Download Syllabus COASTAL PLANT ECOLOGY, BSC 6606, 2 Credit lecture

Syllabus
COASTAL PLANT ECOLOGY, BSC 6606, 2 Credit lecture (One 2 hr discussion period per week), 2 Credit
field. Meeting times Mondays 10:00-11:50pm; Meeting room SO 390. Instructor: Dr. M. Koch; Biological
Sciences room 267. Phone: X-3325. Laboratory: Rm 251.
Lecture/Discussion Topics, Spring semester 2005
January 10th: Introduction
January 17th: Martin Luther King Holiday
January 24th: Biogeography of coastal plant communities: mangrove, salt marsh, seagrass, macroalgae.
January 31st: Mangrove and salt marsh community structure and zonation patterns.
February 7th: Ecophysiology and stress ecology of mangrove and salt marsh plant communities.
February 14th: Life history, predation and competition in mangrove communities.
February 21st: Mangrove and salt marsh ecosystem function including autochthonous nutrient cycling, export,
and food webs.
February 28th: Seagrass and macroalgae community structure, zonation, and succession.
Hand out MIDTERM EXAM.
March 7th: **SPRING BREAK**
March 14th: Seagrass and macroalgae physiological processes; nutrient uptake & productivity.
March 21st: Factors limiting primary productivity in submerged marine macrophytes and algae.
March 28th: Life history strategies of submerged marine macrophytes and macroalgae.
April 4th: Competition among macroalgal species and corals in tropical systems with a focus on keystone species
and concepts of ecosystem resilience.
April 11th: Carbon and nutrient ecosystem models in seagrass, algal, and reef systems.
April 18th: Coral Bleaching and algal-associated reef diseases (black band disease). Hand out FINAL EXAM.
April 25th: Class paper presentations; PAPERS DUE; FINAL EXAM must be turned in by MAY 2nd.
Grading:
Mid-term (20%), Final (20%), 8 page paper on any aspect of coastal plant ecology: mangroves, salt marsh,
seagrasses, macroalgae, or reef communities; or plant-animal interactions, or higher-level ecosystem processes
(40%). Presentations on Paper (10%), Class participation (10%).
COASTAL PLANT ECOLOGY FIELD/LAB: SPRING 2005
Meeting times (Mondays 1:00pm to 3:50pm)
January 10th: (No LAB)
January 17th: (No LAB) Martin Luther King Holiday
January 24th: Lab lecture on forest structure sampling techniques; Trip to Lake Wyman to demonstrate forest
measurements-(Bring Field clothes!)
January 31st: Lab lecture on sediment biogeochemistry sampling techniques; Demonstration of nutrient analyses
& lab techniques. Pack field research equipment for ENP trip.
February 5th Saturday Field trip to ENP mangroves (Basin, Tree Islands, Dwarf Forest).
February 7th: Analyze data from field trip dwarf, basin, and tidal fringe site to measure forest metrics, light, and
sediment characteristics.
February 14th: Analyze sediment and water chemistry samples from ENP mangrove sites. Statistical analyses of
data collected from ENP mangrove sites.
February 21st: Presentation of results from ENP mangrove communities.
February 28th: Lab lecture on primary productivity and respiration measurements in submerged aquatic plants
(SAVs); demonstration of oxygen meters in lab.
March 7th **SPRING BREAK **
March 14th: Demonstration of productivity chambers and light/dark bottle productivity technique (local field trip;
bring mask, fins, & snorkel).
March 21st: Productivity experiment calculations and data presentation preparation. Techniques for sampling
marine benthic communities.
March 28th Quadrat measurements of algae on reefs-(local field trip; bring mask, fins, & snorkel).
April 4th: Presentation of productivity data from local site. Analyses of quadrat data from local reef. Pack research
equipment for Long Key seagrass/reef field projects.
Saturday & Sunday April 8-10th: Two-day field trip to Long Key to sample macroalgal, seagrass communities,
and examine herbivory on reef. Visit reef geologic site on Windley Key.
April 11th: Reef herbivory experiment data analysis.
April 18th Presentation of macroalgal productivity and community transect & reef herbivory research projects.
April 25rd: No Lab
Grading Field Course: Participation 10%; ENP research project (40%); Productivity Experiments (20%); Long
Key research project (30%).