Ecology & Evolution
Biology 376 / 576
Syllabus – Fall 2008
Instructor:
Dr. Bala Thiagarajan (Dr. Bala)
Office Location:
151 Halsey Science Center
Office Hours:
9.00 am – 10.00 am on Mondays and Fridays; Walk in or by appointment
Coffee Hours:
3.00 – 4.00 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays @ MiTaza, Reeve Student Union
Email Address:
thiagarb@uwosh.edu
Instant Messaging:
bala.uwosh, on gtalk
Lecture Hours:
Mondays: 3.00 – 5.00 pm, 310 Halsey
Lab Hours:
Wednesdays: 3.00 – 6.00 pm, 51 Halsey
Course Description
This course is an introduction to populations and communities. We will discuss distributions of
populations over time and space, Population structure, Growth, and interactions of populations
within communities including competition, predation and parasitism; community structure,
interactions and diversity. The lab part of the course includes field trips to understand
demography, study interactions, discussions, data collection, and analysis of population data
including computer simulations.
Method of Instruction
Lectures, Labs, Online Discussion, Videos and Service-Learning Projects
Course Requirements
Required Textbooks:
1. Rockwood, L.L. 2006. Introduction to Population Ecology. Blackwell Publishing,
Massachusetts, USA.
2. Morin, P.J. 2007. Community Ecology, 9th Edition. Blackwell Science Inc, MA, USA.
Access to Computer: Students require access to the internet and be able to log on to D2L;
participate in discussion and general communication through emails. We will use Google
Applications for sharing data and documents. Having a user ID for Google is highly
recommended.
Course Assessments

Take Home Exams (2x100): There will be two take home exams based on the
information presented in lectures, labs, textbook material and online discussions.
Format includes short answers and essays. Exams will be a combination of short
answer questions and essay responses.

Online Discussions (14x20): We will have an online discussion every other week on,
and the article for discussion will be announced one week in advance for you to
prepare. Discussions will emphasize reading primary literature, and summarizing the
material. You are encouraged to select the papers based on your particular interest.

Lab Reports (4x25): Formal lab reports (Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results,
Discussion, Literature Cited, Tables, and Figures) on experiments and data analysed in
the lab, due one week after the completion of the project. We will discuss the
objectives, experimental design and statistical analyses during lab hours. Students can
work in small groups on the experiment, but need to turn in individual reports.

Short Assignments (60): These will focus on analyzing data and interpreting results.
Graduate Students will have additional assignments.

Service-Learning project (100): Participate in a project / study in collaboration with a
community agency (example – DNR) and write a paper on your learning experience.
Grading: There are evaluations worth a total of 600 points (excludes Graduate Students),
which will be converted to a percent scale for final grades. As there are some changes being
made to the grading scheme, the final grade rubric will be announced in the next few weeks.
General Policies and Expectations
Class Attendance: It is your responsibility to attend every class session unless there is an
adequate reason for your absence such as illness, travel associated with a college sponsored
event, or family emergency. I do not require attendance and it is your choice whether you
attend classes. However, given the advanced nature of the materials in this class, catching up
on a missed lab or lecture is not going to be easy.
Academic Honesty: Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of
their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for the respect of others’ academic
endeavors (UWS 14.01, Wisconsin Administrative Code). Any form of cheating, or any
misrepresentation of your work will result in zero (0) points being recorded for that graded
component of the course. This includes plagiarism of published works or fellow students.
Please see me for any clarification on what constitutes plagiarism if you have doubts. Refer to
the UWSP handbook on the University's policy regarding plagiarism (UWS 14). All assignments
will have to be written by you unless authorized. Paraphrasing is considered plagiarism.
Late Assignments: Assignments must be turned in by the deadline and No late assignments
will be accepted.
Changes to the syllabus: This syllabus and the class schedule are tentative and subject to
change.
Important Dates to Note:
Class starts on:
Last Day of class:
Last Day to drop:
September 3, 2008
December 10, 2008
October 17, 2008
Assignments due:
Friday by 4 pm.
Tentative Lecture Schedules
Week of
9/8/2008
9/15/2008
9/22/2008
9/29/2008
10/6/2008
10/13/2008
10/20/2008
10/27/2008
11/3/2008
11/10/2008
11/17/2008
11/24/2008
12/1/2008
12/8/2008
Topic
Populations, Population descriptors, Dynamics
Demography, Life tables, Population Growth
Life History Theory
Density Dependence and Independence; Population Limitations
Population Limitations
Metapopulations
Mutualism, Competition and Patterns of Communities
Competition
Competition
Predation, Parasitism
Habitat Selection, Niche, Community Structure
Island Biology
Mathematics in Ecology
Applications
Tentative Lab Schedules
Date
9/3/2008
9/10/2008
9/17/2008
9/24/2008
10/1/2008
10/8/2008
10/15/2008
10/22/2008
10/29/2008
11/5/2008
11/12/2008
11/19/2008
11/26/2008
12/3/2008
12/10/2008
Topic
Introduction, Syllabus, Wolves in Paradise
Field Trip – Constructing Life Tables
Field Trip – Seed Dispersal
Field Trip – Seed Dispersal
Field Trip – Seed Dispersal
Field Trip – Seed Dispersal
Endophytes
Endophytes
Data Analysis
Population Analysis Tools
Introduction to Program Mark