Vertebrate Structure and Function

This course offers an integrative exploration of vertebrate origin, evolution, diversity, and adaptive radiation, with a primary focus on understanding the relationship between an animal’s form and its function. By examining the evolutionary ancestral build plans, students learn how morphology reveals insights into the adaptations and constraints shaping vertebrate diversity. Some basic biomechanics is introduced as a tool to uncover the physical constraints that influence structural evolution, helping students interpret the links between form and function within evolutionary contexts.

Key topics—such as comparing morphology at the organismal, organ, and tissue levels—are covered in lectures based on textbooks and research papers including the most current literature on these topics. Students engage in small group discussions guided by targeted questions, encouraging in-depth exploration of these subjects.

Laboratory sessions give a comprehensive view of vertebrate structural biology, training students to recognize connections among structure, function, behavior, and environment. During one module (spanning seven half-days), students study major body plans through dissection. Another module (four half-days) focuses on microscopic anatomy and its functional implications, bridging macroscopic and microscopic perspectives.

In the final segment, students collaborate in small groups on mini-research projects. After conducting individual measurements and dissecting a chosen bird, each group investigates a different aspect of avian functional morphology, such as wing and muscle design and adaptations for flight. Each group will present their findings, followed by group discussions to analyze and integrate the research results. An optional excursion to a museum or zoo is arranged to complement the learning experience.

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:

• Identify synapomorphic traits across different vertebrate groups, recognizing the evolutionary relationships between them
• Recognize and interpret morphological tissues and structures in animal specimens and be able to accurately explain their functions and evolutionary and ontogenetic origin
• Explain theories on vertebrate origins and the common ancestry among vertebrate groups
• Compare evolutionary developments in the structural blueprints of various vertebrate species, relating these adaptations to specific functional needs
• Use physical laws - such as forces, diffusion, and scaling - to analyse the adaptations seen in the vertebrate body plan
• Assess an animal’s functional morphology by evaluating its behavior and ecological niche, connecting form and function to environmental demands

Mandatory Knowledge:
ZSS06100 Laboratory Safety
Assumed Knowledge:
EZO10306/EZO10806 Zoology (previously Human and Animal Biology I)
HAP20306 Human and Animal Physiology (previously Human and Animal Biology, part II)