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BIOS 119L: Ecology and Evolution
Fall 2013
Lecture Times: MWF 11:30 to 12:20
Lab Time: Monday and Wednesday, 1:30-4:20
Instructor: Dr. Jackie Schnurr - office: 315 Stratton
- phone: 364-3274
- Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: MW 9-10, TH 12:30-1:30 or whenever I’m in my office!
Text: Biology – Campbell, Reece, etc
Course Philosophy: This course is designed to give a general overview of the science of
Ecology, as well as providing an understanding of the importance of evolution to the
understanding of science. Ecology is a hands-on science, and the labs will provide you
with a deeper understanding of the research ecologists perform. Because of this, you will
be spending several laboratories in the field (dress appropriately!). Also, although field
work is the part of Ecology most scientists enjoy the most, Ecologists are also charged
with communicating their results to other scientists and the public. Therefore, another
large portion of the lab will be writing up your results from the field. The lab and the
lectures are designed to give you a general feel for the science of Ecology.
Course Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, student will be able to:
1. Understand the basic components of the physical environment and describe how
they interact to affect the living component of the environment, at multiple scales.
2. Understand basic evolutionary concepts, and why they are central to ecology.
3. Outline basic world climate patterns, and their importance.
4. Outline the pathways energy and nutrients take as they flow through an ecosystem.
5. Describe environmental interactions and behavior at the level of the organism,
including homeostasis, acclimation, and developmental response.
6. Describe how species interact, showing how competition, predation, and coevolution operate to influence the interdependence of species.
7. Describe the concept of the population, including growth and regulators.
8. Describe the concept of the community, giving special attention to biodiversity
and its role in community well being.
9. Use the scientific method to formulate and test hypotheses, as well as
communicate the results with the greater scientific community.
10. Have a basic understanding of statistics, and be able to construct, read, and
interpret graphs!
11. prepare a research report in the standard style of such reports in the literature of
ecology and evolution.
12. understand that the solutions to environmental problems demand both scientific
and social understanding.
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Grading:
Lecture Exams: 30 %
Exam 1: 10 %
Exam 2: 10 %
Exam 3: 10 %
Laboratory: 45 %
Field Write-Ups: 25 %
Class Assignments: 20%
Final Exam: 15%
In-class questions 10%
Exams will consist of multiple choice, short answer, essay and graphical questions.
Labs make up a large portion of your final grade. I will have the lab handouts posted by
the Friday lectures so that you can read them prior to lab. All lab write-ups (both papers
based on the field research and in class assignments) need to be TYPED.
Special needs or requests:
I encourage you to see me right away to discuss any circumstances that may affect your
academic work If you have a documented physical, sensory, health, cognitive, or mental
health difficulty that could limit your ability to fully participate in your classes, you are
encouraged to contact the Coordinator of Student Achievement, Megan Reidl, to
discuss accommodations that will help you succeed. Her offices are on the middle/main
floor of the library, near the Writing Center and the 822s of the stacks. Telephone x
3432, email [email protected].
The Honor Code is an important part of a Wells College education. You signed it at
the beginning of the semester – please don’t forget that “Wells College students are
under community obligation and pledge not to lie, cheat, steal, deceive or conceal in
the conduct of their collegiate life as defined or encompassed by the Collegiate
Rules.”
Lecture Schedule
Dates
Topic
August 30
Sept 2, 4
6, 9
11, 13
Introduction to Ecology
Climate and Biomes
Terrestrial Biomes
Aquatic Biomes
Sept.
16, 18
20, 23
25, 27
30
Reading
Organismal Ecology
Physiology: Temperature
Physiology: Water Relations
Behavior: Energy
FIRST EXAM
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Ch.52
Ch.52
Ch. 52
Ch.52
Ch 40, p. 862-868
Ch 36
Ch 41, Ch 10
Evolution
Oct.
2
4
7
9
11
14
Descent with Modification
Hardy Weinberg
Natural Selection
Speciation
Make up and Review
FALL BREAK
Population Ecology
16, 18
Distribution and dispersion
21
SECOND EXAM
23, 25
Demographics
28, 30
Population Growth Models
Nov. 1, 4
Population Dynamics
Community Ecology
6, 11
Competition and Coexistence
8
NO CLASS
15
Exploitation
18
Trophic structure
20, 22
Diversity
25
THIRD EXAM
Dec.
2
4
6
Disturbance
Succession
Island Biogeography
Ch.22
Ch 23
Ch 23
Ch 24
Ch 53
Ch.53
Ch 53
Ch 53
Ch 54
Ch 54
Ch 54
Ch 54
Ch 54
Ch 54
Ch 54
9, 11
Ecosystem Ecology
Primary Production and Energy Flow Ch 55
12
Larger Scale Ecology
Wrap up
Ch 55
FINAL EXAM: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 9AM - NOON
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BIOL 119L LAB SCHEDULE
Week of:
Lab Title
September 2
Intro. to Labs, Library Assign.
September 9
Population dispersion - field
Sept. 16
Population dispersion - lab
Sept. 23
Mark-recapture I
Sept. 30
Mark-recapture II
Oct. 7
Seedling recruitment I
Oct. 14
Hand-In
Seedling recruitment II
Oct. 28
Tales from the Crypt
Nov. 5
Seedlings III/Tales help
Nov. 19
Nov. 25
Goldenrod Assign.
Mark-recap assign.
NO LABS – FALL BREAK
Oct. 21
Nov. 11
Ecology Assign.
Seedling proposal
Tales assignment
NO LABS – CSE DAY WEDNESDAY
GROUP PRESENTATIONS
Seedling paper due
NO LABS - THANKSGIVING
Dec. 2
Natural Selection
Dec. 9
TBA
Natural Selection due
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In – class discussion questions for each topic
One way to make sure that you keep up with the readings and have an idea of the types of
answers I am looking for on exams is to have you do a practice question based on each
chapter. The idea behind these is that once we finish a chapter in lecture, I’ll give you
time to discuss the answer with your neighbors and then we will discuss it as a class. The
catch is that you will need to work on the question before coming to class because I
would like a TYPED answer (as long as you think it needs to be) on the day we
discuss it – NO LATE WORK OR EMAILED ANSWERS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
You can add to your answer based on what we talk about in class, but I’d like to at least
see that you made an effort on your own. Due dates will vary – I’ll warn you the lecture
before that they will be due next time. Try to keep up with them on your own though!
Introduction to Ecology:
 What is Ecology? What value will this course be to you as a student? Explain.
Climate and terrestrial biomes:
 Use what you know about atmospheric circulation and seasonal changes in the
sun’s orientation to earth to explain the highly seasonal rainfall in the tropical dry
forest and tropical savanna biomes. (hint: Why does the rainy season in these
biomes come during the warmer months?)
Aquatic biomes:
 Explain why algal blooms occur in the spring and fall in eutrophic lakes.
Physiology: temperature:
 Imagine a desert beetle that uses behavior to regulate its body temperature above
35oC. How might this beetle’s use of microclimates created by shrubs, burrows,
and bare ground change with the season?
Physiology: water:
 Although some tenebrionid beetles live in deserts, some also live in moist
temperate environments. How should water loss rates vary among species of
tenebrionids from different environments? On what assumptions do you base your
prediction? How would you test your prediction?
Behavior: energy:
 What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of being an herbivore,
detritivore or carnivore? What kinds of organisms were left out of our
discussions? Where do parasites fit? How about humans?
Descent with Modification:
 Write a paragraph briefly describing the kinds of evidence for evolution.
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Hardy Weinberg:
 Explain the five conditions that are required for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
Natural selection:
 Suppose you are a director of a captive breeding program for a rare species of
animal, such as Siberian tigers, which are found in many zoos around the world
but that are increasingly rare in the wild. Design a breeding program that will
reduce the possibility of genetic drift in captive populations.
Speciation:
 Explain how each of the following makes it difficult to clearly define a species:
variation within a species, geographically isolated populations, asexual species,
fossil organisms.
Distribution and dispersion:
 What kinds of interactions within an animal population lead to clumped
distributions? What kinds of interactions foster a regular distribution? What kinds
of interactions would you expect to find within an animal population distributed
in a random pattern?
Demographics:
 Compare cohort and static life tables. What are the main assumptions of each? In
which situations or for what organisms would it be practical to use either?
Population growth models:
 How do you build the logistic model for population growth from the exponential
model? What part of the logistic growth equation produces the sigmoidal growth
curve?
Population dynamics:
 Under what conditions should natural selection favor production of many small
offspring versus the production of a few well-provisioned offspring?
Competition and coexistence:
 Explain why species that overlap a great deal in their fundamental niches have a
high probability of competing. Now explain why species that overlap a great deal
in their realized niches and live in the same area probably don’t compete
significantly.
Exploitation:
 Predation is one of the processes by which one organism exploits another. Others
are herbivory, parasitism, and disease. What distinguishes each of these processes,
including predation, from the others? Why are they considered exploitation?
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Trophic structure:
 Most research on keystone species has looked at the effects of animals on the
structure of communities. Can parasites or pathogens also act as keystone species?
Explain.
Diversity and disturbance:
 According to the intermediate disturbance hypothesis both low and high levels of
disturbance can reduce species diversity. Explain possible mechanisms producing
this relationship.
Succession:
 In the studies of mechanisms underlying succession, ecologists have found a great
deal of evidence for both facilitation and inhibition. However, they have found
little evidence for the tolerance model. Explain this lack of support for the
tolerance model.
Island biogeography:
 Suppose you are about to study the bird communities on two islands of the same
size but different distances from the mainland (Island 1 is much closer to the
mainland than Island 2). According to the equilibrium model of island
biogeography, which of the islands should experience higher rates of
immigration? What does the equilibrium model of island biogeography predict
concerning relative rates of extinction on the 2 islands?
Primary production and energy flow:
 Population, community and ecosystem ecologists study structure and process.
However, they focus on different natural characteristics. Contrast the important
structures and processes in a forest from the perspectives of population,
community and ecosystem ecologists.
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