This course addresses not only classic topics, but also 
important historical subjects/papers and recent research on 
each group of invertebrates. The evolution of invertebrates 
will be discussed, especially concerning potential causes of 
evolutionary trends. Students will have exposure to most phyla 
of animals on earth.

LECTURE

1.  Protozoans
2.  Poriferans
3.  Cnidarians
4.  Platyhelminthes
5.  Pseudocoela
6.  Annelida
7.  Mollusca
8.  Arthropoda
9.  Lophophora
10. Echinodermata
11. Chordata

We will talk about characteristics of each group, how each group
interacts with their environment, what they feed on, how they
digest food, how they reproduce, how they move, what their
nervous system is like, how they osmoregulate, how they breathe,
what skeletal components they have, and how they excrete wastes
out of their body. We will cover the important historical and
recent research on the ecology and/or biology of each group.

LABORATORY

We will look at materials that support the lecture: live 
animals, animals in the collection, microscope slides, and 
literature. We will do an experiment illustrating both the 
biology/ecology of the group and the experimental techniques 
involved in doing science.

Examples:
Protozoans - “competitive exclusion principle,” Ho: One
protozoan will grow faster than others, soon dominating the 
test tube 

Poriferans – FW sponges produce “gemmules,” an inactive form
during the fall/winter, Ho: gemmules will hatch out and form
sponges faster in warmer water than in cooler water (climate 
change)

Cnidarians – stinging cells = nematocysts, Ho: anemones that are
recently fed eat fewer brine shrimp than anemones that are not 
fed

Platyhelminthes – chemical gradients in the body of a flatworm,
Ho: head sections of a flatworm will form heads, even when
implanted on a posterior piece of flatworm 

Pseudocoels – rotifers play key roles in FW ecosystems, Ho:
rotifers eat all sizes of food (filtered pond water, look at how
long they survive)

Annelids –  Ho: earthworms prefer bright lights (to darkness) 
and a wet paper towel (compared to a dry paper towel)

Molluscs – some molluscs have “periostracum” protecting their
shell, Ho: ocean acidification will affect clams/snails that do
not have periostracum on their shells 

Arthropods – we will do an experiment with insects, crabs, or
amphipods, depending on which is available

Echinoderms – starfish are “keystone predators,” Ho: keystone
predators only eat one kind of prey (we will offer a starfish
various food types, including sponge, arthropod, and fish food)

Chordates – we will do an experiment on tunicates, looking at 
feeding and/or climate change

Many of these experiments will take more than one week to get an
answer. Students will write up a 1-page report, including the
hypothesis, brief intro and methods, results, and 
discussion/conclusion.