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Kim Kolb
Biology Office (Rm. 315)
[email protected]
David Hooper
Dept. of Biology
Rm. 307, Bio. Building
[email protected]
650-3649
See webpage for syllabus
Why am I here?
Biology is so cool!
Why am I here?
Sustainability?
Biodiversity and ecosystem
functioning: The context
(Chapin et al. 2000)
California Serpentine Grassland
What factors allow for
successful
invasion of exotic species?
Effects of temperature and
vegetation on ecosystem carbon
balance in Arctic tundra
Toolik
Lake
Terry picture
Riparian restoration
Well, how do I get there?
And, is it enough?
?
Students involved
Goals of this course
1. Content: Introduce the diversity of life, ecology
and evolutionary biology in an integrated way;
2. Content/Skills: Introduce and practice scientific
methods (by doing);
3. Content/Skills: Introduce some basic tools of
biology (lab);
4. Skills: Scientific communication – writing and
presentations (lab).
5. Skills: Quantitative reasoning = use math to
answer biological questions
Bloom’s taxonomy of learning
1. Basic knowledge  memorizing facts, processes
6CO2 + 6H2O +light  C6H12O6 + O2
2. Secondary comprehension  understanding &
illustrating facts
3. Application  generalizing to other situations
4. Analysis  understanding why, breaking the
problem down
5. Synthesis  making connections
6. Evaluation  use knowledge critically to assess
information
Bloom’s taxonomy of learning
1. Basic knowledge  memorizing facts, processes
2. Secondary comprehension  understanding &
illustrating facts
-
Light and dark reactions lead to CO2 conversion to
sugar
Most plant biomass comes from CO2 in the air!
3. Application  generalizing to other situations
4. Analysis  understanding why, breaking the
problem down
5. Synthesis  making connections
6. Evaluation  use knowledge critically to assess
information
Bloom’s taxonomy of learning
1. Basic knowledge  memorizing facts, processes
2. Secondary comprehension  understanding &
illustrating facts
3. Application  generalizing to other situations
Photosynthesis at the whole ecosystem level – can we
calculate the total CO2 uptake from an area of forest?
4. Analysis  understanding why, breaking the
problem down
5. Synthesis  making connections
6. Evaluation  use knowledge critically to assess
information
Bloom’s taxonomy of learning
1. Basic knowledge  memorizing facts, processes
2. Secondary comprehension  understanding &
illustrating facts
3. Application  generalizing to other situations
4. Analysis  understanding why, breaking the
problem down
What do we need to know to make that calculation? Rates of
growth per tree, number of trees per area, amount of C
per tree, etc.
What factors control rates of forest growth, and do how they
vary across landscapes?
5. Synthesis  making connections
6. Evaluation  use knowledge critically to assess
information
Bloom’s taxonomy of learning
1. Basic knowledge  memorizing facts, processes
2. Secondary comprehension  understanding &
illustrating facts
3. Application  generalizing to other situations
4. Analysis  understanding why, breaking the
problem down
5. Synthesis  making connections
Elevated CO2 causes global warming; humans are releasing
CO2 with fossil fuel combustion.
How do rates of CO2 uptake from forests compare to human
release of CO2 from fossil fuel burning? Enough to
decrease warming?
6. Evaluation  use knowledge critically to assess
information
Bloom’s taxonomy of learning
1. Basic knowledge  memorizing facts, processes
2. Secondary comprehension  understanding &
illustrating facts
3. Application  generalizing to other situations
4. Analysis  understanding why, breaking the
problem down
5. Synthesis  making connections
6. Evaluation  use knowledge critically to assess
information
Will cutting down old growth forests help suck fossil fuel
CO2 out of the atmosphere?
Expectations
1. You will all get A’s.
2. You want to learn.
-
Transition to upper-level courses: you will build on these
skills throughout school – and career.
I’m here to help – as a facilitator, not “the sage on the
stage”
3. You will be active learners.
- Same approach doesn’t work for everyone. Don’t
understand? Come ask!
- Reciprocal effort.
- Learn from mistakes.
4. Expect excellence, but not perfection. Something you
like or don’t like? Please tell me!
Ecology and Evolution
Ecological interactions determine the fitness
of organisms in an evolutionary context.
Evolution of organisms influence the
ecological interactions in which they
partake.
Biodiversity
The different forms of life on Earth, in
terms of genetic diversity within
species, species diversity in
communities (and globally), and
diversity of ecosystems across
landscapes.
Assessment
A - Strongly agree B – somewhat agree
C - don’t know D – somewhat
disagree
E – strongly disagree
1. While there is some evidence for evolution, it is just a theory that has not been
well proven.
2. Intelligent design provides a scientifically credible alternative to evolution.
3. Evolution cannot explain the presence of complex structures in organisms,
such as eyes or flagella, that must operate as a unit.
4. While it is clear that evolution can explain changes within species, it cannot
explain how new species or groups of species may have arisen.
5. While Darwin proposed natural selection as the mechanism of evolution, he
didn’t know how heritability occurred.
6. Natural selection is the only mechanism by which evolution occurs.
7. Dolphins are better adapted to their environment than are alligators because
the former are more recently evolved.
8. Evolution favors the development of more complex organisms over simpler
organisms.
9. Scientists continue to debate details of evolution, but there’s no scientific
controversy about whether or not it occurs.
10. A scientific concept, such as evolution, does not become a “theory” until it is
supported by an overwhelming body of evidence.
Intro to the biology series:
What’s covered in 204, 205,
206?
Biological Hierarchy
BI 205
BI 204
Ecosystem
Community
Population
BI 206
Evolution
BI 204
Fig 1.2
Ecology
The study of interactions between
organisms and their environment, both
abiotic and biotic.
What adaptations allow organisms to
survive and reproduce in a complex
world?
Physiological ecology (e.g., temp., moisture)
Population ecology:
Abundance,
distribution, and
reproduction
mutualism
predation,
herbivory,
parasitism
Community
ecology
(species
interactions)
Competition
Community
composition and
diversity
Ecosystem ecology:
element cycles
How many species?
Global diversity – total number of species of different taxa in
the whole world. About 1.65 million identified. Estimates
range up to about 30 million species.
Global Biodiversity Assessment 1995
How are they related?
http://cyberpingui.free.fr/humour/evolution-white.jpg
How are they related?