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Community Ecology (BIOL 4310) & Advanced Community Ecology (BIOL 5310)
Fall 2008
Tu and Th 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. - all students, Room 21, Biological Sciences Bldg.
Tu and Th 5:00 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. - graduate students only, Room 102, Biological Sciences Bldg.
Dr. Nancy McIntyre
420 Biological Sciences Bldg.
742-4113 ext. 280
nancy.mcintyre@ttu.edu
Office hours: Tu & Th 10:00-11:00 a.m. or by appointment
All items that are underlined and blue are links. You may click on any blue, underlined item for more information.
Expected learning outcomes: Community ecology deals with the interactions among groups of organisms with each other and their environment. The objectives in this course are to provide a survey of the historical and current ideas that have created community ecology and to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each idea in order to gain an understanding of the factors that generate and limit biodiversity. Upon successful completion of this course, students will practice critical thinking, gain an appreciation of the history of the field, and obtain a sense of the future trajectory of community ecology. Graduate students will be expected to demonstrate a more synthetic and practical mastery of the subject. Methods for assessing expected learning outcomes: (1) performance on tests, (2) participation in class discussions on readings, (3) questions posed in and outside class, (4) performance on worksheets (graduate students only), (5) performance on cumulative final exam, (6) comprehension of reading assignments, (7) change in performance on a standardized test.
Grading, BIOL 4310:
30% = first exam
30% = second exam
40% = cumulative final exam
Grading,
BIOL 5310:
25% = first exam
25% = second exam
35% = cumulative final exam
15% =
worksheets
Unlike students in BIOL 4310, graduate students (BIOL 5310) will be given
several
worksheets on various topics throughout the semester. Worksheets will consist
of problem sets (e.g. calculating diversity indices, measuring food web
connectivity, etc.) to give grad students first-hand experience with the types
of data analyses performed in community ecology. Note due dates; corrected
worksheets will then be returned. Grad students may expect exam questions
based on those worksheets.
Please note that graduate students will also have additional sessions/week for discussion.
Exams will be mixed-format (i.e., short-answer questions, definitions, essays, multiple-choice, etc.). The final exam will consist primarily of material covered since the second exam but will also contain some cumulative questions that will require you to detect the linkages and common themes among a variety of topics. Students in BIOL 4310 will have different exams from those in 5310.
Textbooks: There is no
required textbook. The following books have been placed on overnight reserve at
the Main Library:
Community Ecology by P. Morin (QH541.M574)
The Ecology of Bird Communities (2-volume set) by J. Wiens (QL673.W523)
Foundations of Ecology by L. Real and J. Brown (QH541.145.F68)
Readings: Some classic papers will be assigned for discussion; all students will be expected to have read the papers by the assigned date and be prepared to engage in discussion about them. There will be exam questions about the readings. These papers will be available in a 3-ring binder for 1-hour checkout (upon presentation of ID) at the front desk of the Biology Office (room 108).
Paper(s) Discussion date
Clements (1936) & Gleason (1926) Sept. 11
Paine (1966) Oct. 7
Huffaker (1958) Oct. 23
Hatcher et al. (2006) Oct. 28
Grinnell (1917) & Hutchinson (1958) Oct. 30
Hairston et al. (1960) (a.k.a. HSS 1960) Nov. 6
Quinn and Robinson (1987) Nov. 13
Hutchinson (1959) Dec. 2
Note that there are two instances of paired papers. In the case of these pairs, you should compare and contrast the two papers (in terms of focus and results). Also note that there are two papers authored by Hutchinson: make sure you read the correct paper for the appropriate date! Full citations:
Clements, F.E. 1936. Nature and structure of the climax. Journal of Ecology 24:252-284.
Gleason, H.A. 1926. The individualistic concept of the plant association. Torrey Botanical Club Bulletin 53:7-26.
Paine, R.T. 1966. Food web complexity and species diversity. American Naturalist 100:65-75.
Huffaker, C.B. 1958. Experimental studies on predation: dispersion factors and predator-prey oscillations. Hilgardia 27:343-383.
Hatcher, M.J., J.T.A. Dick, and A.M. Dunn. 2006. How parasites affect interactions between competitors and predators. Ecology Letters 9:1253-1271.
Grinnell, J. 1917. The niche-relationships of the California Thrasher. Auk 34:427-433.
Hutchinson, G.E. 1958. Concluding remarks, Cold Spring Harbor Symposium. Quantitative Biology 22:415-427.
Hairston, N.G., F.E. Smith, and L.B. Slobodkin. 1960. Community structure, population control, and competition. American Naturalist 94:421-425.
Quinn, J.F., and G.R. Robinson. 1987. The effects of experimental subdivision on flowering plant diversity in a California annual grassland. Journal of Ecology 75:837-856.
Hutchinson, G.E. 1959. Homage to Santa Rosalia or why are there so many kinds of animals? American Naturalist 93:145-159.
Make-up assignments: Make-up assignments may be given only in the event of satisfactory written excuse (e.g. doctor's note) presented in a timely fashion.
Students with disabilities: Any student who, because of a disability, may require special arrangements in order to meet the course requirements should contact Dr. McIntyre as soon as possible to make any necessary arrangements. Students should present appropriate verification from Student Disability Services during the instructor's office hours. Please note that instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodations to a student until appropriate verification from Student Disability Services has been provided. For additional information, you may contact the Student Disability Services office at 335 West Hall or 806-742-2405.
Religious observances: A student who is absent for the observation of a religious holy day shall be allow to take an exam or complete an in-class assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence if, not later than the 15th day of the semester, the student has notified Dr. McIntyre of each scheduled class during a holy day that the student would be absent.
Academic honesty: Any attempt by a student to present as their own work any work not honestly performed is regarded as a serious offense and renders offenders liable to consequences, including possible suspension from the university. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, misrepresenting facts, and any act designed to give an unfair academic advantage to a student. A detailed list may be found in the Student Handbook.
Important notes & helpful hints:
1. Because there is no required text, taking good notes in class is crucial. We will cover a large amount of material, most of it rather theoretical in nature. If, at any time, you do not understand the concepts being discussed, please speak up! Also remember that there are texts on overnight reserve at the library, so if you do not completely understand a given topic, you should read up on it. If after doing so you feel that you still do not grasp the subject, please come see me at office hours (or make an appointment for another time slot).
2. There are outlines of lecture notes available on this website. Downloading these outlines is NOT an adequate substitute for attending class or for taking notes of your own in class. They are meant to be supplements, not substitutions. These outlines are designed to give you an idea of the flow of each lecture; you are supposed to take notes of your own on each lecture. Although you may be taking some classes where you are provided with 100% of the lecture notes, that is not the case for this course. I have tried doing that in the past, but students have consistently scored better when I provide only outlines and they write their own notes.
3. There has been a strong positive correlation between attendance and performance. Do not be lulled into thinking that because there are note outlines online, you can miss class and expect to comprehend the material.
4. I will use overheads during many lectures. For each lecture, I will also provide a hardcopy handout packet comprised of figures, tables, and other supplemental information (much of which is copyrighted from various sources and therefore cannot be included in the lecture notes posted online). I tend to speak very rapidly and we have a large subject to cover, so do NOT try to copy each overhead word-for-word; instead, get the main gist of the topic.
5. This is an upper-division course, so do not expect frequent assignments. There are only 3 tests in this course (2 exams plus a cumulative final). Study guides to each test will be provided, so there is no excuse for performing poorly, other than poor note-taking abilities on your part and/or absenteeism (see #s 1-4 above).
6. All electronic devices (e.g. cell phones) must be turned off and newspapers put away during class time.
Lecture note outlines:
Last updated - 10 October 2009
Week
Day: Topic
1
Tu, 8/26: Introduction:
what is a community? What is community ecology?
Th, 8/28: History
of community ecology
2
Tu, 9/2: Ecology
as a science: hypothesis testing
Th, 9/4: Ecology
as a science: paradigms and revolutions
3
Tu, 9/9: Temporal
dynamics of communities: disturbance
Th, 9/11: Temporal
dynamics of communities: succession; readings: CLEMENTS (1936) &
GLEASON (1926)
4
Tu, 9/16: Equilibrium/nonequilibrium
Th, 9/18: Biodiversity
5
Tu, 9/23: Species-area relationship;
Diversity &
Community Similarity worksheets due
Th, 9/25: Species
abundance patterns; Species-area
& Ordination worksheets due
6
Tu, 9/30: Diversity-productivity
relationships; Species
abundance worksheet due
Th, 10/2: EXAM 1
7
Tu, 10/7: Indicators
and keystones; reading: PAINE (1966)
Th, 10/9: Community assembly
and null models
8
Tu, 10/14: Priority
effects, lotteries, and recruitment-limited interactions in community assembly
Th, 10/16: Competition: theory
9
Tu, 10/21: Competition:
experiments
Th, 10/23: Predation; reading: HUFFAKER (1958); Competition worksheet due
10
Tu, 10/28: Parasitism
and mutualism; reading: HATCHER ET AL. (2006);
Predation worksheet due
Th, 10/30: Niche
theory and guilds; readings: GRINNELL (1917) & HUTCHINSON (1958)
11
Tu, 11/4: EXAM II
Th, 11/6: Food
webs & Top-down/bottom-up controls of community structure; reading:
HSS (1960)
12
Tu, 11/11: Scale;
Food web worksheet due
Th, 11/13: Spatial
dynamics of communities: island biogeography; reading: QUINN AND
ROBINSON (1987)
13
Tu, 11/18: Spatial
dynamics of communities: terrestrial analogs; Island Biogeography worksheet due
Th, 11/20: Communities
in landscape mosaics and reserve design
14
Tu, 11/25: Applied
community ecology and future directions in community ecology
Th, 11/27: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
15
Tu, 12/2: Neutral
theory, final
comments; BIODIVERSITY PROJECT WORKSHEET DUE; reading: HUTCHINSON (1959)
FINAL EXAM: Monday, Dec. 8, 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Career links for jobs in community ecology and other environmental fields:
ˇ This webpage maintained by the Natural History & Humanities program here in the Honors College at TTU has lots of info on various careers in environmental sciences
ˇ Internships in various fields of biology
ˇ Environmental Career Opportunities
ˇ Environmental Jobs & Careers
ˇ Jobs and internships with the Ecological Society of America
ˇ The federal government employs lots of ecologists; click here for listings
ˇ The Nature Conservancy has various positions in all 50 states (and overseas)
ˇ Texas A&M has a jobs board for various types of wildlife-related positions
ˇ The Wildlife Society's jobs board
ˇ Vacancies in Science, Engineering and Technology
ˇ A Google search on "environmental consulting jobs" yields hits from companies searching for college graduates from the life sciences