TO:
Beth Dobkin, Provost
FROM:
Valerie Burke, Chair
Academic Senate
DATE:
March 5, 2015
RE:
Senate Action S-14/15-18CA
Bio 34 Protecting Biodiversity
New Course Proposal
At the March 4, 2015 meeting of the Academic Senate, the attached proposal for a new course, Bio 34,
Protecting Biodiversity was approved on the Consent Agenda. The proposal was unanimously approved
by the Undergraduate Educational Policies Committee at their February 16, 2015 meeting. All documents
related to this proposal can be viewed at the UEPC website (http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/facultygovernance/undergraduate-educational-policies-committee-uepc/agendas.)
This action was assigned Senate Action #S-14/15-18CA.
Attachment
cc: President James A. Donahue
Vice Provost Richard Carp
Dean Roy Wensley
UEPC New course proposal – Biol 34 Protecting Biodiversity
--School of Science: Department of Biology
--Title of course: Bio 34 Protecting Biodiversity
1. Justification:
This course is designed to be a non-majors introductory science course and will fulfill the Core
Curriculum requirements for a Scientific Understanding course. There is a need for more non-majors
science courses within the School of Science.
A. The central objectives for this course are the following
1. impart an understanding and appreciation for the place of the human species in the global
ecosystem,
2. examine the ways the environment has influenced human behavior,
3. provide skills (laboratory and experiential) necessary to assess human environmental impacts,
4. explore ways to maintain Earth’s life-support systems.
B. The subject matter (planetary biodiversity, sustainability and conservation) is one that is
increasingly relevant in our world in addition to being sought after by our student body. The
Biology department is fully behind this course and its goals
C. Student Assessment: Students will have three exams (two mid terms and a final) that will all be
short essay format, where a week prior to the exam a list of ~50 questions will be handed out to the
students. The exams will then draw approximately 10 questions directly from the provided list. In
addition the students will write three lab reports in a scientific format and make a formal
powerpoint presentation to the class during a multi-week mock-public hearing/meeting on a topic
related to biodiversity
This course is meant to introduce students to basic concepts of evolution, ecology and conservation in the
service of protecting planetary biodiversity. The course will often focus on California, and how the
natural history, ecology and issues within our state relate to topics elsewhere in the US and abroad. The
scientific information contained in this course will provide of some of the intellectual tools necessary to
understand the worldwide environmental crisis we are living through, and perhaps some possible
solutions. I also expect students to develop a deeper appreciation for the intricacy and beauty of natural
systems. Because Bio 34 fulfills the Core Curriculum Scientific Understanding requirement, (it is being
evaluated by the core curriculum committee at this time) attention will be placed on honing the student’s
general knowledge of the scientific method through the laboratory and in-class exercises.
2. Student Population: The anticipated student population for this course is all non-science majors from
across the University, who wish to fulfill their Core Curriculum Scientific Understanding course.
Generally the course will be limited to 16 students due to space and lab constraints (ie access to lab
materials and computers).
3. Relationship to present College curriculum: This course fits easily into the School of Science
curriculum in regards to the lower division non-majors Scientific Understanding courses. No Biology
courses will have to be dropped and there is no expected impact on other departments.
4. Extraordinary Costs: none
5. Library Resources: I have worked with the library to provide appropriate and useful resources
6. Course Credit and Grading options: The course will be offered for a single credit and will be graded on
a normal scale.
7. Prerequisites: None
8. Course description wording: The primary goal of Bio 34 is to introduce students to basic concepts of
evolution, ecology and conservation biology. We will often focus on California, and how the natural
history, ecology and issues within our state relate to topics elsewhere in the US and abroad. The
information contained in this course will provide some of the intellectual tools necessary to understand the
worldwide Biodiversity and environmental crises we are living through, and perhaps some possible
solutions. We also expect to help students develop a deeper appreciation for the intricacy and beauty of
natural systems. Because Bio 34 will fulfill the Core Curriculum Scientific Understanding requirement,
attention will be placed on understanding the scientific method and honing general study skills through the
exams, laboratories and presentations.
9. Course Content: see attached syllabus
10. Review of experimental offering: The main thing learned from the experimental offering of this course in
the spring of 2013 is that it needs to be designated as a Core Curriculum Scientific Understanding course.
We only had 6 students sign up for the course because it was not listed as part of the Core Curriculum
offerings. The student evaluations were pretty solid for this offering but only a few of the 6 students
actually filled them out, so the statistical relevance is not possible.
Please note that I taught this same course at California State University Chico every semester for
11 years running as part of their core curriculum requirement and the experimental offering here only
helped solidify the ways in which this course succeeds. This course was wildly popular at Chico, as it
often had waiting lists and was often ranked very highly by the student body. A version of it is still being
taught every semester at Chico in my absence.
Biol 034 Protecting Biodiversity - Course Information
Instructor:
Dr. Michael Marchetti (Brousseau 106)
email: mpm9@stmarys-ca.edu
office hrs - Tues 2-4pm
web site: http://galileo.stmarys-ca.edu/mpm9/Marchettis_lab.html
"In the past 24 hours the planet added 209,000 babies, lost 104,000 acres of rainforest, added 41,000 acres of desert, lost 215
million tons of topsoil, added 4 million tons of carbon to the atmosphere, and lost about 75 species.... And we get to do it again
tomorrow."
- D. Orr 1992
Course Goals: The primary goal of BIOL 34 is to introduce you to basic concepts of evolution, ecology and conservation
biology. We will often focus on California, and how the natural history, ecology and issues within our state relate to topics
elsewhere in the US and abroad. The information contained in this course should also provide some of the intellectual tools
necessary to understand the worldwide Biodiversity and environmental crisis we are living through, and perhaps some possible
solutions. I also expect to help you develop a deeper appreciation for the intricacy and beauty of natural systems. Because
BIOL 34 is also an Area B course, attention will be placed on understanding the scientific method and honing general study
skills through the exams and presentations.
Textbook:
Marchetti M.P. and P. B. Moyle. 2010. Protecting life on earth: an introduction to conservation science. UC Press. 240
pages. ISBN: 0520264320
If you do not find it as a bound version in the bookstore, this text can be purchased as an e-book (i.e. downloaded) from the UC
Press website (http://www.ucpress.edu) or as a kindle edition from amazon.com. Both these options carry a reduced price tag
and both reduce the carbon footprint of purchasing the book. Keep in mind; in order to appreciate and study the field of
conservation, a solid grounding in the ideas and terminology of evolution, natural selection and general ecology is necessary
(i.e. you need to read the book!!).
Exams: The exams (three midterms and final) will be short essay format. There will be a sheet with approximately 30
questions handed out one week before the exam, and the exam will come directly from that list. As I am essentially giving you
the exam ahead of time, I expect complete and well-crafted answers on the exam, which means that you will need to write
out full answers to the questions prior to the exam. Answers will be graded on completeness, understanding and use of
appropriate terminology. Please also note that the final will be comprehensive and include questions from all the previous
question sets. For each exam I will choose 6-8 of the questions directly from the handout for that section of the course.
Answers will be graded on completeness of the answer, clarity of thought and grammar.
Lab: Laboratory time will be spent on various projects/activities and computer simulations. A dichotomous key exercise and
the simbio exercises will be graded and submitted (details later). There will also be a large class project at the end of the
semester that will involve power point presentations. Details will be forthcoming.
Grading
Exams Exam I
Exam II
Exam III
Final
Otter Presentation
Lab
Dichotomous key
Simbio exercises (50 pts each)
Total Possible Points
Points
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
700 pts
Grading is strictly based on the percentage of points you earn out of the total possible. Grades will be assigned according to the
following scale: >95%=A, 90-94%=A-, 85-89 %=B+, 80-84%=B, 75-79%=C+, 70-74%=C, 65-69=D, <65%=failure
Student Disability Services:
Student Disability Services extends reasonable and appropriate accommodations that take into account the context of
the course and its essential elements for individuals with qualifying disabilities. Students with disabilities are encouraged to
contact the Student Disability Services Office at (925) 631-4358 to set up a confidential appointment to discuss accommodation
guidelines and available services. Additional information regarding the services available may be found at the following address
on the Saint Mary’s website: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/sds
LECTURE SCHEDULE
29-Jan
Variation and Natural Selection
3-Feb
Examples of Evol. by Nat. Selection
5-Feb
Big evolutionary patterns
10-Feb
What is a species?
12-Feb
Cats in our lives
17-Feb
exam 1
ECOLOGY
19-Feb
Understanding Climate and Biomes
24-Feb
Individual level Ecology
26-Feb
Populations
3-Mar
Ecology of communities
5-Mar
Ecosystem processes
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
10-Mar
Global Biodiversity
12-Mar
exam 2
spring break
24-Mar
Extinction
26-Mar
Econ., Value & Tragedy of Commons
31-Mar cesar chavez day - no class
2-Apr
Political Tools for Conservation
7-Apr
CA water and conservation
9-Apr
Conservation in practice
14-Apr
Ex-Situ conservation - Designing a Zoo
16-Apr
Restoration Ecology
21-Apr
exam 3
23-Apr
Putah Creek Case Study
28-Apr
invasive species
30-Apr
cane toads in Australia
5-May
Sea Otter Food Web Ecology & Hearing Set-up
7-May
Special Interest Group Work
12-May
Sea Otter Debate
14-May
What you can do!
chap
chap
chap
chap
none
2
2
2
3
chap
chap
chap
chap
chap
4
5
5
6
6
chap 7
chap 7
chap 8
chap 9
none
chap 10
none
chap 12
none
chap 11
none
none
none
none
chap 13
Presentation
The last three weeks of lab will revolve around a group project that will take place in class. The project will involve
short presentations to the class and will be graded. The details of the presentation will be given to you much later in the
semester.
Class Attendance
Attendance in class is a vital part of this course and as such for every class period you fail to attend after one excuse,
you will lose 10 points off your final grade (out of 800 pts total for the semester). If you fail to attend a lab section you will get
a zero for that lab assignment.
A NOTE ABOUT PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is when you take someone else's ideas and writings and pass them off as your own. This is a form of lying,
it is considered a gross breach of academic honesty and will be dealt with severely (automatic failure!). Plagiarism can take
many forms. For example, it is not acceptable to take paragraphs, sentences or even phrases from someone else's writing and
put them into your paper as your own ideas! YOU MUST PARAPHRASE (i.e. re write) THE IDEAS OR PHRASES. Even
when you do paraphrase the ideas you still must cite where the information originated. This usually takes the form of a citation
like the following: (Marchetti and Moyle, 2010) and the full reference must be given in the reference section at the end of the
paper. If you want to quote some document directly (i.e., using all their words with no paraphrasing) you must put quotation
marks around it and still cite the reference. (NOTE: quoting directly is generally to be avoided in scientific writing unless
absolutely necessary). If you are confused about plagiarism please come talk to me.
Student Disability Services: Student Disability Services extends reasonable and appropriate accommodations that take into
account the context of the course and its essential elements for individuals with qualifying disabilities. Students with disabilities
are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services Office at (925) 631-4358 to set up a confidential appointment to
discuss accommodation guidelines and available services. Additional information regarding the services available may be found
at the following address on the Saint Mary’s website: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/sds
Review of Library Resources and Information Literacy
To support Biology 34 (Protecting Biodiversity)
Prepared by Linda Wobbe,
Biology and Environmental Science Librarian Subject Specialist, December, 2013
Summary of course content: Biology 34 is a non-majors lower-division course that will require students to
investigate and prepare a presentation on a current topic in biodiversity, sustainability, conservation, or other
environmental issue.
A. Collection. The Library has been building a collection to support the Environmental Science and Studies
programs for several years. For example, the Library recently purchased the 10-volume Berkshire encyclopedia
of sustainability on the Gale Virtual Reference Library interface. It is anticipated that these resources will be
sufficient to support student research in this class, including for the group project / presentation, as well as for
the independent search of library materials to gain a broader understanding of ideas presented in class. The
Library’s Subject Guide for Science (General) and for Environmental Science & Studies will provide quick
access to the following resources. If a specific Library Subject Guide for Biodiversity is desired, that will be
developed in collaboration with the instructor.
1.
Reference Books and Databases. The Library owns some key reference handbooks and encyclopedias that
covers these topics.
A selection:
Online Reference tools:
Gale Virtual Reference Library. Includes the following encyclopedias:
Berkshire encyclopedia of sustainability, 10 vols, 2010-2012
Endangered species : protecting biodiversity, 2007
The world's largest wetlands : ecology and conservation, 2005
Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America
Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences. 6 vols, 2009
Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, 27v, 2008
Oxford Reference Online.
A dictionary of environment and conservation, 2007
ABC-Clio ebooks
Climate change : an encyclopedia of science and history, 2013
SAGE Knowledge ebooks
Climate change : an encyclopedia of science and history, 2012
Access Science. For General background. Includes the following reference encyclopedias and dictionaries:
McGraw-Hill's Encyclopedia of Science & Technology
McGraw-Hill Yearbooks of Science & Technology
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
Additional core print reference sources:
Encyclopedia of biodiversity / editor-in-chief, Simon Asher Levin San Diego : Academic Press, c2001 5 vol.
(Ref 333.95 L578)
Encyclopedia of marine mammals. San Diego : Academic Press, c2002 (Ref 599.5 P428)
2.
Periodicals. Leveraging membership in consortia to obtain favorable pricing for major scientific publisher’s
content has resulted in a respectable collection of general science and biology research journals and general
readership magazines. Subscriptions are primarily to online content. Key titles include:
Science News
Scientific American
American Scientist
Science
Nature
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Ecological Society of America publications: Ecology, Ecological Applications, Ecological Monographs
Restoration Ecology
3.
Periodical Index and Full-Text Databases. The Library subscribes to the major online databases in the field,
Web of Science / Science Citation Index and Biological Abstracts. The public policy database, PAIS, or the
newspaper databases LexisNexis Academic and AccessWorldNews may also be useful to students in this
class. The Library’s Article discovery service, Multisearch, is often the best bet for finding articles on
interdisciplinary topics
B. Library Materials purchases and usage.
1. Library expenditures. It is not possible to provide a break-down of expenditures for anatomy and related
topics. Here is the most recent data for biology overall. 2009-10 for Biology Icode2=C
a. Expenditures, 2009-10, New books and videos…………………..…$ 5,307.56
b. Expenditures 2009-10,digital resource subscriptions…………………$ 12,736.68
c. Expenditures 2009-10, periodical subscriptions…..…………………$ 17,302.97
d. Expenditures 2009-10, standing orders………………………………..$ 1,312.98
e. TOTAL………………………………………………...$ 36,874.23
4.25% of the overall library materials expenditures
2. Collection size.
a. Total Biology Icode2=C books in Albert as of 7/1/2011…………….……5,532
b. % of total book collection in Albert as of 7/1/2011…………………….… 2.4 %
c. Books added 2010-11………………………………………………………731
d. Albert search results “Biodiversity”……………………………………… 479
3. Library usage.
a. Biology majors student circulation, 2010/11……………………………646 books
(1.4% of the total circulation; ranked 21 of 26)
b. Biology books checked out (any patron) 2010/11……………………….745 books
(3% of the total circulation; ranked 13 of 29)
c. Biology reference questions 2010/11………………………………………39
(1% of the total; ranked 20 of 29)
C. Library Instruction / Information Literacy.
Information literacy instruction is available from the Subject Specialist Librarian on request.
D. Recommendations.
The faculty proposer of this course inform the Subject Specialist Librarian of any gaps in the Library’s
collection or specific books or journals that would be useful to students. The faculty proposer can request
information literacy instruction for this course, or a Library Subject Guide for this course.