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Instructor Dr. Jeff Kopachena
Keith D. McFarland Science Building, Rm 258
(Phone 903 886-5395)
e-mail: [email protected]
Office hours: MWF 9:00 - 11:00
COURSE SYLLABUS
Textbooks:
1. (Optional) Smith & Smith. 2001.
Ecology and Field Biology.
2. (Required). Leopold, Aldo. 1949.
A sand county almanac .
ISBN-10: 0195007778
ISBN-13: 978-0195007770
3. Lab Manual
(Required - see Doc Sharing tab)
Lecture Topics:
Mainly theoretical ecology.
Ecosystem ecology - feedback systems,
energy and matter, productivity,
food chains, trophic pyramids,
food webs, biogeochemical cycles.
Community ecology - zones of
tolerance, physical structure,
vertical and horizontal
heterogeneity, ecotones, ecoclines,
biodiversity, succession, dynamic
equilibrium.
Species interactions - niche theory,
competition, predator-prey
relationships, functional and
numerical responses.
Population ecology - density,
dispersion, mortality and survival,
natality, age structure, population
growth.
Outcomes and Assessment:
Students will be expected to demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of basic
ecological principles and techniques. They are also expected to be able to write
in scientific style.
Students will be assessed for these outcomes through thee lecture tests, a
comprehensive final exam, and six written lab reports and a written bookreview.
Specific Student Leaning Outcomes (SLO's) measured via entrance/exit test:
1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the flow of energy through
ecosystems
2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of community ecology
3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of population ecology
Grade distribution:
Percent of Final Grade Due Date
Lecture Test 1 15 October 7
Lecture Test 2 15 November 4
Lecture Test 3 15 December 6
Final Exam 15 May 9, 8:00 AM
Lab Reports (6 @ 5% each) 30 See Lab Schedule
Sand County Almanac Test 10 October 21
Total 100
Attendance:
Any student with 5 or more unexcused absences will be automatically
dropped from the class. Students will be notified through their MyLeo
account..
Labs:
Labs must be written according to standard scientific format. A sample lab
report is provided in the doc sharing tab. Students who do not follow this format
will lose points.
Lab Reports and Lab Attendance:
Attendance of the “Data Collection” portion of each lab exercise is mandatory.
A sign-in sheet will be provided at each of these sessions and all students will be
responsible for signing that sheet after they have completed the required
activities and before they go home. Students who are more than 15 minutes late
for the lab will not be allowed to sign in. Students who don't sign the sheets will
not be allowed to turn in a report for that lab.
Lab Reports (Your lab instructor is Ryan Scauzillo)
Here are some additional notes about writing lab reports:
You must follow the guidelines in the sample lab report. All lab reports must
be typed using 12 pt Times New Roman font. Do not use point form and do
not use direct quotes. Lab reports should be written in paragraph form in
scientific format with the following headings: Abstract, Introduction, Methods,
Results, Discussion. Failure to use headings will result in lost points. The
Introduction should be a short paragraph describing the purpose of the exercise.
It should be about 1/2 page long. The Methods section should describe what
procedures were used to obtain and analyze the data and what departures from
normal procedure occurred that may cause results to vary. This section is
usually no more than 1 page long. The Results section describes the data that
were obtained and what important trends occur in that data. Reference should
be made to figures and tables of data. The written portion of the results section
should usually be no more than 1 page long. All figures and tables should be
clearly identified and labeled (e.g. Figure 1, Table 1, etc.). Note that "Graph" is
not considered acceptable scientific terminology and will not be accepted in
your lab report. Use only the terms Figure or Table to refer to figures and
tables. Figures and tables should be placed, each on a separate page, at the end
of your lab report. All figures and tables must be computer generated. The
Discussion section usually provides an explanation for the trends observed in the
results section. This section should normally not be more than 1 - 2 pages long.
Every student must compose their own, unique lab reports. Duplicate
reports will not be tolerated. Duplication of paragraphs or sentences will
be treated as plagiarism. All duplicate and/or plagiarized reports will
receive a grade of zero!
All labs are due on the date indicated. Late reports will NOT be accepted!
Tentative
Laboratory
Schedule
Lab Title Activity Location Date
Lab Orientation Mandatory lab safety contracts Rm. 136 August 30
Lab 1 Measuring energy flow through an ecosystem Data Collection Rm. 136 September 6
Lab 1 Measuring energy flow through an ecosystem Data Analysis Rm. 210 September 13
Lab 2 Measuring population size in plants Data Collection TAMUC Wetland September 20
Lab 2 Measuring population size in plants Data Analysis Rm. 210 September 27
Lab 3 Measuring plant community structure Data Collection TAMUC Wetland October 4
Lab 3 Measuring plant community structure Data Analysis Rm. 210 October 11
Lab 4 Measuring population size in mobile animals Data Collection Rm. 136 October 18
Lab 4 Measuring population size in mobile animals Data Analysis Rm. 210 October 25
Lab 5 Population Models Data Collection Rm. 136 November 1
Lab 6 Life Tables Data Collection Rm. 136 November 8
Lab 5 Population Models Data Analysis Rm. 136 November 15
Lab 6 Life Tables Data Analysis Rm. 210 November 22
Couse Schedule in Calendar Format:
August Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
25 26
First Class
27 28 29 30
Lab
Check-in
31
September
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2
Labour Day
3 4 5 6
Lab 1
Data
Collection
7
8 9 10 11 12 13
Lab 1
Data
Analysis
14
15 16 17 18 19 20
Lab 2
Data
Collection
21
22 23 24 25 26 27
Lab 2
Data
Analysis
28
29 30
October
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3 4
Lab 3
Data
Collection
5
6 7
Lecture
Test 1
8 9 10 11
Lab 3
Data
Analysis
12
13 14 15 16 17 18
Lab 4
Data
Collection
19
20 21 22 23 24 25
Lab 4
Data
Analysis
26
27 28 29 30 31
November
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
Lab 5
Data
Collection
2
3 4
Lecture
Test 2
5 6 7 8
Lab 6
Data
Collection
9
10 11 12 13 14 15
Lab 5
Data
Analysis
16
17 18 19 20 21
Sand
County
Test
22
Lab 6
Data
Analysis
23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
December
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3 4 5 6
Lecture
Test 3
7
8 9
Final
Exam
10 11 12 13 14
Obligatory Statements:
Plagiarism is a criminal activity. You must cite all sources of information.
Copying of material, whether parts of sentences, whole sentences, paragraphs, or
entire articles, will result in a score of zero for your assignment and can result in
further disciplinary action.
Collusion: Is intentionally aiding or attempting to aid another in an act of
scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to, providing a paper or project
to another student; providing an inappropriate level of assistance;
communicating answers to a classmate during an examination; removing tests or
answers from a test site, and allowing a classmate to copy answers.
Students with Disabilities:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination
statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with
disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with
disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable
accommodation of their disabilities. If you have a disability requiring an
accommodation, please contact:
Office of Student Disability Resources and Services,
Gee Library, Room 132
(903) 886-5150 or (903) 886-5835 phone
(903) 468-8148 fax
Email: [email protected]
All students enrolled at the University shall follow the tenets of common
decency and acceptable behavior conducive to a positive learning environment.
See Student's Guide Handbook, Policies and Procedures, Conduct.
Students who are disruptive to class activities will be dropped from the
class and may face further disciplinary action.
