GEOGRAPHY 391 BIOGEOGRAPHY
Tuesday and Thursday 2-3:50
Room: HSS 107
Instructor: Mark M. Van Steeter, Ph.D.
e-mail: vanstem@wou.edu
web page: www.wou.edu/~vanstem/index
phone: 838-8855 office: HSS 216
Office Hours: M 10-12, W 10-12, R 12-1
Text: Biogeography- An ecological and evolutionary approach. Authors: Cox and Moore.
(book store has 8th ed, you can get a cheap 6th ed on-line if you want)
Course Description
Biogeography is the science that attempts to document and understand spatial patterns of
biodiversity. It is a synthetic discipline, relying heavily on theory and data from ecology,
population biology, evolutionary biology, and the earth sciences. In this class, we will work
to develop a holistic understanding of the forces that drive evolution, speciation, extinction,
and the spatial distribution of organisms. Questions concerning the impact of humans on the
distribution of biodiversity will also be an ongoing theme throughout the class.
I expect students to attend every class, be prepared, and to add to the classroom learning
experience. An important part of learning requires the pursuit of questions and the discussion
of ideas. I expect students to ask questions in class and participate in discussions. There is no
such thing as a "stupid question", and the more questions you ask, the more interesting the
class will be for all of us.
Exams
There will be two exams worth 75pts each. They will be based primarily on the lecture
material, but some questions will come from your readings and student presentations. If you
want to get an "A" in the class, I strongly suggest that you attend all lectures, and take very
detailed notes. The format of exams will be a mixture of fill in the blank, matching, multiple
choice, and short essay. I will not give any make-up exams and all exams will count towards
your final grade. If you have a legitimate reason for not being able to make an exam, you
must contact me before the exam is given, or you will receive a zero. Also, you cannot take
the final exam early!
Quizzes
There are usually 2 short pop quizzes given during the quarter. They will usually consist of 5
questions, and will be worth 10 points each.
Article Review
We will read several articles related to biogeography. They will be listed under the heading
Geog 391 of my web page (www.wou.edu/~vanstem/index).
Each student is responsible for writing an outline and discussion questions for one article.
Two or three students will be assigned to each article and will lead a class discussion.
The work will be worth 25 points. The general requirements are outlined below:
*Write an outline of the key points of the article. This must be typed, and usually will
be about two pages. (individual)
*Write five discussion questions with your partner(s).
E-mail these questions to the other students at least two days before your article is
discussed.
*Lead a group discussion of the article.
We will divide the class into three or four groups, and one student will lead the
discussion in each group.
Poster, Paper and Presentations:
Choose a region and explore its biogeography. Defining the boundaries of this "region"
should be based upon its species composition and physiographic barriers. For example, if you
are interested in rainforests, you could choose the rainforests of the Congo, Amazon Basin,
Indonesia, or Central America. If you like deserts, you could pick the deserts of the Gobi,
Sahara, Mohave, Outback etc. If you like the concepts of "island biogeography", pick an
island of your choice. An important key to motivation and success is to pick a location that
truly interests you
In your research you need to address:
i) the historical processes that have created the current conditions
-plate tectonics
-original source areas of species
-migration of species
ii) characteristics of the plants and animals that make them well adapted to
survival in this region
-adaptations to current climate and physiography
iii) human induced changes to the region
The poster should clearly discuss the biogeography of the region. Include a map and
information on climate, physiography, and adaptations. The most difficult part of the work
will be to intelligently discuss the evolution of the landscape and organisms through time, that
have led to the characteristics of the region today.
Posters will be graded on content, clarity, visual impact, and the depth of the discussion of
processes. Any errors in grammar or spelling will significantly lower your grade. Also, be
certain that you can clearly explain everything you have written. Including “impressive”
techno-jargon which you cannot explain will only hurt your grade.
You must write all of the text yourself, and cutting and pasting from web sites will not be
tolerated. This is plagiarism and it will result in a failing grade.
Examples:
The Great Outback Desert of Australia
-historic isolation of Australia during the period of placental mammal evolution.
- reasons for the arid climate of the region
- plant and animal species and their favorable adaptations to this region
- human induced change to the current ecosystem
Rainforests of Papua New Guinea
-tectonic driven formation of the island
-dates of island formation in relation to dates of evolution of plants/animals
-reasons for the wet/humid climate
-dispersal mechanisms important to populating the island
-reasons for the species richness, including issues of competition
-human impacts and effects on the biodiversity of the region
Every poster should include at least the following:
i) Title
ii) Map, photographs or illustrations
iii) Tables, Figures and Graphs
- important factors controlling the biodiversity of the region such as climate,
soils, topography, humans etc.
iv) Text
-introduction
-body
-conclusion
-bibliography
The text should be approximately 2-3 pages long and all information must be referenced
accurately within the text.
If information is not cited within the text, you can’t get better than a “C”.
You need to use at least 7 sources, and at least two of these must be from peer reviewed
journals.
Don’t use any information from non-credible sources or you will lose points.
Example of credible and non-credible sources related to Hawaii.
Credible:
Peer Reviewed journal articles (ex: Science, Nature, Biogeography etc)
US Geologic Survey
NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service)
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Org)
NASA
University of Hawaii Biodiversity and Mapping Program
Wikipedia only if you can track the info to the original source
Non-Credible:
Tour Hawaii
Ed’s Page of Hawaii Biogeography
Articles from Newspapers
“Go Hawaii” tourism site
ASK ME if you are not 100% sure!
Presentations
Each student will give a 10 minute presentation of their poster when it is completed (week 9),
and a less formal 3 minute presentation during week 4. The purpose of the five minute
presentation is to provide a class forum for discussion and clarification before the final poster
is created.
Paper
Write a 6+ page paper on your project. This is a short paper, but I expect the quality to be
excellent.
Summary of Project requirements
i) hard copy 6+ page paper (double spaced)
ii) hard copy of poster (plotted professionally)
iii) electronic copy of poster and powerpoint presentation
Grading
Every student has the opportunity to get an "A". If you work hard, you will succeed. I
generally grade 100-90 = A, 89-80 = B, 79-70 = C, and 69-60 = D. If this scale is changed, it
will be changed to your advantage.
Exam 1&2 (75pts each)
Paper
Poster
Poster Presentation (10min)
Article Review
150pts
75pts
50pts
25pts
25pts
Poster Progress Presentation (3min) and Paper Outline
25pts
Quizzes
20pts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total
370pts
Cheating
Any student suspected of cheating will be referred to the Student Judicial Program. This can
result in being expelled from the University. Don't do it!
Late Assignments lose 10% per day.
Tentative Schedule
Week 1
Class Introduction, Biodiversity
Chapters 1& 2
Week 2
Patterns of Distribution, Communities and Ecosystems
Chapter 3 & 4
Article Review: Extinction, Substitution and Ecosystem Services
Week 3
The Source of Novelty
Chapter 5
Article Review: Daphne Major
Week 4
Student Presentations and Paper outline due (Tuesday)
Patterns in the Past (Thursday)
Chapter 6
Week 5
Exam 1 (Tuesday)
Patterns of Life Today (Thursday)
Chapter 7
Week 6
Interpreting the Past, The Making of Today
Chapter 9 & 10
Article Review: George Divoky’s Planet
Week 7
Projecting into the Future
Chapter 11
Article Review: Overkill Hypothesis
Week 8
Life and Death on Islands
Chapter 13
Article Review: Island Biogeography
Week 9
Exam 2 (Tuesday)
Posters Due (Thursday)
Student Presentations (attendance required)
Week 10
Student Presentations
NO FINAL EXAM