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) office hrs - Tues 2-4pm email: mpm9@stmarys-ca.edu 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)
Points
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
100 pts
Total Possible Points 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
3-Feb
Variation and Natural Selection
Examples of Evol. by Nat. Selection
5-Feb
10-Feb
12-Feb
17-Feb
Big evolutionary patterns
What is a species?
Cats in our lives exam 1
ECOLOGY
19-Feb Understanding Climate and Biomes
24-Feb
26-Feb
Individual level Ecology
Populations
3-Mar
5-Mar
Ecology of communities
Ecosystem processes
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
10-Mar
12-Mar
Global Biodiversity exam 2 spring break
24-Mar Extinction
26-Mar Econ., Value & Tragedy of Commons
31-Mar cesar chavez day - no class
2-Apr
7-Apr
Political Tools for Conservation
CA water and conservation
9-Apr
14-Apr
16-Apr
21-Apr
23-Apr
Conservation in practice
Ex-Situ conservation - Designing a Zoo
Restoration Ecology exam 3
Putah Creek Case Study
28-Apr
30-Apr
5-May
7-May
12-May
14-May invasive species cane toads in Australia
Sea Otter Food Web Ecology & Hearing Set-up
Special Interest Group Work
Sea Otter Debate
What you can do!
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 chap 2 chap 2 chap 2 chap 3 none chap 4 chap 5 chap 5 chap 6 chap 6 chap 7 chap 7 chap 8 chap 9 none chap 10 none chap 12 none chap 11 none none none none chap 13

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