ECL 440- Galapagos Academic Institute for the Arts and Sciences
Universidad San Francisco de Quito
Professor: Andrea C. Encalada, Ph.D.
e-mail: andreae@usfq.edu.ec
Prerequisites: General Biology
Objective
In this course we will analyze the fundamental theories that explain the structure and dynamics
of plant and animal populations and communities in tropical ecosystems, both in ecological and
evolutionary time. We will study the different types of terrestrial and aquatic tropical
ecosystems, and we will examine the main methods to sample and describe populations and
communities in theory and in practice. Moreover, we will analyze the diverse Ecuadorian
ecosystems (e.g. tropical rain forest, páramo, dry forest), their fauna, flora, cultures, protected
areas and the main environmental issues affecting them.
Teaching approach
Students will attend lectures and read the assigned materials carefully before coming to class in
order to be prepared to discuss them. Students will be required to give short (10 minutes)
presentations of assigned articles. The presentation should include a summary of the article and a
commentary of the articles’ quality. This oral presentation is a communication exercise, student’s
goal is to effectively communicate to the audience what he or she reads.
Lectures will be complemented with field work and assignments to apply some of the
methodology reviewed in lecture. Students will have to present written reports of the field
practices. The report should include a brief introduction, a detailed description of the study area
and methods, a section of results and discussion and a list of references. Oral presentations of
field practices will be required.
This course will have a midterm exam and a final exam. The exams will cover lectures and text
material. Any academic dishonesty on the exam or papers will result in a failing grade for the
course.
Course Contents
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Introduction to tropical ecosystems (world distribution of tropical climates,
biogeographical, regions, main Ecuadorian ecosystems)
Deserts and environmental factors (main tropical deserts, environmental factors and plant
and animal distributions, Ecuadorian deserts)
Grasslands and primary production (grass structure and biology, photosynthesis,
assessment of grassland primary production, effects of grazing on grass growth, primary
production rates in terrestrial biomes, Ecuadorian grasslands)
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Savanna and population dynamics (main savannas, herbivores and herbivory, principles
of population growth, factors determining population density, density dependent and
independent mortality factors, competition, predation)
Lakes, energy flow and biogeochemical cycling (thermal stratification, food chains and
energy flow, trophic levels, food web dynamics, biogeochemical cycles, eutrophication,
main tropical lakes)
Rivers, floodplains and estuaries (flood-pulse concept, river continuum concept, main
tropical rivers, Ecuadorian rivers)
Wetland and succession (wetland zonation, wetland succession, ecological succession,
main tropical wetlands, Ecuadorian wetlands)
Tropical rain forest and biodiversity (vegetation structure of tropical rain forest, plantanimal interactions, micro-climates and resource acquisition, biological diversity, gap
theory, patch dynamics, main tropical rain forests, Ecuadorian rain forest)
Montains, zonation and community gradients (zonation on tropical mountains, main
tropical mountains, the páramo ecosystem)
Global ecology: biodiversity conservation, climate change and sustainable development
Brief description of assignments and lab practices
* A brief description of field practices in Tiputini and Riobamba is included in the field trip
itineraries. Detail of field practices will be given in advance.
Grading
Attendance and class participation
10%
Article presentation
10%
Midterm Exam
10%
Reports of field work
30% (15% written report and 15% oral report)
Assignments
20% (10% each)
Final Exam
20%
Scale: A=100-91, B=90-81 , C=80-71, D=70-61, F=<60
Main Text Book (MTB)
Osborne, P.L. 2006. Tropical Ecosystems and Ecological Concepts. Cambridge University Press.
UK
Support Texts (in the library)
Smith, R.L. and Smith, T.M. 2000. Elements of Ecology (5th Edition). Adison Wesley Longman,
Inc. San Francisco
Begon, M, Harper, J.L.and Townsend, C.R. 1996. Ecology: individuals, populations and
communities. Sinauer Associetes Inc. Publishers, Suderland, MA.
Chazdon, R.L. and Whitmore, T.C.. 2002. Foundations of Tropical Forest Biology – Classic
Papers and Comments. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago and London.
Smith, R.L. 1990. Ecology and field biology (4th Edition). Harper Collins Publishers.
Readings
(Strier, K., and J. P. Hailman. 1994. Field Guide to Research in Behavioral Ecology. University
of Wisconsin, Madison. (Chapter 1&4)
1. Smith, R.L. and Smith, T.M. 2000. Elements of Ecology (5th Edition). Adison Wesley
Longman, Inc. San Francisco (Chapter 12)
2. Rabinowitz, A. 1997. Wildlife Field Research and Conservation Training Manual. PaulArt Press Inc. New York City. Chapters III and IV.
3. Brockelman, W.Y., Ali, R. 1987. Methods surveying and sampling forest primate
populations pp23-59.In: Primate Conservation in the Tropical Rain Forest. C.W. Marsh,
R.A. Mittermeier (eds) Alan R. Liss, Inc. NY.
4. Franzen, M. A. 2006. Evaluating the sustainability of hunting: a comparison of harvest
profiles across three Huaorani communities. Environmental Conservation:1-10.
5. Pitman, N. C. A., J. W. Terborgh, M. R. Silman, P. Nunez, D. A. Neill, C. E. Ceron, W.
A. Palacios, and M. Aulestia. 2002. A comparison of tree species in two upper amazonian
forests. Ecology 83:3210-3224.
6. Harly C.D.G., Hixon, M.A., and Levin L.A. 2004. Scientific writing and Publishing – A
Guide for students. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 76-78.
7. Bowler, P.J. 2002. Climb Chimborazo and See the World. SCIENCE. 298: 63-64.
Oral presentations (OP)
1. Campbell, C. J., F. Aureli, C. A. Chapman, G. Ramos-Fernandez, K. Matthews, S. E.
Russo, S. Suarez, and L. Vick. 2005. Terrestrial behavior of Ateles spp. International
Journal of Primatology 26:1039-1051.
2. Willemart, R.H. and Gnaspini, P. 2004. Spatial distribution, mobility, gregariousness, and
defensive behaviour in a Brazilian cave harvestman Goniosoma albriscriptum
(Arachnida, Opiliones, Goneleptidae). Animal Biology 54: 221-235.
3. Gómez-Pompa, A, C. Vázquez-Yanes and S. Guevara. 1972. Tropical Rain Forest: A
Nonrenewable Resource. Science 177:762-765
4. Borchsenius, F. 1997. Patterns of plant species endemism in Ecuador. Biodiversity and
Conservation 6:379-399.
5. Krebs, C. J., M. S. Gaines, B. L. Keller, J. Myers, and R.H. Tamarin. 1973. Population
Cycles in Small Rodents. Science 179:35-41.
6. Hildrew, A. G., G. Woodward, J. H. Winterbottom, and S. Orton. 2004. Strong density
dependence in a predatory insect: large-scale experiments in a stream. Journal of Animal
Ecology 73:448-458.
7. Sklenár, P., and S. Laegaard. 2003. Rain-shadow in the high Andes of Ecuador evidenced
by páramo vegetation. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 35:8-17.
8.Connell, J.H. 1961. The influence of interspecific competition and other factors on the
distribution of the barnacle Chthamalus stellatus. Ecology. 42. 710:723.
8. Jongkamp, C. Cleuren, H. 1997. Deforestation in Ecuador : first observations of a field
study. Centre of Environmental Science. Leiden University.
9. Vance, S. A. 1996. Morphological and behavioural sex reversal in mermithid-infected
mayflies. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences
263:907-912.
10. Donlan, J.D., Berger, J., Bock, C. E., Bock, J.H., Burney, D.A., Estes, J. A., Foreman,
D., Martin, P. S. Roemer, G.W., Smith, F. A., Soulé, M. E., and H. W. Greene1. 2006.
Pleistocene Rewilding: An Optimistic Agenda for Twenty-First Century Conservation.
The American Naturalist 168:5.
11. De la Torre, S., Snowdown, C.T. and Bejarano, M. 2000. Effect of human activities on
wild pygmy marmosets in Ecuadorian Amazonia. Biological Conservation 94:153-163