BIOS 5970: PLANT-HERBIVORE INTERACTIONS
Spring Semester 2016
Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:30-4:45 p.m.
Room 1106 Wood Hall
Dr Stephen B. Malcolm
3151 Wood Hall, tel: 387-5604, e-mail: steve.malcolm@wmich.edu
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~malcolm/
Department of Biological Sciences,
Western Michigan University.
Office hours: Monday and Wednesday, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., room 3151 Wood Hall,
or by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Interactions between plants and herbivores provide the foundation
processes for most observable ecological patterns. These processes have
organized patterns of species diversity through evolutionary history as well as
contemporary space, and may even have been responsible for the extinction of
an entire fauna - the great dinosaurs. Interactions between plants and
herbivores occur at a wide range of scales, from thrips to elephants, and often
control the dynamics of other exploitative, competitive and mutualistic processes
both within and among trophic levels.
Herbivory, as the process that describes interactions between plants
and herbivores, is pivotal because it spans a range of ecological interactions
from classical parasitism, through predation to mutualistic interactions such as
seed dispersal and pollination. In this course we will focus on the qualitative and
quantitative dynamics of interactions between plant defenses and herbivore
foraging tactics. These interactions will include considerations of chemical,
molecular, physiological, morphological, behavioral, ecological and evolutionary
aspects so that we can try to make sense of the importance and diversity of
plant-herbivore interactions. We will discuss various theories about how plant
defenses operate and then consider the different ways in which herbivores try to
exploit plants as defended resources.
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Stephen Malcolm
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COURSE STRUCTURE AND EVALUATION
Monday and Wednesday sessions:
Each Monday session will include a 50 minute lecture by Steve
Malcolm on the relevant topic with a discussion in which you will be expected to
participate. Each Wednesday session includes 20-minute student presentations
of notably creative or influential papers relevant to the weekly topic plus a variety
of practical exercises, discussions and short field exercises. Each presenter will
be awarded marks for the presentation and marks will also be awarded to all
discussion participants. So if you find it difficult to talk in public, it would be a
good idea to try and make some kind of contribution to the discussion by being
well-prepared each session - no constructive comments can ever be considered
pointless or silly, so please come prepared to say what you think, having
completed the relevant reading.
Research grant proposal:
I would also like each of you to submit a research grant proposal
based on the subject of your class presentation (or a different topic if you
prefer). This proposal should follow the guidelines for the Pierce Cedar Creek
Institute URGE program (Undergraduate Research Grants for the Environment –
see http://www.cedarcreekinstitute.org/fieldstationopportunities.html for more
information about the summer research program and criteria used for evaluating
grant proposals). The following is taken from this website and is the basis for
the structure of your proposal.
1. “Proposal - prepared by student(s) and faculty mentor
(Project narrative, items a. through e., is limited to eight double-spaced
pages)
a. One paragraph synopsis of project written for the general public.
b. Introduction with Statement of Purpose/Problem/Significance
c. Methods/Procedures and students’ involvement in all phases.
Describe the division of labor between faculty mentor and students.
Provide information on statistical design and analysis.
d. If applicable, describe responsible conduct of research procedures
that will be used for disposal of hazardous materials, potentially
infectious microorganisms, animals, etc.
Also include appropriate precautions related to vertebrate animal
research, state or federal permits, or human subject’s research (if
applicable).
e. References including sources used to prepare proposal.
f. Timetable for this project, including projected dates students plan to
reside at the Institute and information on projected housing needs for
faculty mentor during the research study.
g. Budget narrative explaining/justifying any materials and supplies to
be purchased and cost estimates. Include description of any other
Plant-Herbivore Interactions
Stephen Malcolm
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anticipated sources of support.
h. Dissemination plan for the presentation or publication of results.”
The
URGE
application
can
be
downloaded
from
http://www.cedarcreekinstitute.org/fieldstationopportunities.html and I will give
you a copy of an evaluation rubric that I will use to review your applications. I
would like you to hand in a complete application by Wednesday, March 16 (just
after spring break) and I will review it according to the rubric. You may then
revise your proposal and resubmit it by Monday April 11, having responded to
the review comments.
You are very welcome to discuss this research proposal with me at
any time and I strongly encourage you to engage with this activity throughout the
class. This proposal will be marked critically as though you were submitting it
for funding. As indicated above, the proposal should be readable, logical,
grammatically correct and spelling checked. The source of figures used, data,
quotes and ideas must be fully acknowledged and plagiarism must be avoided
absolutely. If at any time you are unsure about these issues please don’t
hesitate to talk with me.
In addition to a mid-term exam and a final exam, you will also be
asked to complete a computer modeling assignment.
COURSE EVALUATION
Performance in the course will be measured on the basis of the points
listed below awarded for presentation, for weekly discussion participation, a
research proposal, a mid-term exam, a computer modeling assignment and one
final exam. Each of the two exams will be two hours long and they will consist of
questions that should be answered with short, succinct essays, tables and
figures.
points
Presentation
100
Discussion participation
(5 at 20 points each)
100
Mid-Term Exam
(due 29 February)
100
Research Grant Proposal
(due 16 March)
100
Revised Research Proposal
(due 11 April)
100
Computer Modeling Assignment
(due 18 April)
100
Final Exam
(2:45-4:45 p.m., 25 April)
200
TOTAL
Grading scale:
Plant-Herbivore Interactions
A = >90%
B = >80%
C = >70%
D = >60%
800
BA = >85%
CB = >75%
DC = >65%
E = <60%
Stephen Malcolm
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Course material based on Howe and Westley (1988) and supplemented from
Crawley (1983) and Begon et al. (2006).
References:
Begon. M., Townsend, C.R., and Harper, J.L. 2006. Ecology: From individuals to
ecosystems. 4th edition. Blackwell Publishing, 738 pp.
Crawley, M.J. 1983. Herbivory. The Dynamics of Animal-Plant Interactions.
Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 437 pages.
Howe, H.F., and Westley, L.C. 1988. Ecological Relationships of Plants and
Animals. New York: Oxford University Press, 273 pp.
Class conduct:
Recommended statement from the Faculty Senate:
“You are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the
University policies and procedures that pertain to Academic Honesty. These
policies include cheating, fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple
submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse. (The academic policies
addressing Student Rights and Responsibilities can be found in the
Undergraduate Catalog at http://catalog.wmich.edu/index.php and the Graduate
Catalog at http://catalog.wmich.edu/index.php) If there is reason to believe you
have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of
Student Conduct. You will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s) and if
you believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing.
You should consult with your instructor if you are uncertain about an issue of
academic honesty prior to the submission of an assignment or test.”
In addition, instructors are encouraged to direct students to the Office of Student
Conduct www.wmich.edu/conduct, the Registrar’s Office
www.wmich.edu/registrar or Disability Services for Students
www.wmich.edu/disabilityservices to access the Code of Honor and general
academic policies on such issues as diversity, religious observance, student
disabilities, etc.”
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Stephen Malcolm
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BIOS 5970: PLANT-HERBIVORE INTERACTIONS
COURSE SCHEDULE Spring 2016
Week
Date
Topic
A. INTRODUCTION
1. January 11 Introduction to interactions between plants and herbivores
13 Malcolm lab research on milkweed-herbivore interactions
B. PLANT DEFENSES AND HERBIVORE FEEDING
2. January 18 No class – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day
20 Plant defenses and herbivore feeding
3. January 25
27
Coevolution?
Presentations 1, 2 & 3
4. February 1
3
5. February 8
10
Plant defense theory 1: history
Presentations 4, 5 & 6
Plant defense theory 2: development
Presentations 7, 8 & 9
6. February 15
17
Plant-defense theory 3: current status
Presentations 10, 11 & 12
7. February 22
Tritrophic interactions
(Take-home mid-term exam available – weeks 1-7)
Presentations 13, 14 & 15
24
C. EXPLOITATION AND MUTUALISMS
8. February 29 Pollination and fruit dispersal (midterm exam due)
March 2 Presentations 16, 17 & 18
(Mid-term exam due) Spring Break
9.
March 14
16
Ecology and evolution of mutualisms
Presentations 19, & 20 (research grant due)
D. POPULATION & COMMUNITY DYNAMICS
10.
March 21
23
Population models 1
Computer modeling
11.
March 28
30
April 4
6
Population models 2
Computer modeling
Community dynamics
Computer modeling
12.
13.
April 11
13
Herbivory, predation & parasitism (revised research grant due)
Computer modeling
14.
April 18
20
Herbivory and ecological theory (modeling assignment due)
Conclusions and review
15.
April 25
FINAL EXAM (2:45 – 4:45 p.m., room 1106 Wood Hall)
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Stephen Malcolm
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