BIOL 576C-WI
Restoration Ecology
Spring 2016
Dyer
Bio 576C-WI: Topics in Environmental Science - Restoration Ecology (3)
This course is an introduction to the current ecological principles of terrestrial ecosystem and habitat
restoration. The underlying premise is that human activities disturb and degrade natural ecosystems
and that by following our understanding of ecological principles, humans can make attempts to repair,
reconstruct, and restore natural functioning to the disturbed habitats.
Instructor: Dr. Andrew Dyer
Phone: 641-3443
Office: Science 101E
email: andyd@usca.edu
Lecture: Tues-Thurs 10:50-12:05 Sciences 107
Textbook: No text will be required. All reading will be papers taken from the recent literature on
restoration ecology and will be available at K:/Dyer/BIOL576C
Course objectives
The goal of the course is to familiarize students with the objectives of restoration ecology as both an
empirical and an applied discipline, and the obstacles that must be met and overcome in successful
restoration ecology. This course is intended as an overview of the subject rather than an introduction
to the practice of restoration. The focus of the class will be on reading and presenting recent empirical
and review papers and on writing informed opinions about the topics.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to….
1. describe ecological principles that guide restoration ecology
2. describe examples of pitfalls in restoration projects
3. explain how succession affects ecosystems
4. explain the importance of diversity to ecosystem stability
Evaluation
~10 quizzes
5 2-page summaries
3 tests
Restoration report
Participation in class discussions (15 wks)
Total
80
100
170
170
60
~600
There are no make-up quizzes.
Late assignments lose 10% per day, but they continue to have value, so turn them in even if they are late.
Grades are calculated on a 10 pt scale: A>90%, B>80%, C>70%.
When I grade subjective assignments (e.g., essays and reports), I judge them according to how much effort I
think went into them. Therefore, spelling, grammar, organization, and thoughtfulness count as does the
ability to tie together different concepts from class. If you are not strong in grammar, you should consider
using the Writing Room before turning in assignments. I will make an effort to return graded assignments
within a week and always with comments. I welcome your comments in return and you are always invited to
discuss your answers with me.
Absences
Try to avoid them. This class only meets only twice a week during the semester. If there are emergency reasons
for missing a day, contact Dr. Dyer unless absolutely unavoidable in which case there better be documentation
of the reason. However, regardless of the reason for the missed class, quizzes cannot be made up. If you miss
more than eight (30%) of the class meetings, you will fail the class.
Additional comments
1. If you are having difficulty with any aspect of this course, please come see me as soon as possible. If my
regular office hours conflict with your schedule, you can make an appointment to see me at a more convenient
time.
2. If you have a physical, psychological, and/or learning disability that might affect your
performance in this class, please contact the Office of Disability Services, B&E 134, (803) 6436816, as soon as possible. The Office of Disability Services will determine appropriate
accommodations based on medical documentation.
3. You will be expected to endorse the following Honor Pledge on every exam:
On my honor as a University of South Carolina Aiken student, I have neither given nor received
any unauthorized aid in this assignment/examination. To the best of my knowledge, I am not in
violation of academic honesty.
Infractions of this honor pledge are taken very seriously. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in a formal
report to the Vice Chancellor. Make sure you understand ALL of the forms of plagiarism (see the section
below).
Computer use
We will be using computers regularly to collect data. You must be able to log on to the USCA computer system
in order to accomplish the laboratory work. You are welcome to bring your own computer to class.
Class communications
All official class communications, including class announcements, are made to USCA email accounts. Students
should check their USCA email account on a regular basis and use this account for communication with the
instructor. In order to protect the privacy of the student, the instructor will not reply to emails sent from nonUSCA accounts (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo). Also, because of federal law, no grades or scores can be communicated
by phone or email; you must come to the instructor’s office.
Classroom behavior
It is the instructor’s right to remove from the classroom any student who disrupts or disturbs the proceeding of
the class. Disruption of the class includes but is not limited to the use of any portable electronic devices (e.g.,
cell phones, MP3 players, iPods) unless prior approval has been given to a student or unless required for the
course. Do NOT plan to wear headphones or earbuds at any time in class. In extreme cases the faculty member
can request assistance from University Police. If the student who has been ejected causes similar disturbances in
subsequent meetings of the class, he/she may be denied admittance to the class for the remainder of the semester
and assigned a grade of F.
A short note about PLAGIARISM
Any and all work turned in for credit is assumed to be your work and the product of your brain and your brain
alone. Every word and every sentence is your work. Work can be considered plagiarism even if it is not exact
copying. My advice is “don’t make me look” because when I get suspicious enough to look, I usually find. For
your information, it is plagiarism….
*if you fail to cite a reference after giving a factual statement;
*if you fail to use quotation marks (and I do not allow quoting unless it is unavoidable);
*if you turn in work with your name on it that someone else has produced;
*if you rephrase someone else’s work or merely change a few words;
*if you have the same order and form of sentences as the source material or someone else’s work;
*if you consistently mis-cite or mis-use cites in a way that suggests intentional misdirection;
*if you and a lab partner work together and turn in work that is substantially the same.
ALSO,
If a “draft” of a paper has any of the above problems, it is still plagiarism.
If I cannot tell who in a lab group produced a piece of work, no credit will be assigned to anyone in the lab
group. (This does not include “group” reports.)
If you give your work to someone else and they turn it in, I have the option of including you in the plagiarism
charge because you supported it.
If the references given are not accessible to the instructor, no credit will be given. Therefore, if you use obscure
or unusual references, it is your responsibility to turn in a copy with the assignment or make it available
to me.
If someone else writes or prepares an assignment for you, that’s another form of academic dishonesty.
Be aware that what was allowed in high school does not necessarily apply at USCA. If there is anything about
the above statements that are not clear, don’t wait until an assignment is due to find out more.
Many students believe that having no more than three consecutive words from an original source will fool the
electronic programs that detect plagiarism. I don’t use those programs; I read the papers that are given in the
reference list and compare them to the student’s work. If I find any of the problems listed above, there will be no
first warning. There is no latitude given because there is no excuse for plagiarism.
Therefore, if I find any work that is too similar to other work, either in the class or out of the class, please
understand that I have no options but to follow the rules as outlined in the USCA Faculty Manual. The
student(s) involved will be summoned to my office and the situation will be explained. There will be no options
for “redoing” the work. A zero will be given to the assignment, and a formal letters will be sent to the student,
the student’s department chair, and to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs to document the
situation. As with all academic issues, there is an avenue for appeal (detailed in the USCA Student Handbook),
but it is not through me.
Tentative course outline
Topic
Reading
Quiz (Th)/Test (T)
Jan 12-14
1. Introduction
Hardin 1968, SER Primer 2004
Q1
Jan 19-21
2. Function
*Carey 2003
Q2
Jan 26-28
3. Biodiversity
McKay et al. 2005
Q3
Feb 2-4
4. Succession
Doumas & Koprowski 2013
Test
Feb 9-11
5. Assembly
*Sandom et al. 2013
Q4
Feb 16-18
6. Landscapes
Bierregaard et al. 1983
Q5
Feb 23-25
7. Invasions
*D’Antonio & Meyerson 2002
Q6
Mar 1-3
8. Soils
Rhoades et al. 2002
Test
Mar 8-10
Spring Break
Mar 15-17
9. Mines
*Frick et al. 2014
Q7
Mar 22-24
10. Forests
Birdsall et al. 2012
Q8
Mar 29-31
11. Endangered animals
*Drayton & Primack 2012
Q9
Apr 5-7
12. Aquatic systems
Stranko et al. 2012
Test
Apr 12-14
13. Indirect benefits
*Morlando et al. 2012
Q10
Apr 19-21
14. Biodiversity
TBA
Apr 28 (Th)
Final 11:00am (reports)
Readings (K: Dyer / 576C folder):
1. Hardin, G. 1968. The Tragedy of the Commons. Science 162:1243-1248
1a. Society for Ecological Restoration. 2004. The SER International Primer on Ecological Restoration.
2. Carey, A. B. 2003. Restoration of landscape function: reserves or active management? Forestry 76: 221-230.
3. McKay, J.K., Christian, C.E., Harrison, S., Rice, K.J. 2005. "How Local Is Local?" A Review of Practical and
Conceptual Issues in the Genetics of Restoration. Restoration Ecology. 13: 432-440.
3. Knapp, E.E. & Dyer, A.R. 1997. When do genetic considerations require special approaches to ecological restoration?.
In: Fiedler, P.L.; Kareiva, P.M., editors. Chapman and Hall. New York.
Genetics: http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/gcerb/CPC_GCERBRefTopicList.asp
4. Parker, V.T. 1997. The scale of successional models and restoration objectives. Restoration Ecology 5: 301-306.
4. Doumas, SL & JL Koprowski. 2013. Return of Fire as a Restoration Tool: Long-Term Effects of Burn Severity on
Habitat Use by Mexican Fox Squirrels. Restoration Ecology 21:133-139.
5. Sandom, CJ, J Hughes & DW Macdonald. 2013. Rewilding the Scottish Highlands: Do Wild Boar, Sus scrofa, Use a
Suitable Foraging Strategy to be Effective Ecosystem Engineers? Restoration Ecology 21:336-343.
5. D’Antonio, C.M. & Vitousek, P.M. 1992. Biological invasions by exotic grasses, the grass/fire cycle, and global change.
Annual Review of Ecology & Systematics 23:63-87.
6. Bierregaard R.O. Jr.,Lovejoy T.E., Kapos V., dos Santos, A.A., Hutchings, R.W. 1992. The Biological Dynamics of
Tropical Rainforest Fragments. BioScience 42:859-866.
7. D'Antonio, C. & Meyerson, L.A. 2002. Exotic plant species as problems and solutions in ecological restoration: a
synthesis. Restoration Ecology 10: 703-713.
8. Rhoades, C, Barnes, T. & Washburn, B. 2002. Prescribed fire and herbicide effects on soil processes during barrens
restoration. Restoration Ecology 10: 656-664.
8. Richter, B.S. and Stutz, J.C. 2002. Mycorrhizal inoculation of Big Sacaton: implications for grassland restoration of
abandoned agricultural fields. Restoration Ecology 10: 607-616.
10. Frick, KM, AL Ritchie & SL Krauss. 2013. Field of Dreams: Restitution of Pollinator Services in Restored BirdPollinated Plant Populations. Restoration Ecology 22:832-840.
10. Wong, M.H. 2003. Ecological restoration of mine degraded soils, with emphasis on metal contaminated soils.
Chemosphere 50: 775-780.
11. Birdsall, J.L., McCaughey, W. & Runyon, J.B. 2012. Roads Impact the Distribution of Noxious Weeds More Than
Restoration Treatments in a Lodgepole Pine Forest in Montana, U.S.A. Restoration Ecology 20:517-523.
12. Drayton, B. & Primack, R.B. 2012. Success Rates for Reintroductions of Eight Perennial Plant Species after 15 Years.
Restoration Ecology 20:299-303.
13. Stranko, S.A., Hilderbrand, R.H. & Palmer, M.A. 2012. Comparing the Fish and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Diversity
of Restored Urban Streams to Reference Streams. Restoration Ecology 20:747-755.
14. Morlando, S., Schmidt, S.J. & LoGiudice, K. 2012. Reduction in Lyme Disease Risk as an Economic Benefit of
Habitat Restoration. Restoration Ecology 20:498-504.