TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES: LIFE HISTORY AND ECOLOGY
Life history, ecology, distribution, and taxonomy of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. Birds will receive less emphasis. Primary focus is on Wisconsin species, including conservation threats, but covers all major North American families, and surveys major groups of the world. Designed as a foundation for detailed study of vertebrates or to satisfy the need for a scientific introduction to Wisconsin vertebrates.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: ZOOLOGY/BIOLOGY/BOTANY 151 , ( ZOOLOGY/BIOLOGY 101 and 102 ), ( BIOCORE 381 and 382 ), or graduate/professional standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Natural Science & Wellness + Lab Breadth - Biological Science Level - Intermediate L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Provide examples of species for each major terrestrial vertebrate order, including basic life history information associated with each example Audience: Undergraduate 2. Identify the geographic area where major terrestrial vertebrate orders reach their greatest abundance and the approximate number of extant species in each major order Audience: Undergraduate 3. Compare and contrast key morphological, physiological, and behavioral differences that contribute to broad life history strategies among terrestrial vertebrate classes and that contribute to distinctions among selected finer scale taxa Audience: Undergraduate 4. Compare and contrast the body plan, behavioral and physiological adaptations, geographic distribution, and traits contributing to abundance or rarity for terrestrial vertebrate species found in Wisconsin Audience: Undergraduate 5. Identify and provide the scientific name of all mammals, reptiles, and amphibians in Wisconsin and identify and provide the common name of a subset of Wisconsin birds Audience: Undergraduate 6. Identify, by sound, all Wisconsin anurans (frogs and toads) and a selection of birds Audience: Undergraduate 7. Identify the majority of Wisconsin mammal species from the skull alone, or from a combination of skull plus skin Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Provide examples of species for each major terrestrial vertebrate order, including basic life history information associated with each example Audience: Undergraduate 2. Identify the geographic area where major terrestrial vertebrate orders reach their greatest abundance and the approximate number of extant species in each major order Audience: Undergraduate 3. Compare and contrast key morphological, physiological, and behavioral differences that contribute to broad life history strategies among terrestrial vertebrate classes and that contribute to distinctions among selected finer scale taxa Audience: Undergraduate 4. Compare and contrast the body plan, behavioral and physiological adaptations, geographic distribution, and traits contributing to abundance or rarity for terrestrial vertebrate species found in Wisconsin Audience: Undergraduate 5. Identify and provide the scientific name of all mammals, reptiles, and amphibians in Wisconsin and identify and provide the common name of a subset of Wisconsin birds Audience: Undergraduate 6. Identify, by sound, all Wisconsin anurans (frogs and toads) and a selection of birds Audience: Undergraduate 7. Identify the majority of Wisconsin mammal species from the skull alone, or from a combination of skull plus skin Audience: Undergraduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027