
Feb. 19 | Symbiotic associations with bryophytes | Read Bidartondo et al. | |
Feb. 24 | Symbiotic associations with bryophytes Lecture notes |
Discussion 2 on Mosses Lab on hornworts |
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Feb. 26 | Land plant evolution Lecture notes |
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Mar. 3 | Land plant evolution (cont.) and Bryophyte diversification | Identifying bryophytes | |
Mar. 5 | Bryophyte diversification | Read Laenen et al. | |
Mar. 10 | Bryophytes evo-devo Lecture notes |
Read Menand et al. | Discussion 3 on hornworts Identifying bryophytes |
Mar. 12 | Midterm (lecture Jan. 20–Mar. 5) | ||
Spring break |
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Mar. 24 | Lichenized fungi Lecture notes |
Introduction to lichen diversity | |
Mar. 26 | Morphology and anatomy of lichens Lecture notes |
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Mar. 31 | The photobiont diversity (guest lecture y Dr. Fucikova) Lecture notes |
Identifying lichens | |
Apr. 2 | Morphogenesis: patterns of specificity, selectivity and co-evolution in lichen symbionts Lecture notes |
Reading: Hawksworth (2015) Lichen Life-style | |
Apr. 7 | Morphogenesis: development of a lichen thallus | Reading: Rikkinen et al. 2002 | Discussion 4 on lichen symbiosis: photobiont and lichen growth form.Identifying lichens |
Apr. 9 | Lichen chemistry Lecture notes |
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Apr. 14 | Origin and Evolution of Lichenization Lecture notes |
Discussion 5 on lichen symbiosis: photobiont physiology.Identifying lichens | |
Apr. 16 | Biogeography of lichens and bryophytes: testing biogeographic hypotheses; a case study. Guest lecture by Lily Lewis. Lecture notes |
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Apr. 21 | Biogeography and bryophyte diversity: resolving species diversity in disjunct taxa. Guest lecture by Dr. Rafael Medina. Lecture notes. |
Review of bryophyte and lichen identification | |
Apr. 23 | Biogeography Lecture notes. |
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Apr. 28 | Discussion 6 on invasiveness of bryophytes | Lab Final | |
Apr. 30 | TBA | ||
Final lecture exam Study guide |
List of articles to read:
Bidartondo, M., D. J. Read , J. M. Trappe , V. Merckx , R. Ligrone & J. G. Duckett. 2011. The dawn of symbiosis between plants and fungi. Biological Letters 7: 574–577. (pdf)
Laenen B., B. Shaw, H. Schneider, B. Goffinet, E. Paradis, A. Désamoré, J. Heinrichs, J.C. Villarreal, R. Gradstein, S. McDaniel, D. Long, L. Forrest, M. Hollingsworth, B. Crandall-Stotler, C. Davis, J. Engel, M. von Konrat, D. Cooper, J. Patiño, C.J. Cox, A. Vanderpoorten & A. J. Shaw. 2014. Extant diversity of bryophytes emerged from successive post-Mesozoic diversification bursts. Nature Communications 5: 6134 (doi:10.1038/ncomms6134)
Shaw, J. & K. Renzaglia. 2004. Phylogeny and diversification of bryophytes. American Journal of Botany 91(10): 1557–1581. (pdf)
Wickett, N.J. and many co-authors. 2014. Phylotranscriptomic analysis of the origin and early diversification of land plants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111: E4859–E4868 (pdf)
Lab Discussions
There will be six discussions on primary literature during the course of the semester. You will each be required to lead one of the discussions, as a pair. Discussion leaders should be able to lead a discussion that covers the theme, objectives, rational, and implications of the assigned paper. Discussion leaders may use PowerPoint or other creative ways of introducing the paper and opening discussion. Papers will be assigned 2 weeks prior to the discussion. Discussion leaders should volunteer (or will be selected) 2 weeks prior to discussion. All students will help in the creation of questions for discussion. These questions should be designed to provide starting points for discussion, and relate to understanding the background, objectives, and implications of the paper. Questions should not be short answer style.
Discussion timeline:
2 weeks prior to discussion (see syllabus for discussion dates)
- Paper assigned
- Discussion leaders volunteer
1 week prior to discussion
- All students send at least one question to Charlie via email no later than noon.
- Charlie will send out the compiled questions to all students via email
Day of discussion (in lab)
- Discussion leaders give brief introduction on theme, objectives, rational, and implications of assigned paper
- Discussion leaders guide discussion around compiled questions
- All students are required to contribute during discussion
You will be assessed in three ways:
- Discussion leadership (on the day you volunteer for)
- Contribution of questions 1 week before each discussion
- Participation in each discussion
Please contact Lily if you have any questions.