Fall 2002
(Syllabus Revised: 20 August 2002)
Biol 3131: Ecology
Instructor: Dr. Peter H. Wyckoff
Office: Science 1375
Phone: x6347
E-Mail: wyckoffp@morris.umn.edu
Web Page: http://cda.morris.umn.edu/~wyckoffp/
Class: MF 1:00-2:05
Lab (sect 2) T 1:00-4:00
Lab (sect 3) W 1:00-4:00
Lab (sect 4) Th 2:00-5:00
Prerequisite: Biol 2101
Office hours: M 2:00-3:00, T 9:00-10:00, Th 1:00-2:00, F 2:00-3:00
“Contrary to popular belief, ecology is neither a form of Zen Buddhism nor a wing of the Democratic Party. Ecology is a science.”
Dr. Daniel Livingstone
African Paleoecologist
The science of ecology informs (or should inform) many of the environmental issues facing society today. Ecology is a relatively young science, growing out of natural history to become a full-fledged discipline in the 20th century. Ecology examines the forces that shape populations, biological communities and ecosystems. This course will introduce you to the breath of modern ecology: from animal behavior to the epidemiology of AIDS, from global warming to the impacts of exotic invaders on community composition. The lab portion of this course will introduce you to a variety of ecological techniques, and it will also give you a hands on tour of many of the community types found in Minnesota: aquatic systems, wetlands, prairies, savannahs and forests. Lab includes a required weekend field trip to Sibley State Park (Saturday, Sept. 28), where we will examine the forces shaping the modern prairie-forest border.
Readings
Text:
Ricklefs, R. 2001. The Economy of Nature (5th ed.). Freeman: New York.
Reserved readings (more may be added later):
1) Calvin, W. H.
1998. The great climate
flip-flop. Atlantic Monthly 281
(1– January issue): 47-64.
2) Penuelas, J. and I. Filella. 2001. Responses to a warming world. Science 294: 793-794
3) Pulliam, H. and N. Haddad. 1994. Human population growth and the carrying capacity concept. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Am. 75(3): 141-157.
4) Tester, J. R. 1995. Minnesota’s natural heritage: an ecological perspective. Minneapolis: U of M. Press.
Tentative Course Schedule
# Date Topic Readings
1. Aug 26 Intro: Why premeds should care about Ecology Chpt. 1
2. Aug 30 Why do environments vary? Chpt. 4
3. Sept. 6 Climate and biomes Chpt. 5
4. Sept. 9 How individuals respond to the environment Chpt. 3
5. Sept. 13 The climate changes Tester (1995), pgs 7-15
Calvin (1998)
6. Sept. 16 Individuals respond to fluctuating
environments Chpt. 9
7. Sept. 20 Environmental change drives evolution Chpt. 16
8. Sept. 23 No Class
9. Sept. 27 Current global change and its impacts Penuelas and Filella (2001)
Review Paper Topic Due
10. Sept. 30 Sex, family, society and evolution Chpts. 11-12
11. Oct. 4 EXAM I
Unit
2: Ecosystem Ecology
12. Oct. 7 Flow of energy through ecosystems Chpt. 6
13. Oct 11 Flow of nutrients and matter in ecosystems Chpts. 7-8
14. Oct. 18 Population structure, growth and regulation Chpts. 14-15
15. Oct. 21 Human population growth and regulation Pulliam and Haddad (1994)
Review Paper Due
16. Oct. 25 Species
interactions Chpt. 17-18
17. Oct. 28 Competition Chpt 19
18. Nov. 1 Co-evolution and mutualism Chpt. 20
19. Nov. 4 Plant diseases and the chestnut blight
20. Nov. 8 AIDS as an ecological problem
Review Paper Revisions Due
Oral Presentation Topic Due
21. Nov. 11 EXAM II
Unit
4: Community Ecology
22. Nov. 15 Community structure Chpt. 21
23. Nov. 18 Community development Chpt. 22
24. Nov. 22 The role of disturbance
25. Nov. 25 Biodiversity Chpt. 23
26. Dec.2 Exotic species and their impacts
27. Dec. 6 Pete’s
research
28. Dec. 9 Wrap-up and review
Final Exam
Thurs, December 19, 8:30-10:30 AM
1. Aug. 26 NO LAB
2. Sept. 2 Mark-recapture study***
3. Sept. 9 Glacial Lakes Field Trip***
4. Sept. 16 Wetlands Office Field Trip***
5. Sept. 23 Aquatic community field trip***
Saturday Field Trip to Sibley
State Park—Sept. 28***
6. Sept. 30 Animal foraging study***
7. Oct. 7 Forest sampling study, part I***
8. Oct. 14 NO LAB—FALL BREAK
9. Oct. 21 Forest sampling study, part II***
10. Oct. 28 Growth, competition and predation study, part I
11. Nov. 4 Growth, competition and predation study, part II
12. Nov. 11 Epidemiology Lab
13. Nov. 18 Ecological Footprint
14. Nov. 25 NO LAB—THANKSGIVING BREAK
15. Dec. 2 Oral Presentation of Ecological Literature
16. Dec. 9 Oral Presentation of Ecological Literature
On days marked with a “***” come dressed to go outside. Do not wear shorts. Wear socks. Bug spray, sunscreen and drinking water can all come in handy.
You will need some sort of hard-backed notebook for lab notes and data collection. Write-in-the-rain books are available at the bookstore, or get a plastic bag to cover your non-waterproof notebook. Pencil does not run in the rain. Pen does.
Lab attendance and the required Saturday field
trip
This class includes a day trip to see forest communities not reachable during a standard 3-hour lab. This year’s trip will be on Saturday, Sept. 28. If you have absolutely cannot attend the Saturday field trip, you can make up for it by writing an additional 3 page, 50 point paper.
You cannot make-up labs without an excused absence. My first choice if you miss your lab is for you to attend another section during the same week’s activity. For example, if you know you have a sports event during your normal Wednesday lab time, make arrangements with me to attend Tuesday or Thursday lab. If you absolutely cannot attend a week’s lab activity, alternate assignments will be arranged.
Grades
Participation 100
Lab assignments 150
Review Paper 150
Oral Presentation 100
Exam 1 150
Exam 2 150
Final Exam 200
---------------------------
Overall Total 1000
At worst: A = 90-100%; B = 80-90%; C = 70-80%; D = 60-70%; F
< 60%.
I may curve up, but I will not curve down.
Grade expectations
Satisfactory work demonstrating a simple, but largely complete, grasp of the course material will receive a “C.” An “A” or a “B” requires you to demonstrate more thought and sensitivity to nuance.
Partial credit on problems and calculations will only be given if you show your work. If I explicitly ask you to show your work on a homework or exam problem, then a mere answer is not enough (even a correct answer)—you must show me how you reached your answer.
On average, this course should require 12 hours a week of work (4 credits* 3 hours a week per credit). That means that you should expect to work an average of 8 hours a week outside of class. If the work associated with this class appears to be either too light or excessive, please let me know.
Policy on incomplete grades
In accordance with University policy, incomplete grades will only be awarded under extraordinary circumstances. Normally, I will only consider awarding an incomplete in cases where illness or family emergency cause a student to be unable to complete the very last assignments in a course (end of the semester projects, final exams, etc.). You can only be eligible for an incomplete if your average on all graded, completed work is greater than an F.
Attendance policy
Lecture attendance is not mandatory, but I will take attendance and deduct 5
participation points for each unexcused lecture absence. Tests will be based primarily on material
covered in class. Fifteeen points
will be deducted for each unexcused lab absence.
Excused absences will be granted for family emergencies,
illness, varsity athletic events, and other official university functions. Written documentation for excused absences
must be submitted and can be obtained from health services or the chancellor’s
office.
Late work policy
Unless otherwise specified, assignments should be turned in at the beginning of class on the day they are due (though they will not be counted as late if in by 5:00). Late assignments lose 20% of their value for each day or portion of a day they are late (not counting weekends). For example, if an assignment is due on a Friday, and you turn it in Tuesday, the assignment is 2 days late and thus only worth 60% of its original value.
Policy on Academic Honesty
I have no tolerance for cheating or plagiarism. Any paper, assignment or examination showing signs of academic dishonesty will be investigated. If I suspect dishonesty, I will notify the student in question that we must meet to discuss the matter. Failure to respond to a request for such a meeting will be taken as an admission of guilt. The standard penalty for dishonesty will be a grade of “0” on the assignment in question. In egregious cases, I will give an “F” for the course grade. In accordance with University policy, I will report any penalties levied to the vice chancellor for student affairs. Penalized students then have the right to appeal.
Any work submitted by a student must be written in his or her own words (i.e. you cannot simply copy or paraphrase textbooks, other written sources, or work submitted by other students). In the case of group work submitted with multiple names, I will assume that all have contributed equally. For homework and problem sets, I encourage students to work together, but that cannot mean that one student simply copies from another.
I encourage you to save paper by printing typed assignments on the back of previously used paper. If you do this, I ask that you draw an “X” through the side I don’t need to read. Alternatively, print your assignments on both sides of fresh paper. Spreadsheets and graphs can be sent to me via e-mail, and if possible, I will refrain from printing them at all.
Extra credit policy
I may periodically offer extra credit as an incentive to participate in activities that are related to class, but not otherwise required—public lectures, service projects, etc. Extra credit cannot be used to raise your final course grade more than one step—i.e. a C- to a C or a B+ to an A-. Thus, any extra credit earned beyond 40-50 points will enrich your soul, but cannot enrich your grade.
Disability Accommodations
I will make reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities or special needs upon request.