INTEGBI 177LF
Ichthyology: An Introduction to the Scientific Process Through Research on Fishes
Did you know that our closest living fish relative can build a cocoon and hibernate for three years? Or that some fish make a living by eating scales? This class will conduct publishable research in evolution, ecology, and behavior by doing actual science on fishes. We will attempt to answer unknown questions about the evolution of fascinating adaptations in diverse groups of fishes in both the laboratory and field.
Topics
- This class is meant to be an introduction to research through ichthyology: students are not expected to have any prior research experience. The primary focus throughout the semester will be on independent group projects conducting laboratory and field experiments testing hypotheses about our focal fish groups: scale-eating pupfish, sponge-eating cichlids, cocoon-building lungfish, Monterey kelp forest communities, and four-eyed fishes. By focusing on these diverse study systems, students will receive a broad perspective on how to investigate and test hypotheses about adaptation in the field and lab. The class will include three field trips, high-speed video of prey capture, and detailed studies of behavior, ecology, and functional morphology.
- Students will be taught how to generate original hypotheses, collect and analyze data in the R statistical programming language, discuss scientific literature, present their research, and publish their results. Students will ask their own independent research questions and conduct experiments to answer them. Lecture topics will focus on the evolution, ecology, behavior, anatomy, and biodiversity of fishes, with an introduction to concepts including adaptationism, natural selection, convergent evolution, exaptation, tree thinking, evolutionary novelty, behavioral ecology, applications to human health, and conservation.
Official catalogue course objectives and student learning outcomes
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027