Each Student Will Be Required to Prepare and Present a 10-15 Minute Presentation (Powerpoint

DETAILED SYLLABUS BIOL 3350 ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION Spring 2012 CRN: 30562 Class Time: MWF; 11:00am-11:50am; AG 0146 and M; 2:00-4:50pm; AG 0151 Instructor: Phil Hightower Email: [email protected] Phone: 229.391.5111 Division Office: 229.391.5100 Office: King 2C (building between Conger and Bowen) Office Hours: Listed below and by appointment as needed M 9:00-10:00am T 10:00-11:00am W 9:00-10:50am 1:00-2:00pm AAC 2:00-3:00pm R 10:00-12:00 noon 1:00-2:00pm F 9:00-10:50am

LECTURE Portion of the Class

TEXTBOOK: Smith, T.M. and R.L. Smith. 2009. Elements of Ecology 7th edition. Benjamin Cummings. ATTENDANCE: Regular class attendance is expected. Roll will be taken each class period and generally during the first 10 minutes of class. Any student not present at the time the roll is taken or missing a significant portion of the class will normally be counted absent. Students absent from class due to any non-institutional reasons will usually not be allowed to make up any missed point opportunities (quizzes, exams, in-class assignments, etc.). In addition, the student will lose the opportunity to learn the material in a classroom environment and may miss any announcements regarding exams, quizzes, and assignments. It is each student’s responsibility to keep up with all classroom activities; lecture notes (oral, written on the board, or on slides); and dates of exams, assignments, quizzes, etc. Students missing class due to official ABAC business are required to notify the instructor ahead of time and make arrangements in a manner acceptable to the instructor to ensure they do not miss any course content, assignments, or exams. Unless an extreme effort is made to learn any missed material, a student should expect their grades to be adversely affected due to missed classes. In an effort to encourage classroom attendance and thus enhance a student’s exposure to the material, the following bonus points (12 maximum pts, see table) will be awarded on a sliding scale to students who have no or limited non-institutional absences at the end of the semester. Be aware of the difference between points and percentage points. The attendance points are not percentage points. Check with the instructor regularly to see your absences. The instructor’s roll is official and will not generally be changed after the day of class.

Use the area below to record days you are absent or miss a significant portion of the class and to calculate bonus points. Again, these are points, not percentage points. Dates absent (if any) 0 absences = + 12 pts ______1 absence = + 10 pts ______2 absences = + 8 pts ______3 absences = + 6 pts ______4 absences = + 4 pts ______5 absences = + 2 pts ______6 absences or more = + ZERO pts

WITHDRAWAL: A student may withdraw from the course up to the midpoint of the semester and receive a grade of W. After midterm, students may withdraw only with the permission of the Academic Dean and may receive a W or WF according to their documented averages at the time of withdrawal. Students abandoning classes will still receive a grade at the end of the semester (probably an F due to missed point opportunities). See the college catalog for the college policy on withdrawal. ACADAMIC RESPONSIBILITY: Cheating and Academic Dishonesty in any way, shape, or form is grounds for an assigned grade of an F, possible dismissal from the course, and perhaps other punitive action depending upon the circumstances. Refer to the college catalog (www.abac.edu/ses/handbook/CodeofConduct.pdf) for a more complete explanation. Be aware that plagiarism is also considered to be academic dishonesty. Feel free to check with the instructor before turning in an assignment if you are unclear on the meaning of plagiarism. GRADING: Lecture Grades will be determined by dividing the total points you EARN by the total number of points possible. It is estimated that there will be approximately 700 lecture points. Any late assignments accepted will receive a 15% penalty for each ABAC work-day or any part thereof that it is late. Assignments 7 days late or more will receive a zero. Also, be aware that any assignments turned in after the last day of the class will receive a zero.

TESTING: There will be five lecture exams over content assigned or discussed during class. The lowest regular lecture exam score will be dropped the end of the semester. If a student misses one exam, then that will be the lowest grade (0) and will be dropped. Subsequent missed exams will not be able to be dropped. For example, if a student misses two regular lecture exams, one will be dropped and the student will normally receive a ZERO for the other missed exam. Makeup exams are not generally given. If the instructor chooses to allow a makeup exam, then it must be taken within one week of the scheduled exam. The final exam will be comprehensive and will not be able to be dropped. Cell phones, pagers, music players, and any electronic communication device must be turned off during any testing periods. All such items must be on mute/silent at other times. The wearing of earbuds is prohibited at any time during class, including during exams. Students may not use programmable calculators on in-class exams or quizzes. Students may be asked to remove caps or turn them around during testing periods.

CLASS POINTS Assignments, take home quizzes, and pop quizzes: Total 100pts (Approximate)

Exam 1 100pts Exam 2 100pts Exam 3 100pts Exam 4 100pts Exam 5 100pts Total Exam Points 500pts (remember lowest exam grade drops) Comprehensive Final Exam 100pts Total Lecture Points 700 pts (Approximate) Biol 3350 Hightower CRN: 30562 MWF 11:00-11:50am Ag 0146 Tentative Class Schedule

Note: The instructor reserves the right to change the schedule at anytime. If the class is officially canceled, plan on the missed day’s activities occurring on the next class day.

Monday Wednesday Friday 1/9 1/11 1/13 Roll Call & Syllabus Ch. 1 The Nature of Ecology Ch. 2 Climate 1/16 1/18 1/20 MLK Holiday Ch. 3 The Aquatic Environment TBA No class today 1/23 1/25 1/27 Ch. 3 cont. Ch. 4 The Terrestrial Environment Ch. 4 cont. 1/30 2/1 2/3 EXAM 1: Ch. 1,2,3,4 Ch. 5 Ecological Genetics Ch. 5 cont. 2/6 2/8 2/10 Ch. 8 Life History Patterns Ch. 8 cont. Ch. 9 Properties of Populations 2/13 2/15 2/17 Ch. 9 cont. Ch. 10 Population Growth Ch. 10 cont.

2/20 2/22 2/24 EXAM 2: Ch. 5,8,9,10 Ch. 11 Intraspecific Population Ch. 11 cont. Regulation Ch. 12 Metapopulations (part) 2/27 2/29 3/2 Ch. 12 cont. (part) Ch. 13 cont Ch. 14 Predation Ch. 13 Interspecific Midterm Withdrawal Day (by 4:30pm) Competition 3/5 3/7 3/9 Ch. 14 cont. Exam 3: Ch. 11, 12, 13, 14 TBA

3/12 3/14 3/16 Spring Break (3/12-16) No class today No class today No class today 3/19 3/21 3/23 Ch. 16 Community Structure Ch. 16 cont. Ch. 17 Factors Influencing the Structure of Communities 3/26 3/28 3/30 Ch. 17 cont. Ch. 18 Community Dynamics Ch. 19 Landscape Ecology (Succession) 4/2 4/4 4/6 Ch. 19 cont. Exam 4: Ch. 16,17,18, 19 Ch. 20 Ecosystem Energetics 4/9 4/11 4/13 Ch. 20 cont. Ch. 21 Decomposition and Nutrient Ch. 21 cont. Cycling 4/16 4/18 4/20 Ch. 21 cont. Ch. 22 Biogeochemical Cycles Ch. 22 cont. 4/23 4/25 4/27 Exam 5: Ch. 20, 21, 22 Ch. 26 Large-scale Patterns of Ch. 26 cont. Biological Diversity Last Class Day COMPREHENSIVE FINAL Wednesday 5/2 AG 0146 10:15am-12:15pm LABORATORY Portion of the Class

There is no lab book or packet for this course this semester. Lab assignments or handouts will be given to you by the instructor.

ATTENDANCE: Roll will be taken each day of lab. Students absent from lab due to any non-institutional reasons will not be allowed to make up any missed point opportunities (quizzes, exams, assignments, etc.). It is each student’s responsibility to keep up with all lab activities; lab notes (spoken aloud, written on the board, or on slides); and dates of exams, assignments, quizzes, etc.

Students missing laboratory due to official ABAC business are required to notify the instructor ahead of time and make arrangements in a manner acceptable to the instructor.

LAB ASSIGNMENTS AND QUIZZES: There will be lab assignments and possibly lab quizzes throughout the semester estimated to be worth a total of 175 points.

Some of the lab assignments will require outside work. Wear weather appropriate clothing that can be gotten dirty.

TESTING: There will be one Lab Midterm Exam (25pts) and one Comprehensive Lab Final Exam (50pts) based on the ideas, concepts, and materials covered in lab. Cell phones, pagers, music players, and any electronic communication device must be turned off during any testing periods. All such items must be on mute/silent at other times. The wearing of earbuds is prohibited at any time during lab, including during exams. Students may not use programmable calculators on in-class exams or quizzes. Students may be asked to remove caps or turn them around during testing periods.

LAB POINTS

Lab activities and quizzes 175pts (Estimated) Lab Midterm Practical 25 pts Lab Final Practical 50 pts_ Total Lab Points 250 pts (Estimated)

GRADING: Points from lab will be combined for a lab point total. Lab Grades will be determined on the percentages listed below.

A 90-100% B 80-89% C 70-79% D 60-69% F zero-59% Biol 3350 Hightower CRN: 30562 M 2:00-4:50pm Ag 0151 Tentative Laboratory Schedule

Monday 1/9 Roll Call & Syllabus 1/16 MLK Holiday No Lab today 1/23 Soil Analysis (Inside Lab) 1/30 TBA 2/6 Adaptation 2/13 Species Diversity (Inside Lab with outside observations on your own) 2/20 Competition (Outside Lab-Bring Binoculars if you have them for bird observations) 2/27 LAB MIDTERM

3/5 Predation Lab (Outside or Inside Lab depending on weather) 3/12 Spring Break (3/12-16) No Lab today 3/19 Community Structure (Outside Lab) 3/26 Possible Field Trip to Doerun Pitcher Plant Bog 4/2 TBA 4/9 Analysis of a natural community (Outside or Inside Lab depending on weather)

& Class Biome Presentations 4/16 COMPREHENSIVE LAB FINAL

4/23 Class Biome Presentations FINAL COURSE GRADE

An assigned final grade for the 4hr course will be determined using the letter/percentages above by combining the percentages from lecture and lab. The lecture grade will count 75% of the final grade and the lab grade will count 25% of the final grade.

For example, if you made a 0.78 in class and a 0.88 in the lab; you would figure your grade as (0.78 X 0.75) + (0.88 X 0.25)= (0.585 + 0.22) = 0.805 and thus you would have earned a B for the 4 hour course.

If there is a student in this class who has properly documented specific needs because of learning disabilities or any other disability, please feel free to contact the instructor. Spring 2012 Biome Assignment (50 pts Total) You will be given one of the following biomes as a topic for your paper and presentation. Tropical Rainforest Tropical Savanna Temperate Grassland Temperate Rainforest Temperate Broadleaf (deciduous) forest Temperate Coniferous Forest Boreal Forest Chaparral Tundra Desert Mangroves

Paper portion of assignment (40pts) After thoroughly researching your assigned biome, you will prepare a paper containing the following components as detailed below. Read the parameters carefully and be sure your paper conforms to these standards.

Title page: The one-page title page should include your name, the title of the paper, the course title, the instructor's name, and the current semester.

Table of contents: The table of contents should briefly list the sections of your paper along with their corresponding page numbers.

Body of text: The body of the text should contain at a minimum these sections: Introduction (basics of your biome and a foretelling of what you will be discussing), Locations (location of majority of the biome, any relevant biome subcategories, and specific places you will use as examples, any relationship to latitudes, etc.), Defining vegetation (vegetation types, specific flora or possibly fauna species of certain areas), Soil types, Prevailing climate, and Conservation issues. A conclusion sections may be appropriate or a well-written conservation section might suffice. You should also include sections discussing any other defining characteristics or material you deem necessary to describe, enumerate, or explain the ecology of your biome. Each section should be clearly labeled in the text.

Each page should be numbered. Do not put the title on each page or any other header. The body of the text shall be between 12 and 18 pages of double-spaced material. Font should be either Cambria, Calibri, Times, or Times New Roman. Font size should be no larger than 12. Margin spacing should be no larger than 1" on the top and bottom and 1.25" on the left and right.

In text source citations shall be used for any information that is not general knowledge. Follow APA style. (See http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa) Bibliography The bibliography shall be in APA style and should include all the sources that you cited in the text. Be sure to collect all needed information at you gather resources. Appropriate reference material and minimum requirements:

Peer-review scientific journal articles -You must use a minimum of 10 total of which 5 must be primary research articles. Primary research articles present original research (hypothesis or discover based) done by the authors. You are required to submit copies of the abstracts of 5 of your primary research articles for verification.

Journal articles that do not present original research can also be used. Examples would include articles that review others' research or that present the views or thoughts of a recognized authority on a particular subject. Books by recognized authorities are also acceptable but do not count towards the minimum of 10 peer-reviewed journal articles.

PLAGIARISM IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. If you do it, you can expect to receive a ZERO for this assignment. See "What is plagiarism?" at http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_what_is_plagiarism.html

Paper Due Dates:

Wednesday 2/29/12: 5pts-Turn in copies of 5 abstracts of primary research articles that you are certain you will use in your paper.

Friday 4/13/12: 5pts-Turn in your rough draft for review. Body of text should be at least 3/4 complete. All other components should be in place and up to date.

Wednesday 4/25/12: 30pts-Turn in your completed paper for grading

Presentation portion of assignment (10pts) Presentations should be 10-15 minutes long and include visual aids. You should give proper credit for any graphics that you use. Practice is expected so that your presentation flows well. You should include the main points of your paper in an informative and hopefully interesting manner.

Presentations will be held on Mon. 4/9 after the lab exercise and on Mon 4/23 during lab time.