Insect Classification (11:370:409 and 16:370:524)

View Syllabus (83k PDF)

Description

Summary of Content

This course will teach students to properly identify insects of New Jersey to the family level. In addition to identification, students will learn fundamental phylogenetic concepts as they apply to the arthropod tree of life and the basic evolutionary processes that lead to the wealth of insect (and arthropod) diversity.

Student Audience

Advanced undergraduate (esp. Entomology and Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources) and graduate students at SEBS and SAS will benefit from training in approaches to insect identification and broader taxonomic concepts.

Course Website and Online Content

A course website is published using the Canvas course management system, and includes lecture .pdf, readings, and links to online resources such as websites and journal articles.

Course Assessment

60% of the grade (50% for graduate students) will consist of quizzes that challenge students to I.D specimens to order and family (lab quizzes), and openended answer questions regarding lecture material. At the end of the course, students will turn in a properly curated insect collection worth 40% of the course grade.

Graduate students will be expected to provide a short (~12 minute) powerpoint talk during the penultimate class. This talk should describe a relatively recent phylogenetic reassessment of an insect lineage (at any level [order, family, genus]) that resulted in a "generally accepted" taxonomic change or amendment to the insect tree of life. Describe any evidence in favor of or opposing this change. This will be worth 10% of your grade.

Readings

Selected scientific articles, book chapters, and writings from the popular press. There is currently no required textbook; PDF substitutions of Borror & Delong’s Introduction to the Study of Insects will be provided.

Schedule

Tuesday and Wednesdays, 10:20am - 1:20pm in Blake room 101. The lab will entail hands-on examination of the teaching collection to become familiar with identification of New Jersey insect orders and families. Lab quizzes will then be given to test student ability to identify these orders and families.

Lab Quizzes

The quizzes will be given at the conclusion of each major lab module; this is generally about once every 2 - 3 lectures, however some insect orders are quite large and may require 2–3 lab sessions to complete. Undergraduate students may use taxonomic keys provided in class (generally the Borror & Delong text) to aid in their identification during the quizzes. Graduate students may not. The exact number of specimens and time allotted for the quiz will be determined as the quiz nears. Each quiz may include up to two written answer questions from the lecture material itself.

Tentative Schedule

Topics will be presented in the following order:

1. Course intro / Systematics vs. Taxonomy and the insect Tree of Life
2. The Arthropoda
3. The Hexapoda and hexapod orders
4. Entognathous insects (Protura, Collembola and Diplura)
5. Apterygote insects (Archaeognatha and Zygentoma)
6. Palaeoptera (Odonata and Ephemeroptera)
7. Polyneoptera 1 - Zoraptera, Dermaptera and Plecoptera
8. Polyneoptera 2 - Orthoptera, Mantophasmatodea and Grylloblattodea
9. Polyneoptera 3 - Embioptera and Phasmatodea
10. Dictyoptera - Mantodea, Blattodea and Isoptera
11. Condylognatha 1 - Thysanoptera, Hemiptera I
12. Condylognatha 2 - Hemiptera II
13. Psocodea, Hymenoptera
14. Raphidioptera, Megaloptera and Neuroptera
15. Coleoptera I
16. Coleoptera II
17. Amphiesmenoptera - Trichoptera and Leptidoptera
18. Antliophora - Siphonaptera, Mecoptera and Diptera I
19. Diptera II

Rutgers’ Academic Integrity guidelines can be found at academicintegrity.rutgers.edu and will be adhered to in the class. Note that in all presentations, the source of the material presented must be cited explicitly on the first slide.

Academic Integrity Policy at Rutgers University requires every student to:

1. properly acknowledge and cite all use of the ideas, results, or words of others.
2. properly acknowledge all contributors to a given piece of work.
3. make sure that all work submitted as his or her own in a course or other academic activity is produced without the aid of unsanctioned materials or unsanctioned collaboration.
4. obtain all data or results by ethical means and report them accurately without suppressing any results inconsistent with his or her interpretation or conclusions.
5. treat all other students in an ethical manner, respecting their integrity and right to pursue their educational goals without interference. This requires that a student neither facilitate academic dishonesty by others nor obstruct their academic progress.
6. uphold the canons of the ethical or professional code of the profession for which he or she is preparing.

Adherence to these principles is necessary in order to insure that

1. everyone is given proper credit for his or her ideas, words, results, and other scholarly accomplishments.
2. all student work is fairly evaluated and no student has an inappropriate advantage over others.
3. the academic and ethical development of all students is fostered.
4. the reputation of the University for integrity in its teaching, research, and scholarship is maintained and enhanced.

Rutgers University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a student with a disability must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation (see Documentation Guidelines) (Links to an external site.) If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability services office will provide you with a Letter of Accommodations. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. To begin this process, please complete the Registration Form (Links to an external site.)