ZOOL210 Vertebrates

Teaching consists of lectures, laboratory exercises and field courses. Learning outcomes shall be reached as follows: 1) Training in identifying species through lab exercises, study visits to the Zoological Museum in Oslo and the Drøbak Aquarium, independent study at the study collection at MINA, and through demonstrations and exercises at the field course. 2) The taxonomical location of the species will be presented through lectures, exhibitions of preparations at laboratory exercises, and study visits to the Zoological Museum in Oslo. 3) The ecology of the species and especially their use of habitat will be presented through lectures, demonstrations and practical exercises in the field course. 4) The relationship between morphology and way of living of Norwegian vertebrates will be covered in the lectures. 5) The evolutionary origin and characteristic ecological traits of the species used in Norwegian domestic animal keeping, furbearing animal production, fish rearing, and pet animal keeping will be covered in the lectures.

The course is based upon modules and digital tools such as teaching videos, interactive videos, and multiple choice tasks. In advance of the laboratory exercises, students will see a video in which the connection between morphology and ecology for Norwegian vertebrates at family level is reviewed. By seeing the review on their own, the time of the exercise could be used to a greater extent for interaction with the teacher (flipped classroom). At the field course, students will work in small groups of 6-8 under the guidance of a teacher. In this group, they collect different types of material, process it, and present the results in plenary.