BIO220H1S - From Genomes to Ecosystems in a Changing

World
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto

Course Syllabus - Winter 2024

THE BIO220 TEAM:

Prof. John Stinchcombe • Jill Wheeler, Course and Lab Coordinator
Lectures 1 to 12 • Laura Heslin Piper & Veronica Chong,
Prof. Nicole Mideo Course Administrators
Lectures 13 to 24 • Bianca Sacchi, Lecture TA
• Many Laboratory Teaching Assistants (TAs)
• Dongling Zhao & Jack Hu, Lab Technicians

BIO220 Office – [email protected]

• Please direct all course enquiries to the BIO220 Office, not to individual team mem-
bers; the office will re-direct enquiries as appropriate.
• Location: RW 105-Office Suite (Ramsay Wright Laboratories, first floor) Phone: 416-
978-7588
• Please include your full name and student number when emailing the BIO220 Office
• Administrative office hours: Thursday 2:00-4:00pm, or by appointment; see
Quercus for details

Course description
Dynamics of genetic and ecological change in biological systems, from genomes to eco-
systems. Evolutionary genetic and ecological perspectives on wide-ranging topics includ-
ing disease, aging, sexual conflict, genetics of human differences, conservation, and
global climate change. Applications of evolutionary, ecological, and molecular-genetic
principles and processes. Responsibilities of human societies in a changing world.
Prerequisite: BIO120H1F | Exclusion: BIO150Y1Y | Recommended: BIO130H1S,
BIO230H1F

Required course materials

1. BIO220 Laboratory Manual 2024 (available from the U of T Bookstore in January)
2. Students will need a laptop to bring to Lab 5; further details will be posted on Quercus
3. There will be other required readings available on the course site on Quercus.

Course site on Quercus

The BIO220 site on Quercus (q.utoronto.ca) contains: copy of this course syllabus, an-
nouncements, lecture slides and audio recordings, lab-related content, discussion board,
and grades. Only students who are enrolled in BIO220 on ACORN have access to this site
(within 24-48 hours of enrolling). Some assignments will be submitted through Quercus.
It is mandatory that you check the Quercus announcements at least once a
week and we strongly recommend checking daily. We strongly recommend
turning on announcements in your Notifications setting so that you receive
them as emails.

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Lectures
• Tuesday and Thursday 1:10-2:00 p.m. in Convocation Hall (CH)
• The lecture schedule is available on page v.
• You can find the following materials under the “Lectures Module” on Quercus:
o Slides: Lecture slides will be available on Quercus the day before lecture. To
conserve paper and ink, we request that you consider printing: six slides per
page, on both sides of a page or use previously used paper, and using only
black ink.
o Audio recordings: These are recordings of the audio from lecture, which will be
posted within 48 hours after the lecture. (Note that there is no guarantee that
audio files will be available for a given lecture, as it is possible that recording
equipment could fail.)
o Required readings: These are the pages/articles that you are required to read
before each lecture

Lecture tutorials (optional): Thursdays 12:10-1:00 p.m. in room 2102 in Sidney

Smith Hall (100 St. George St.). This is the time when you can ask the Lecturer ques-
tions about the content of the lectures. Attendance is optional. Format is “question and
answer.” Please note that the lecture tutorials are offered instead of the Lectur-
ers holding office hours.

Laboratories
• Starting Jan. 12, laboratory enrolment/ changes can ONLY be made by the BIO220
Office.
• Check the “Grades” link on Quercus after 5:00 pm on Monday, Jan. 15; there will be a
column that shows a code that corresponds to the week, day, time, and room number
of your lab.
• Labs run every other week. See the detailed schedule on page x of the lab manual.
• Week 1 (P**01) labs begin the week of Jan. 22; Week 2 (P**02) labs begin the week
of Jan. 29.
• All labs are held on the first floor of Ramsay Wright (RW) building, at 25 Harbord St
• Labs are 2.5 hours in length. Tuesday morning labs start at 9:30 am; Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon labs begin at 2:30 pm; Thursday evening labs
begin at 6:30 pm. (There are no BIO220 labs on Mondays or Fridays.)
• A lab coat is required for all BIO220 labs
• Procedures for requesting a temporary lab change (for example, due to illness) are
discussed in the “Important policies and procedures” section on the page iii of this syl-
labus.

Academic support
• Questions on lecture content can be (1) directed to the Lecturer during the weekly
Lecture Tutorial, or (2) discussed with fellow students on the BIO220 discussion forum
on Quercus, which is monitored by the BIO220 Lecture TA.
• Questions on laboratory content can be (1) directed to Jill Wheeler during her office
hours (see “Course Contact Information” on Quercus), or (2) posted on the BIO220
discussion forum on Quercus.
• The BIO220 discussion forums on Quercus are for students to post their questions
regarding course material. It is expected that students will respond to their class-
mates’ questions.
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Copyright
Lectures and course materials prepared by the instructors are considered by the Univer-
sity to be an instructor’s intellectual property covered by the Copyright Act, RSC 1985, c
C-42. Course materials such as PowerPoint slides, lab manual, and lecture recordings are
made available to you for your own study purposes. These materials cannot be shared
outside of the class or “published” in any way. Posting recordings or other course materi-
als to other websites without the express permission of the instructor will constitute cop-
yright infringement.

Evaluation
Lecture material, including required readings 73%
Lab material, including required readings 27%

Evaluation details:
Midterm Test: Friday, March 1st, 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm (90 minutes)
- Content: multiple-choice questions covering Lectures 1 to 12 (Prof. Stinch-
36%
combe), including required readings. (Lab material will not be evaluated on the
Midterm Test.)
Final Exam: during April 10-30 exam period (exact date TBA), 2 hours
- Content: multiple-choice questions covering Lectures 13 to 24 (Prof. Mideo),
41%
and Lab Chapters 1 to 3, including required readings. (Material from Lectures 1
to 12 is not covered on the Final Exam.)
Laboratory quizzes and assignments (see page xi of Lab Manual for detailed
22%
info)
Course Survey
We conduct our own survey at the end of term to receive feedback about stu-
1%
dents’ learning experience in the course. This evaluation is not associated with
the course evaluation administered by the Faculty of Arts and Science.

Important course policies and procedures (read these carefully!)

1. Your grades for BIO220 will be visible to you on Quercus. It is your responsibility to
check your grades regularly and report any inconsistencies to the BIO220 Office as
soon as possible.
2. It is also your responsibility to check your U of email account on a frequent basis, as
any urgent communications will be sent that way. Failure to see an email will not be
accepted as an excuse.
3. Please do not email individual staff members; please send all course-related
email to [email protected]. The course administrator will forward your email to the
appropriate team member. Include ‘BIO220’ in the subject, and your full name and
student number in the body of the message. Use your U of T email address or your
email may be diverted to Junk Mail.
4. You must complete and submit a minimum of 5 laboratory assessments (i.e., quizzes
and assignments) to pass the course. If you do not complete and submit at least 5 of
the laboratory assessments, you will receive a maximum course grade of 49%.
5. The Midterm test and the Final Exam consist of multiple-choice questions; marks are
not deducted for incorrect responses. No aids are permitted (no cell phones, calcula-
tors, dictionaries, etc.). A T-Card or other photo identification is required to write the
test and exam.

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6. If you miss the Midterm test, you must email the BIO220 Office within 24 hours
of the missed test. Medical documentation is not required for absences due to illness.
The make-up test is usually written one week following the Midterm Test.
7. If you miss the Final Exam, you must contact your College Registrar and initiate
a petition to write a deferred exam (do not contact the BIO220 Office). If your peti-
tion is granted, the exam is typically written during the next Faculty Examination Pe-
riod.
8. Test conflict with a scheduled class: If you have a scheduled class at a time when
the Midterm is being written, your class takes precedence (i.e., attend your class).
Contact the BIO220 Office no later than Thursday February 22 to arrange to write an
alternate sitting. If you do not notify the BIO220 Office before this deadline, we will
not be able to arrange an alternate sitting of the test for you. Please provide a copy of
your timetable as proof of the conflict.
9. If you miss your scheduled lab period, you must contact the BIO220 Office within
48 hours (i.e., 2 days) of the missed lab to find out if space is available to attend
another lab during the two-week period that each lab is offered. If a make-up lab
cannot be arranged, you will be given an opportunity to make up any in-class assign-
ment that you missed (where applicable). It is important to note that you can request
a make-up for one missed lab without documentation. If you miss multiple labs due
to illness or extenuating circumstances, please contact the BIO220 Office to discuss
further accommodations. Note that the due date for lab quizzes and assign-
ments do not change, regardless of whether you miss a lab or attend a make
up lab. You are responsible for submitting any assignments that are due for
the lab you will miss. No extensions will be granted for assignments on or af-
ter their due date.
10.If you arrive late to lab, the teaching assistant will send you to see the Course Co-
ordinator. She will decide if you have missed too much of the lab and therefore can-
not complete it.
11.The University of Toronto is committed to accessibility. If you require accommoda-
tions, or have any accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom or course
materials, contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible: accessibil-
[email protected] or studentlife.utoronto.ca/as.
12.Read the instructions for the Climate Change Report for important policies
about this assignment. These instructions will be posted on Quercus by late Janu-
ary.
13.Extension Policy: If you require an extension for an assignment due to illness or ex-
ceptional circumstances, contact [email protected] before the assignment dead-
line. Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
14.BIO220 has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism. Plagiarism is “to represent as
one’s own any idea or expression of an idea or work of another in any academic ex-
amination or term test or in connection with any other form of academic work.” This
includes (but is not limited to) failing to paraphrase a source in an assignment, even
when it is cited. Please note that although it is acceptable for students to discuss the
lab content (e.g., lab activities, lab results, and assigned articles) together, each stu-
dent must complete and write their assignments independently (unless otherwise in-
dicated). It is not acceptable for two (or more) students to submit an assignment with
highly similar text.
15.Plagiarism Detection Tool: Students will submit the Climate Change Report to a
plagiarism detection tool. Normally, students will be required to submit their course
essays to the University’s plagiarism detection tool for a review of textual similarity
and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to

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 be included as source documents in the tool’s reference database, where they will be
used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the Uni-
versity’s use of this tool are described on the Centre for Teaching Support & Innova-
tion web site (https://uoft.me/pdt-faq).
16.The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is strictly prohibited in
all course assessments in BIO220. This includes, but is not limited to, ChatGPT,
GitHub Copilot, and open-source models that you have trained and/or deployed your-
self. You may not interact with, nor copy, paraphrase, or adapt any content from any
generative AI for the purpose of completing assignments in this course. Use of gener-
ative AI will be considered use of an unauthorized aid, which is a form of academic
misconduct under the Code of Behavior on Academic Matters
17.If you wish to request that an assignment be re-graded, following Faculty of Arts and
Science policies, you must submit your request no later than 2 weeks after receiving
its grade. Requests should be submitted to [email protected]

Schedule for Lecture, Tutorials, Labs, and Tests

Tuesday Thursday
Tutorial
Lecture in in Lecture in
Week Date Labs
Con Hall SS 2102 Con Hall
1:10-2 p.m. 12:10-1 1:10-2 p.m.
p.m.
1 Jan 8-12 No labs 1 (Stinchcombe) yes 2 (Stinchcombe)
2 Jan 15-19 No labs 3 (Stinchcombe) yes 4 (Stinchcombe)
3 Jan 22-26 1-1 5 (Stinchcombe) yes 6 (Stinchcombe)
Jan 29-Feb
4 1-2 7 (Stinchcombe) yes 8 (Stinchcombe)
2
5 Feb 5-9 2-1 9 (Stinchcombe) yes 10 (Stinchcombe)
6 Feb 12-16 2-2 11 (Stinchcombe) yes 12 (Stinchcombe)
7 Feb 19-23 Reading Week – no classes
13 (Mideo) yes 14 (Mideo)
Feb 26-
8 3-1 Midterm Test Mar 1, 5:30-7:00pm (Lectures 1
Mar 1
to 12)
9 Mar 4-8 3-2 15 (Mideo) yes 16 (Mideo)
11 Mar 11-15 4-1 17 (Mideo) yes 18 (Mideo)
12 Mar 18-22 4-2 19 (Mideo) yes 20 (Mideo)
13 Mar 25-29 5-1 21 (Mideo) yes 22 (Mideo)
14 Apr 1-5 5-2 23 (Mideo) yes 24 (Mideo)
Faculty exams (April 10-30): Final Exam (Lectures 12 to 24, and Lab Chapters
1 to 3)

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