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Ecology (BIO 423) Fall 2007 |
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Instructor: Dr. Donnelly
Office: Goslin Hall 222 Lecture: TTh 10:00-11:15am, Goslin 215 Lab: Th 1:30-4:30pm,
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Overview Ecology is the burgeoning study of interactions that determine where organisms occur and in what abundance. Interactions include relationships with living (e.g., predators) and non-living entities (e.g., rainfall). In this course, you will use a variety of species to study these interactions at scales ranging from the individual organism to the ecoregion. This course is comprised of two lecture periods and one lab period per week. Labs will be held in the laboratory, around metropolitan Atlanta, and at the Highlands Biological Station. To enroll in Biology 423, you must
have earned a "C-" or better in BIO 202, CHM 201, and CHM
201L. Objectives: After completing this course, you
will:
Attendance You are required to attend all activities during lab periods, the extended field trip scheduled during week 9, and the poster presentation scheduled during week 15. However, you are allowed one absence from the lab period--for any reason. While you are not required
to attend lectures, please realize that the degree to which you understand
the material presented, your test scores, and your course grade are
likely to decrease as your absences from lecture increase in number.
To supplement lectures, discussions and labs, I will assign readings from your textbook, lab exercises, the literature, and the internet. You must purchase the textbook:
I will provide all non-text reading material in hardcopy, pdf format, or internet link. Examples of the non-text reading include:
Crouse, D., L. Crowder, and H. Caswell.
1987. A stage-based population model for Loggerhead Sea Turtles and implications
for conservation. Ecology 68:1412-1423. Donnelly, C.A., et al. 2005. Positive
and negative effects of widespread badger culling on tuberculosis in cattle. Nature
doi:10.1038/nature04454. Ecological Society of America. Public Affairs
Office's homepage. Found at www.esa.org/pao/. Faaborg, J. 2002. Saving migrant birds: developing strategies for the future. University of Texas Press, Austin. Fleishman, E., R. Donnelly, J. Fay, and R. Reeves. 2007. Applications of nestedness analysis to conservation of biodiversity in developing landscapes. Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning 81:271-281. Hairston, N.G. 1980. The experimental test
of an anlysis of field distributions: competition in terrestrial salamanders.
Ecology 61:817-826. Mendelson, J. et al. 2006. Confronting amphibian declines and extinctions. Science 313:48. Ostfeld, R.S., C.G. Jones, and J.O.
Wolff. 1996. Of mice and mast. Bioscience 46:323-330. Stuart, S.N. et al. 2004. Status and trends of amphibian declines and extinctions worldwide. Science 306:1783-1786. Questions on midterm exams
and the final exam may take a variety of formats including: fill
in the blank, matching, multiple choice questions, figure interpretatio and drawing, short essay, and long essay.
Reports
You must include an affirmation of the honor code to receive credit for documents related to all course activities. If you have any questions about the honor code, I strongly encourage you reread the code and ask me questions. Be aware that the code defines cheating and plagirism as follows: Cheating is (a) the unauthorized possession or use of notes, texts, or other such materials during an examination; (b), the copying of another person's work or participation in such an effort; and (c) the attempt or participation in an attempt to fulfill the requirements of a course with work other than one's original work for that course.
Students have the responsibility of avoiding participation in cheating incidents by doing their own work, taking precautions against others copying their work and in general not giving or receiving aid beyond what is authorized by the instructor. Plagirism includes representing someone else's words, ideas, data, or original research as one's own, and in general failing to footnote or otherwise acknowledge the source of such work. One has the responsibility of avoiding plagirism by taking adequate notes on reference materials, including material taken off the internet or other electronic sources, used in the preparation of reports, papers, and other coursework." The final day to withdraw from this course with a "W" is 11/2/06. For information on “Incomplete” grades, please refer to the most recent Bulletin. I will evaluate your reports and exams based on two criteria. The first criterion, scientific merit, is the most important. You must properly recall, translate, interpret, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate scientific data and concepts. The second criterion is format. Your writing must make logical arguments and adhere to the rules of English grammar. I will explain additional grading criteria for the reports in class and evaluate your class participation based on your degree of preparedness for and participation in course activities. I award points for activities as
follows:
Assignment # and unit point value Points possible
Exam (3) 1 @ 110
110 Short lab reports 8 @ 12
96
Long lab report 1 @ 60
60
Participation 1 @ 20 20
I assign grades based on the following
scale: Earned percentage of total points possible Letter grade Grade point >92.49 A 4.0 89.5-92.49 A- 3.7 86.5-89.49 B+ 3.3 82.5-86.49 B 3.0 79.5-82.49 B- 2.7 76.5-79.49 C+ 2.3 72.5-76.49 C 2.0 69.5-72.49 C- 1.7 66.5-69.49 D+ 1.3 59.5-66.49 D 1.0 <59.5 F 0.0 From
the Professor If you have a disability and need
accomodations or if I can help with anythings else, please talk with
me after class, during office hours, schedule an
appiontment, or catch me in my office. From Other Students Ask other students if they would
like to form a study group that meets regularly. From University Services If you need assistance with writing or notetaking, please contact the Writing Center or visit the center on the second floor of OU's Weltner Library. If you need assistance with your
internet account, please contact Network
Services ([404] 364-8518)
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Last Updated: |
Contact the instructor at: rdonnelly@oglethorpe.edu |