St. Ambrose Ecology

Biology 307: Ecology

Course Syllabus Course FTP Site

Vegetation and Plant Distribution Maps
Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University
FishBase, a global information system on fishes
Biodiversity and WORLDMAP
Endangered Species Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago
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Last updated August 22, 2008

Course Syllabus

Course Description

This course in general ecology will examine the interrelationships of plants and animals with one another and with their physical environment. In general, we will NOT focus on human ecology, i.e., how humans have altered their own environment.

Texts

Smith, Robert L. and Thomas M. Smith. 2001. Ecology and Field Biology. 6th ed. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.
Cox, G.W. 2002. Laboratory Manual of General Ecology. 8th ed. Wm. C. Brown Co., Dubuque.

Attendance Policy

Your regular attendance is important to me, to you, and to your fellow students. This class is a joint venture between you and me, and I want you to be as committed to the course as I am. I expect you to be present for every class, although I will allow up to three absences from the classroom period.
Laboratory work will be done entirely within groups, so attendance at each laboratory will be required. Let me know in advance if you think you may have reason for an excused absence. Realize that in making up any lab, you will be on your own regarding transportation, assistance in data collection, etc

Course Requirements

Examinations. There will be four examinations. Each will be a take-home exam covering material since the previous exam. You will be given about ten days to complete it. You may use written resources (class notes, text, other published material) but you may not discuss the questions with other students or faculty. You may ask me any questions you wish. You will be asked to sign an honors pledge for each exam. Overall, the exams will contribute 70% toward the final grade.
Laboratory work. Five lab exercises on the accompanying schedule will require written reports. The content of each report will be discussed at the beginning of the lab. You should follow the format outlined in Exercise 5 of the lab manual ("Writing an Ecological Research Paper"). Due dates for reports are indicated on the schedule. Although you will be collecting the data as a group, the reports will be submitted individually. You may discuss the lab within your group, but ALL WRITTEN WORK MUST BE YOUR OWN. These laboratory exercises will contribute 30% toward the final grade.

Guidelines for All Written Work, Including Examinations

Written material will be evaluated for clarity of expression, careful addressing of scientific issues, freedom from typographic and grammatical errors, and, for lab work, experimental design, correctness of data analysis, and adherence to proper form. In general, I will be more concerned about content than form, but since proper form promotes communication, that will also be a consideration. NOTE: Any material copied directly from the text or any other source must be indicated with quotation marks and cited properly. Failure to use quotation marks and citations where appropriate will be considered plagiarism and may result in a failing grade for the work.

GRADING SCALE
A 90-100% excellent work (no major/minor flaws)
B+ 85-89% with fewer flaws than B work
B 80-84% good work (minor flaws, basically sound content)
C+ 75-79% with fewer flaws than C work
C 65-74% fair work (major problems in content or form)
D 55-64% poor work (major omissions, serious writing problems)
F below 55% unacceptable work

GRADING SCALE
A	90-100%	excellent work (no major/minor flaws)
B+	85-89%	with fewer flaws than B work
B	80-84%	good work (minor flaws, basically sound content)
C+	75-79%	with fewer flaws than C work
C	65-74%	fair work (major problems in content or form)
D	55-64%	poor work (major omissions, serious writing problems)
F	below 55%	unacceptable work

Laboratory Schedule

This schedule is flexible, based on weather conditions and project needs. Because it may not be possible to keep both Monday (M) and Wednesday (W) labs in synchrony, I ask that you come to lab on the same day each week.
Comfort in the field: Wear appropriate clothing for field labs: comfortable shoes and long, but not fuzzy, pants. (One experience with stinging nettle will convince you not to wear shorts. Fuzzy pants, like sweats, will pick up countless dispersing seeds.) I strongly recommend that you use an insect repellant with at least 30% DEET. As it gets colder, keep in mind that the temperature is lower in the field than on campus. It is better to wear too many layers and take some off than to freeze for three hours.

Aug T26,R28 No Lab
Sep T02,R04 Sampling Design in Ecological Studies (Field) Ex. 3
Sep T09,R11 Quadrat Sampling of Plant Populations (Field) Ex. 8
Sep T16,R18 Plotless Sampling of Plant Populations (Field) Ex. 8
REPORT DUE for Sampling Design
Sep T23,R25 Reduction of Plant Population Data (Indoors) Ex. 8
Sep T30,R02 Rain Date for Plant Population Labs
Oct T07,R09 Life Tables (Field) Ex. 20
REPORT DUE for Plant Populations
Oct T14,R16 Time and Energy Budgets (Field) Handout
Oct T21,R23 Rain date for field labs
Oct T28,R30 Introduction to Statistical Analysis (Indoors) Ex. 4
REPORT DUE for Life Tables
Nov T04,R06 Interspecific Association (Indoors) Ex. 26
Nov T11,R13 Measurement of Species Diversity (Indoors) Ex. 28
REPORT DUE for Time and Energy Budgets
Nov T18,R20 Intrapopulation Dispersion Analysis (Indoors) Ex. 18
Nov T25,R27 No Lab (Thanksgiving Week)
Dec T02,R04 Open Lab
REPORT DUE for Interspecific Association

Classroom Schedule

DATE	TOPIC	CHAPTER
25 Aug	Introduction
27	Experimentation and Models	1
29	Climate	2
1 Sep	No class (Labor Day)
3	Light, Water, Temperature, Nutrients	3
5	Soils I	4
8	Soils II; Adaptations	4,5
10	Plant Adaptations I	6
12	Plant Adaptations II; EXAM 1 handed out	7
15	Animal Adaptations I	8
17	Animal Adaptations II	8
19	Open class for Exam 1
22	Properties of Populations	10
24	Population Growth; EXAM 1 DUE	11
26	Intraspecific Competition	12
29	Population Regulation	12
1 Oct	Life History Patterns I	13
3	Life History Patterns II	13
6	Interspecific Competition	14
8	Predation; EXAM 2 handed out	15
10	Plant-Herbivore Systems	16
13	Herbivore-Carnivore Systems	16
15	Open class for Exam 2
17	No class (Midterm Break)
20	Parasitism	17
22	Mutualism; EXAM 2 DUE	17
24	Human Impacts	18
27	Population Genetics	19
29	Communities; EXAM 3 handed out	20
31	Community Structure	20
3 Nov	Community Dynamics I	21
5	Community Dynamics II	22
7	No class
10	Landscape Ecology	23
12	Ecosystem Productivity	24
14	Biogeochemistry I	26
17	Biogeochemistry II; EXAM 3 DUE	26
19	Biogeography	27
21	Grasslands	28
24	Forests	29
1 Dec	Lakes; EXAM 4 handed out	30
3	Rivers	30
5	Saltwater Ecosystems	31
	EXAM 4 DUE by 12 noon Friday, December 12

Aug T26,R28	No Lab
Sep T02,R04	Sampling Design in Ecological Studies (Field)	Ex. 3
Sep T09,R11	Quadrat Sampling of Plant Populations (Field)	Ex. 8
Sep T16,R18	Plotless Sampling of Plant Populations (Field)	Ex. 8
	REPORT DUE for Sampling Design
Sep T23,R25	Reduction of Plant Population Data (Indoors)	Ex. 8
Sep T30,R02	Rain Date for Plant Population Labs
Oct T07,R09	Life Tables (Field)	Ex. 20
	REPORT DUE for Plant Populations
Oct T14,R16	Time and Energy Budgets (Field)	Handout
Oct T21,R23	Rain date for field labs
Oct T28,R30	Introduction to Statistical Analysis (Indoors)	Ex. 4
	REPORT DUE for Life Tables
Nov T04,R06	Interspecific Association (Indoors)	Ex. 26
Nov T11,R13	Measurement of Species Diversity (Indoors)	Ex. 28
	REPORT DUE for Time and Energy Budgets
Nov T18,R20	Intrapopulation Dispersion Analysis (Indoors)	Ex. 18
Nov T25,R27	No Lab (Thanksgiving Week)
Dec T02,R04	Open Lab
	REPORT DUE for Interspecific Association