Biology 2200 Fall 2013
Biology 2200
PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGY
Fall 2013
Course Outline
This course examines the relationships between organisms and their environments from a
number of perspectives. We first examine the relationships between organisms and their
physical environment. Next we deal with how organisms adapt to varying environments
from the perspective of evolutionary ecology. We then present the principles of
population ecology, population regulation and the interactions between populations
within communities, and examine how these principles are used in conservation, pest
control and other areas of environmental management. Finally, we examine energy flow,
trophic structure, and the cycling of matter within ecosystems and then relate these
concepts to the issue of economic development and its impact on global ecological
processes.
Lecture:
Tuesday/Thursday, 9:25 to 10:40 am, Room C674
Lecturers:
Dr. T. Andrew Hurly
WE1004, email: hurly@uleth.ca
Office Hours: by appointment
Dr. Joseph B. Rasmussen
WE1050, email: joseph.rasmussen@uleth.ca
Office Hours: by appointment
Website:
Moodle
Text:
R.E. Ricklefs, The Economy of Nature 6th Edition. Freeman
Lectures:
Condensed Lecture PowerPoints will be posted on Moodle.
General info: General announcements will be made in class or will be sent by email to
the class list. If you do not use the U of L assigned email address, arrange
for email sent to the @uleth.ca address to be forwarded to the address you
do use. You can arrange to forward mail by going to:
https://www.uleth.ca/webtools/account_tools/forward
Laboratory:
Lab Instructor and Coordinator: Katrina Mendez,
Office UH D888, Email: katrina.mendez@uleth.ca
Lab Manual: Available on Moodle
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Biology 2200 Fall 2013
Grade Composition:
Lecture 60%, Lab 40%
LECTURE exams will be administered through Moodle 60%
Lecture Exam #1 Week of Oct. 7
20% Lectures 1-8
Lecture Exam #2 Week of Nov. 4
20% Lectures 9-16
Lecture Exam #3 Final Exam Period
20% Lectures 17-27
Consult Moodle site for the exact days the exams are open
LABORATORY: See lab manual for detailed mark breakdown -
40%
TENTATIVE LECTURE SCHEDULE
Lecture
1
Date
05-Sep-13
Chapter
1
Topic
Introduction
Instructor
JR
2
3
10-Sep-13
12-Sep-13
2
3
Physical Environment: Adaptations and Water, Nutrients
Physical Environment: Adaptations and Light, Energy, Heat
JR
JR
4
5
17-Sep-13
19-Sep-13
4, 5
6
Variation in the Environment: Climate, Water Soil; Biomes
Evolution and Adaptation
JR
AH
6
7
24-Sep-13
26-Sep-13
7
8
Life Histories and Evolutionary Fitness
Sex and Evolution
AH
AH
8
9
01-Oct-13
03-Oct-13
9
10
Family, Society and Evolution
Distribution and Spatial Structure of Populations
AH
AH
10
11
08-Oct-13
10-Oct-13
11
11
Population Growth
Population Regulation
AH
AH
12
13
15-Oct-13
17-Oct-13
12
14, 15
Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Populations
Species Interactions and Consumer-Resource Dynamics
AH
JR
14
15
22-Oct-13
24-Oct-13
15
16
Consumer-Resource Dynamics
Competition
JR
JR
16
17
29-Oct-13
31-Oct-13
17
18
Evolution of Species Interactions
Community Structure
JR
AH
18
19
05-Nov-13
07-Nov-13
19
20
Ecological Succession and Community Development
Biodiversity
AH
AH
20
21
12-Nov-13
14-Nov-13
21
22
History, Biogeography, Biodiversity
Energy in the Ecosystem
AH
JR
22
23
19-Nov-13
21-Nov-13
23
24
Pathways of Elements in Ecosystems
Nutrient Regeneration in Ecosystems
JR
JR
24
25
26-Nov-13
28-Nov-13
25
26
Landscape Ecology
Biodiversity, Extinction Conservation
AH
AH
26
27
03-Dec-13
05-Dec-13
27
27
Economic Development and Global Ecology
Economic Development and Global Ecology
JR
JR
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Biology 2200 Fall 2013
Course Goals
The following are some basic goals that each student should accomplish:
Develop a basic understanding of:
- Ecological systems: the biosphere is a nested hierarchy of systems each
containing subsystems
- The organism as the fundamental unit in ecological systems; organisms are
adapted to a changing physical and biological environment
- Ecosystem function as the result of organisms interacting with each other and
with the physical and chemical environment
- Life histories and mating systems as evolutionary adaptations
-
Populations of organisms and how they are regulated by feedback processes
arising from biological interactions
Ecological systems as different from physical or engineered systems because
their components are constantly evolving and adapting to their ecological role.
Evolution as the source of biological diversity
Biological diversity as a source of increasing ecosystem complexity
Structure and function as inter-related aspects of ecological systems
The reciprocal relationships between pattern and process; patterns in nature
reflect underlying processes, and processes in turn generate patterns
Environmental issues as the outcome of human ecological success; humans
have become so successful at resource exploitation and substitution, and
adapting to a changing environment, that we may be threatening our own
survival
Grading
Exams and assignments provide a way for instructors to assess the degree to which each
student has accomplished the course goals. The goal of education is learning, not the
attainment of certain grades. Exams and assignments are means by which you can
demonstrate to instructors that you have learned the course material and understand the
principles of ecology. Marks are a way to represent this degree of learning on a standard
scale.
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Biology 2200 Fall 2013
Letter grade conversions (approximate)
Percent
Letter
91-100
A+
86-90
A
Excellent
80-85
A77-79
B+
74-76
B
Good
70-73
B67-69
C+
64-66
C
Satisfactory
60-63
C55-59
D+
Poor
50-54
D
Minimal Pass
49 or less
F
Failure
Student Conduct
Unless otherwise indicated, all assignments and exams in this course must be original
work completed by individual students. Academic offences (plagiarism and cheating) or
non-academic offences committed by students in the context of this course will be dealt
with according to the policy of the University of Lethbridge as indicated in the 2013
Calendar.
Missed Exam and Assignment Policy
Missed exams and assignments earn a grade of zero. Students who miss exams or
assignments will be allowed to perform make-up work only if they provide documented
evidence of an acceptable excuse (e.g. note from physician). Do not make travel
arrangements that conflict with exams, assignments or the final exam schedule!
Classroom Conduct
In this course, classroom activities involve lectures and laboratory exercises. It is
essential that these opportunities for learning not be disrupted by inappropriate activities.
All cell phones, laptops and similar devices must have ring tones and alerts turned off
during classroom activities. Texting, emailing, web-surfing etc. are activities that
generally interfere with learning in the classroom. If these, or any other, activities are
deemed by the instructor to be disruptive then they will be banned from the classroom.
Please notify the instructor if situations arise in which an electronic device is required in
the classroom.
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