GEOG 444
CSU Chico
Dr. Don L. Hankins
Biogeography & Landscape Ecology
Tentative Syllabus
Instructor Office:
539 Butte Hall, phone 898-4104, email dhankins@csuchico.edu
Office Hours:
T/TH 12:15-2:00 or by appointment
Course Format:
50 minute seminar/lecture and 80 minute lab/field exercises
Readings:
Selected readings provided below.
My Philosophy:
We all share responsibilities as caretakers of our environment. We live in a time of declining natural
resources (i.e., biodiversity, water, soil, and air) and relationships to the natural world. A primary
goal of my teaching is to instill a sense of appreciation for the resources and baseline knowledge,
which is integral to sustainable living.
Course Description:
This course examines biogeographic and landscape ecology theory and practice as key for developing
and evaluating strategies to prevent species extinction in the face of habitat loss, climate change,
biotic homogenization, and invasive species, while assessing the effectiveness of existing and
proposed protected area networks. The course focuses primarily on gaining an understanding of
ecological interactions, evolution, extinction, and earth system science as processes, with an emphasis
on quantitative and geographic methods used to determine the distribution and diversity of plant
and animal populations. Focus is also on understanding the fundamental issues in conservation
biogeography including biodiversity, ecosystem function, sustainability, humans as part of
ecosystems, invasive and endangered species, and reserve design to improve the conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity.
Course Objectives:
Students will become familiar with the conceptual and theoretical framework of Biogeography and
Landscape Ecology as well as applied skills in fieldwork, quantitative analytics and modeling
facilitate our understanding of spatial-temporal ecological processes. Readings from the
contemporary literature will introduce students to the current approaches in this field and encourage
critical thinking and effective communication in the process.
Assignments:
Readings: will be assigned and distributed electronically. Additionally, a designated student will be
responsible for finding a scientific journal article that pertains to the week’s topic. The article must be
approved by the professor and made available in advance to be posted on the class webpage so that
everyone gets a chance to read the paper before class. Each student is expected to read the assigned
paper(s), write notes on the given reading(s), and be prepared to critically discuss the reading(s).
Particularly make note of what the key points of the reading(s) are, and what is unclear in these
readings. You will turn in your notes each week.
One of the goals in this course is to develop critical thinking skills. Based on the above readings we
will discuss the assigned reading(s) each week. Each student will rotate through as the discussion
leader each week. As discussion leader, the student should be familiar with background materials
(perhaps drawing from additional sources to substantiate discussions), provide an evaluation and
synopsis of the significant contributions of the paper. Include a discussion of any innovative
methodologies employed in the research. Develop a few questions/issues to begin the group
discussion. An additional objective of the discussion leader will be to stimulate active involvement of
all the class members and part of the leader’s evaluation will be based on this. Allow everyone a
chance to speak. Keep discussion on topic. Keep the group engaged with new questions, issues,
perspectives.
Exams: A midterm and final exam will be given.
Lab: The labs will generally meet weekly, sometimes off-site or on an alternate day, with the goal of
gaining hands-on experience with the tools and techniques used in biogeographic and ecological
studies. Assignments will be due at the beginning of class one week after assigned unless otherwise
indicated.
Research Paper Due 6 May: After you have collected your data, you will complete the second major
component of your research project by writing your research paper (or summary of activities, etc.). As stated in
the syllabus, the format will be in the form of a brief paper. Your paper should be approximately 1000 words
(three pages double spaced 12 point font). Begin your article with an abstract no more than 150 words in
length. The remainder of the paper should follow standard scientific manuscript format (Introduction, Methods,
Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited), and following the Turabian Citation format. Due to the short length
of the article, Results and Discussion may be combined. The 1000-word limit does not include title or authors or
literature cited sections, but does include the abstract. If your topic does not fit well with these guidelines (e.g.
you’re reporting on an outreach program), you may modify the format. Be sure to italicize scientific names.
You are encouraged to include a map (can be hand-drawn) and other relevant graphics to display your data,
these do not count against your page or word limit. Development of an original research paper/report is
fundamental to this assignment. Submission of plagiarized materials will result in failure. One paper and one
electronic copy of your research should be submitted. Instruction for electronic submission will be provided at
a future date.
Rubric for research paper (45 Pts.):
1) Presentation of problem statement/relevant literature review (15)
2) Statement of research question/Hypothesis(es) (7.5)
3) Methods and data analysis (15)
4) Grammar, spelling and clarity (7.5)
Presentation 6 May: The final component of this process is to present an oral/poster presentation of your paper
during finals week. Your presentation should be 5 minutes in duration (unless we choose to do them during
finals week).
Rubric for presentation (15 Pts.):
1) Background/literature review (3)
2) Problem Statement/Intro (3)
3) Methodology / Findings (3)
4) Discussion (3)
5) Clarity of delivery (3)
Attendance: Attendance is part of the participation grade as there is a considerable amount of
information that is presented each meeting that is not in the readings. With this said, life happens,
and you may miss one class meeting before affecting your participation points.
Grading:
Grades will be assigned on a straight scale based on the points earned for each assignment (See
example grade ranges below). This system will enable each student to earn a fair grade based upon the
percent of points earned on assignments rather than competing with others in the class for the top
grade.
 One late homework assignment will be accepted without an excused absence.
 Other late assignments will have 10 % deducted for each day they are late, and no
assignments will be accepted more than one week (two class days) after the due date.
 All written assignments based on assigned readings will be due one week from the date
assigned unless otherwise advised.
 Spelling, grammar, and composition will be considered part of the grading of major writing
assignments
2



A
AB+
B
B-
Incompletes will only be considered if most of the course requirements have been fulfilled.
Written assignments should be based on primary sources, not the internet.
Take responsibility to complete original and punctual assignments.
0.935
0.90
0.87
0.835
0.80
C+
C
CD+
D
0.77
0.735
0.70
0.67
0.635
Participation and attendance
In-class topic presentation(s)
Homework/Assignments (10 pts. each)
Research Paper
Presentation
Midterm
Final exam
Total
30
20
70-100
50
15
50
50
375
points
points
points
points
points
points
points
points
(Note: these values are an approximation of point allocation. Additional points for other
assignments may be assigned at instructor’s discretion)
Class Rules:
Aside from University policies, respect the learning environment and the opinions/contributions of
others, learn (and share what you have learned), have fun (laugh a little), and engage in the class
topics. Please avoid tangential conversations and cellular phone use/text messaging during
instruction. Laptop and portable device use can be disruptive, and is discouraged.
Tentative Activity Schedule/Learning Objectives:
Lecture/Date*
Week 1
21-23 January
Week 2
28-30 January
Topic(s)
Overview and
Context of
Biogeography
History of
Biogeography
Controls of
Biodiversity
Tentative
Readings/Activity
Foundations
NO LAB
Learning Objective(s)

Interpret the foundations of the subdiscipline biogeography
Scale and Hierarchy

Identify the primary controls of
biodiversity
Synthesize the scale of organismal
interaction

Ecological Hierarchy
Week3
4-6 February
Communities and
Ecosystems
Physical Considerations
Landscape Context and

Richness
Interpret the role of heterogeneity at
a landscape scale
Landscape Elements
Week 4
11-13 February
Processes &
Succession
Sampling


Week 5
Taxonomic
Herbarium/Vertebrate
3

Identify patterns of ecological
interactions
Compare methods for assessing
diversity
Use keys to distinguish biotic
18-20 February
Week 6
25-27 February
Week 7
4-6 March
Week 8
11-13 March
Organization
Measuring Diversity
Distributions and
Range
Dispersal and
Vicariance
Museum
Weekend Fieldtrip
Tentative
Working with Data
Policy
Endemism & Islands




Island Biogeography
Week 9
17-21 March
Week 10
25-27 March
Week 11
1-3 April
Week 12
8-10 April
Week 13
15-17 April
Week 14
22-24 April
Week 15
29 April-1 May
Week 16
6-8 May
Week 17
variation
Identify and implement appropriate
methodology for sampling diversity
Assess the optimal conditions for
species occurrence
Identify the role of barriers in
distributions
Contrast the role of distance and
area on biodiversity
Water Manipulation
Spring Break
Measuring
Landscapes
Natural Selection and
Genetic
Considerations
Ecological
Interactions
Paleobiogeography &
Climate Change
Conservation
Biogeography
Marine Biogeography
Fieldwork or
Catchup
Semivariance and
Autocorrelation

Population Viability
Analysis

Weekend Fieldtrip
Tentative
NO LAB

Reserve Design and
Prioritization
Weekend Fieldtrip
Tentative
NO LAB



Identify and implement appropriate
methodology for sampling
landscapes
Describe and synthesize the
importance of genetic interaction for
species
Assess the linkages between
organisms within the ecosystem
Appreciate the methods and shifts in
regional diversity across time
Identify the methods used to
facilitate biodiversity conservation
Contrast the patterns of marine to
terrestrial habitats
Final Exam
Thursday 15 May 10:00-11:50
4