BIO 280 Ecology
Course Syllabus
Fall 2008
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BIO 280 Labs |
Instructor: Dr. James B. Ferrari
112 Munroe Science Center
Office Phone: 757-5227
Home Phone: 757-0293
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 1 - 2 PM
Tuesday, Thursday, 10 - 11 AM
Or by appointment
BIO 280: Ecology
COURSE INFORMATION: FALL 2008
Course Prerequisites: BIO 110 and BIO 112, or permission of instructor
Course Objectives:
1. To become familiar with current theory in ecosystem, population, and community ecology
2. To carry out ecological research, analyze data, and write scientific research reports.
3. To experience the diversity of approaches in modern ecology: field research, lab experiments, and computer modeling.
4. Apply ecological principles to understand current environmental issues (e.g., global warming, biodiversity)
Meeting Times, Places: Lecture: Period C (1:30-2:45 T, Th) – Munroe 109
Lab: Periods D-E (3-5:45, Th) – Munroe 109 and the great outdoors
A note about labs: Outdoor labs meet rain or shine, so come prepared no matter the weather. Long pants are a must when in the woods (mosquitoes, briars, poison ivy!), as are sturdy shoes (or rubber boots).
Textbook: Molles, M.C., Jr. 2008. Ecology: Concepts and Applications. 4th ed. McGraw-Hill, N.Y.
ISBN 978-0-07-305082-9
Reserve Readings: Readings from the current ecological literature are an integral part of the course. Literature readings will be found on reserve in the library and/or in a folder in Munroe 109. You will want to photocopy these materials for use in class discussion.
Grading: Lecture material (45%):
Exams 1 and 2 (13% each) 26%
Final Exam 19%
Problem Sets and Other Assignments (55%):
Lab reports, lab worksheets, problem sets 30%
Independent Research Project and Poster 15%
Paper presentation(s) and written summary(ies) 10%
Grading Policy: All assignments are to be turned in by the deadline specified in the syllabus or otherwise communicated during the course of the semester. Any assignments received after the deadline will be penalized at a rate of one letter grade (i.e., 10%) per day, including weekends. This policy will be enforced in order to be fair to those students who respect deadlines and therefore manage to submit their work by the due date, even though it may not represent their finest work. Students should only request extensions in cases of acute illness or family emergencies.
Absence Policy: It should go without saying that I expect regular attendance: excessive unexcused absences from class will be reported to the Dean in accordance with college policy. Absences on the day when a student is scheduled to lead a class discussion will result in a grade of F for the assignment.
Exam Format: Exams will feature several different types of questions: multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, short essay, and long essays. The final examination is cumulative.
Class Presentations: In addition to regular class lectures, there will also be frequent discussions of papers from the literature; furthermore, many of these discussions will be led by students. Student discussion leaders will also write and distribute to the class a typed one-page summary of the paper. All students are expected to read every paper and contribute to the discussions.
Independent Research Projects: Students will work in small groups (2-3) to design and carry out an independent research project (IRP) that will culminate in the production of a scientific poster. Students will also give an oral presentation of their research during a final poster session held during lab period. The timeline for the projects is as follows:
By Week 5 (September 11): Form research groups and meet with professor to discuss possible
project ideas.
Friday, September 26 (5 pm): submit formal research proposal. Proposals should include the
following: list of participating students, clear statement of the experimental question and
hypotheses, brief description of the experimental design, estimated time line, a detailed list of
equipment and materials needed, and a bibliography with at least three relevant references from
the primary research literature.
Thursday, October 9: oral presentation of research proposal to the class. The goal of this class
session is to share ideas, give and receive friendly criticism, and refine the experimental design.
October 9 – December 4: carry out research, primarily outside of class or lab time; part or all of
lab time will be available for projects beginning in mid- to late November. The entire lab of
November 20 is available for IRP field work and/or data analysis.
December 4: Final IRP poster presentations during the lab period. The format of the posters will
be described in a handout or web link.
By semester end: clean up your experiments and return all materials and equipment.
Biology 280: Ecology Wesleyan College
Fall 2008
SYLLABUS
Date Topic Lab Chapter in Molles
ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY
8/14 Th Introduction to Ecology and How to Do It No lab meeting 1
8/19 T Macroclimate and the physical environment 2
8/21 Th Aquatic ecosystems Aquatic ecosystems 3
8/26 T Environment, form and function 4-5
8/28 Th Discussion: Forest Ecology Forest Communities #1
9/2 T Energy and ecosystems: productivity, efficiency 18
9/4 Th Element cycles (C & N) Forest Communities #2 19
9/9 T Global Ecology (ozone, warming, N deposition) 23
9/11 Th Discussion: Human impacts Forest Communities #3
9/16 T EXAM 1
POPULATION ECOLOGY
9/18 Th Natural Selection Human impacts 8
9/23 T Population Distribution and Abundance 9
9/25 Th Discussion: Plant Competition Headstone demography
9/30 T Population dynamics 10
10/2 Th Population models Plant competition #1 11
10/6-7 M-T FALL BREAK – no classes
10/9 Th IRP Proposal Presentations Population modeling #1
10/14 T Life histories 12
10/16 Th Sexual Selection Population modeling #2 7
10/21 T Kin selection 7
COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
10/23 Th EXAM 2 Plant competition #2
10/28 T Competition 13
10/30 Th Predation and herbivory Avian Diversity #1 14
11/4 T Discussion: Avian Ecology
11/6 Th Mutualism Avian Diversity #2 15
11/11 T Species diversity 16
11/13 Th Disturbances and communities Avian Diversity #3 16
11/18 T Discussion: Community Ecology
11/20 Th Interactions and community structure Independent Research Projects (IRP) 17
11/25 T Succession 20
11/26-28 W-F THANKSGIVING BREAK -- no classes No lab meeting
12/2 T Island biogeography 22
12/4 Th Discussion: Diversity and community stability IRP Poster Presentation
12/9 T FINAL EXAM (cumulative), 8:30 AM
Biology 280: Ecology Wesleyan College
Fall 2008
Policies on Cheating and Plagiarism
Cheating and plagiarism are serious academic crimes and will be treated as such. Consult the student handbook for policies regarding violations of the Wesleyan College Honor Code.
Cheating:
What constitutes cheating? Some examples may serve to clarify:
- Looking at someone else’s paper during a quiz or exam;
- Exchanging answers during an exam by oral, written, or nonverbal means (i.e., collaborating);
- Using crib sheets, notes, or the textbook during a quiz or exam;
- Using any electronic device (calculator, cell phone, portable recording device, etc.) to store or
receive notes or other unauthorized aid;
- Using any source other than your own memory to develop an answer to an exam question;
- Sharing answers with another student on any assignment that is supposed to be completed independently.
Any exam, quiz, worksheet, or other assignment on which a student has received unauthorized aid will be given a grade of F.
Your reputation among the faculty and your fellow students is a precious and fragile thing. Don’t put yourself in a compromising position when it comes to your behavior during and after exams.
During exams:
Clear your desk of all notes, books, cell phones, backpacks, etc.;
Ask for permission to use the restroom during exams;
Do not wander the building;
Do not converse with other students.
After exams:
Refrain from discussing the exam, as there may be students who will be taking a make-up exam or there may be another section of the same course taking the exam on another date.
Plagiarism:
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines plagiarize as “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own; to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.” Any assignment (e.g., term paper, lab report, or worksheet) with evidence of plagiarism will receive a grade of F. Examples of plagiarism:
- Using a passage from a published work without using quotation marks or crediting the source;
- Submitting as your own work an assignment written by anyone other than yourself;
- Paraphrasing the words of another without giving credit for the source of the ideas.
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BIO 280 Labs |