Course Syllabus--Ecology--Fall 1999

Course Description:

Biol 405 4 credits.

An introduction to the fundamental ecological concepts which illustrate the complex interrelationships of living organisms with each other and with their non-living environment. The relationships of ecological studies to the social and cultural environments will also be describe. Laboratory time will be used for field work, experimentation and analysis of data. Prerequisites: two upper-level biology courses or permission of instructor.

Instructor:


Larry T. Spencer, Boyd Hall, O-223, Ext. 2322, Office House MWF 11:00-12:00, TH 12:00-13:00

Required Texts:

Begon, M, J. L Harper, and C. R. Townsend. 1996. Ecology: Individuals, populations and communities, 3rd ed. New York: Blackwell Science.

Sutton, Ann and Myron. 1992. Northern Forest. New York: Knopf.

Course Goals and Organization:

The general goal for this course is for you to develop an understanding of how everything on this globe is interconnected. Although much of the material in the course will be descriptive, it is the intent of the instructor to provide experiences that allow you to develop analytical and problem solving skills. The course will also heavily use the personal computer and other tools/instruments of modern ecology. Specific computer use will involve spreadsheets, statistical programs and modeling/simulation programs. We will be using both PC's and Macs.

Grading Policies:


Attendance--This is an upper division course. There are no un-excused absences, particularly from the lab portion of the course.
Other expectations--This is an upper division course. I expect you to take responsibility for you own learning. Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and accept the consequence when you don't do it. This is also a course that requires group work. I expect you to cooperate fully with your peers and to not let them down. In addition to the text, there will be assigned materials. I will tell you in advance when something needs to be read. The materials may either be on the computer or on reserve in the library. I expect you to keep notes on everything you read in a separate section of your lab notebook.

Grade Components

You are required to maintain two notebooks, one a perfect bound lab notebook and the other a three ring binder. You are to record in the first all directions I give you in class, all observations you make in the field or labs, notes in the library, etc. You will use the second for papers I hand out, computer printouts, Xeroxes, class notes, etc.  I will grade the former, but not the later.

There will be a least two lecture examinations and each will be a combination of essay and short answer questions. Each will cover approximately half of the material. the second will be given during final examination week. Both will be closed book. There will be other exercises(open book )  designed to determine your analytical abilities rather than your recall activities.

This is a W course in addition to being a course that is a major requirement. The written work will include lab reports and written exercises.

I will use the standard grading scale, 90-80-70-60, etc on all graded materials and for your final grade.

All work must be successfully completed to receive a grade for this class.  You can not opt to not do one or more components and still expect to receive a grade in this class.