BIOLOGY 404 (ECOLOGY) - COURSE SYLLABUS
LECTURE LOCATION: 209 GOUAUX HALL
LABORATORY LOCATION: 209 & 401 GOUAUX HALL
LECTURER:
Lecture time:
Lab time:
Office:
Phone:
E-mail:
Office Hours:
Web Site
Dr. Quenton Fontenot
2M (MWF 8:35)
5:00 – 8:00 pm Wed
116 Gouaux Hall
449-7062
quenton.fontenot@nicholls.edu
MTWR 1:00-4:00 or appointment
www.nicholls.edu/biol-qcf
COURSE CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Biology 404 – Ecology. A study of the interrelation of plants and animals with their environment.
Emphasis is on quantitative techniques for analyzing the structure and function of populations and
communities. Includes laboratory experiences.
COURSE PREREQUISITES
Biology 155 and Biology 156
REQUIRED TEXTS
Ecology, Fifth Edition, Charles J. Krebs, Benjamin Cummings, 2001.
Ecology on Campus, Lab Manual, Robert W. Kingsolver, Benjamin Cummings, 2006.
A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold, Ballantine Books, (Reissue edition 1990)
OPTIONAL TEXT
Spreadsheet Exercises in Ecology and Evolution, Therese M. Donovan and Charles W. Welding,
Sinauer Associates, Inc., 2002
COURSE GOALS
The course will present the fundamental principles and concepts of ecology at the population,
community and ecosystem level. Students will be challenged to use ecological concepts to draw
conclusions from data, to develop alternative hypotheses to explain observations, to make
predictions and design experiments to test competing hypotheses. In the laboratory, students will
learn and use the fundamental concepts and statistical methods of ecology to draw conclusions from
data, to develop alternative hypotheses to explain observations, to make predictions, and to design
experiments to test hypotheses.
COURSE STUDENT OUTCOME OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this course, the student will:
 Define ecology
 Recognize the physical and biological factors that influence an organisms ability to grow and
reproduce in any one place
 Recognize factors that regulate a species ability to disperse to and survive in new
environments
 Discuss ecological limitations to population growth









Define a community
Describe species interactions regarding symbiosis, predation, and competition
Define ecosystem
Interpret the relationship between producers and consumers
Describe the nature of nutrient cycles
Describe the natural succession of ecosystems
Discuss how human impacts can affect natural ecosystems
Analyze ecological data
Interpret the results of statistical analysis of ecological data
COURSE CONTENT
The contents of the lecture and laboratory components of the course, including exam and due dates,
are described in the Lecture Schedule and Laboratory Schedule pages which are attached.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Each student is required to:
(1) attend all course lectures. Three unexcused absences from lecture will result in the
student receiving an FEA (failed due to excessive absences)
(2) attend and participate in all sectional laboratory sessions. Two unexcused laboratory
absences will result in the student receiving an FEA (failed due to excessive absences).
(3) read and become familiar with material in all assigned readings.
(4) activate his/her personal Academic Computing Account and memorize the account’s
password. For information or problems with accounts, contact Academic Computing at 4484224.
(5) participate in four lecture examinations.
(6) participate in two laboratory examinations.
(7) independently compose and submit one typewritten report.
(8) independently complete assigned laboratory reports.
(9) conduct himself/herself in a manner respectful, harmless, and nondisruptive to the instructor
and fellow students in both the lecture room and the laboratory.
(10) accept and abide by all other parts and provisions of this syllabus.
(11) accept and abide by all sections of the Laboratory Safety Agreement (distributed during first lab
session).
Participation in examinations, submission of semester report, and completion of assigned laboratory
reports (numbers 5, 6, 7, and 8 above) are absolute requirements for earning graduation credit for
the course. A student will automatically earn a failing grade in the course for either (i) failure
to take any exam or (ii) failure to submit either laboratory report.
METHODS OF EVALUATION
(1) Final Grades in the course will be based on a weighted average of lecture (60%) and
laboratory (40%) grades. Lecture grades will be based on the numeric average of three exams and
semester report (100 points each). Laboratory grades will be based on the numeric average of a
midterm exam (100 points), a comprehensive final exam (100 points), and laboratory exercises (20
points each). All grading is based on the ten-point scale, where a score of greater than 90% receives
the grade of "A," 80-90% the grade of “B,” 70-80% the grade of “C,” 60-70% the grade of “D,” and less
than 60% the grade of “F.”
Algebraically, the student can monitor progress of his/her final grade by using the following
formula:
FINAL = 0.60 [average lecture grade] + 0.4 [average laboratory grade]
(2) Examinations. All examinations (lecture and laboratory) will be given during regular class
time, except for the lecture final examination, which will be given at the scheduled time (TBA). The
four lecture exams will consist primarily if not exclusively of short answer and essay questions based
on your mastery of fundamental ecological concepts. Lecture exams may also include multiple
choice, matching, diagram labeling, and graphing. The two laboratory exams will consist of questions
that require written explanations, interpretations, and calculations, and will be designed to allow you
to demonstrate the mastery of skills you should have acquired as part of the laboratory exercises.
Participation in each of these six exams is an absolute requirement of the course: No student can
earn graduation credit for this course without participation in each exam: A student will
automatically earn a failing grade in the course for failure to participate in any lecture or
laboratory examination.
(3) Semester Report. Each student will independently compose a semester report and submit
the report on the due date listed under Important Dates. Details of the report will be assigned in
class. This report will be written (i) in scientific style and format, (ii) will be based upon existing
primary literature, (iii) and must be typewritten with a word-processor. The semester report grade will
be the average grade of a first and a second draft. All drafts should be submitted with one-inch
margins, 12 point font, and double spacing on standard 8.5” x 11” paper. Final grades on the
semester report will be based on (i) scientific content, (ii) clarity of writing and use of proper English
grammar, and (iii) timely submission. Semester reports submitted past the due date will receive a
ten-point deduction per day until submission. The Writing Across the Curriculum Laboratory (WAC
Lab; first floor, Ellender Memorial Library) is available to students seeking help in word-processing
and creating good reports. Have someone from the WAC lab proofread your paper! Submission
of the semester report is an absolute requirement of the course: No student can earn graduation
credit for this course without submission of the report: A student will automatically earn a failing
grade in the course for failure to submit the semester report.
MAKE-UP PROCEDURE
The instructor makes extraordinary efforts to ensure that students facing unforeseen and urgent
problems have an opportunity to succeed in the course. As you can imagine, however, this privilege
is too often abused, and abuse causes the establishment of stipulations for all students.
Understanding that personal problems can arise on dates and occasions important in this course, the
instructor has developed the following policy for remediation (make-up work):
(1) Discretion. Make-up work is allowable only at the discretion of the lecturer.
(2) Request for Remediation. The student must request any and all make-up work. Within 24hours of missing an exam, a due date, or a laboratory session, the student must contact the lecturer
either by phone, email, or in person during office hours to request remediation. In all cases,
acceptable reasons for requesting remediation are (i) personal illness, (ii) illness of dependent, (iii)
death of immediate family member. In all cases, requests for remediation must be accompanied by
documentation substantiating the reason for missed work
(3) Lecture Exam Remediation. Participation in each lecture exam is an absolute requirement of
the course (see Course Requirements above). If you miss an exam you talk with the instructor
within 24 hours of the examination to request a make-up exam otherwise you will be assigned a
grade of “0” for that exam. The instructor will allow a make-up if your reasons for missing the exam
are deemed acceptable.
(4) Laboratory Remediation. Because the BIOL 404 laboratory is prepared for different lessons
and/or experiments each session, it is imperative that students attend each session. If a session is
missed, the student must contact the instructor to request remediation. If a laboratory exam is
missed, the student must request permission to take the exam. Failure to remediate a session will
result in a letter-grade reduction from the final grade in the course.
ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY
Dishonesty cannot and will not be tolerated. Cheating during examination and submission of nonoriginal work are each grounds for dismissal and application of sanctions in accordance with the Code
of Student Conduct of Nicholls State University. Plagiarism or any other form of dishonesty detected
in reports or exams will result in a course grade of F.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Students are expected to:
 attend all lectures: Three or more unexcused lecture absences will result in the student
receiving an FEA
 arrive to lecture on time and neither leave nor prepare to leave before dismissal by the lecturer.
Students late for the beginning of a lecture are encouraged to attend, but they must enter quietly,
without creating disruption, and through the rear door of the classroom.
 attend laboratories: Laboratory attendance is mandatory. Two or more unexcused laboratory
absences will result in the student receiving an FEA
 perform work during lectures and laboratories exclusively on material directly relating to the current
course topic.
 conduct themselves during lectures and laboratory sessions with consideration and respect toward
the lecturer, the laboratory instructor, and the fellow students enrolled in the course. Deviation from
this conduct constitutes grounds for dismissal from the course and possibly the University in
accordance with the Code of Student Conduct of Nicholls State University.
DATE OF “DROP WITH ‘W’” GRADE
Friday, October 27, 2006, is the final date to receive an automatic “W” when dropping a course or
resigning from the university.
UNIVERSITY DISABILITY POLICY:
If you have a documented disability that requires assistance, you will need to register with the
Office of Disability Services for coordination of your academic accommodations. The Office of
Disability Services is located in Peltier Hall, Room 100-A. The phone number is (985) 448-4430
(TDD449-7002)."
A formula increasing your chances of success in this course:
1. Read relevant text material before attending lecture.
2. Attend lecture and take detailed notes.
3. Neatly copy your notes daily.
4. Review your notes weekly.
5. Review all notes beginning at least 5 days before the exam
IMPORTANT DATES (Fall 2005)
Sept 4:
No class – labor day
Sept 20:
Lecture Exam 1
Oct 4:
Laboratory Midterm Exam
Oct 9:
Lecture Exam 2
Oct 13:
No class / Fall break
Oct 27:
Last day to drop with a W
Nov 8:
Lecture Exam 3
Nov 20-24: No Class / Lab – Thanksgiving
Nov. 29
Lab final exam
Dec 4-8:
Final Exam Period (Final exam will be on one of these days; final draft of report due)
BIOLOGY 404: Fall 2006 Semester Lecture Calendar
Note: This schedule is tentative. All changes to lecture schedule will be announced in class.
Topic
Course Introduction, What is Ecology?
Evolution and Ecology
Primary Production
Secondary Production
Nutrient Cycles
Aquatic Biomes
Terrestrial Biomes
Exam 1
Methods for Analyzing Distributions
Dispersal Limitations
Habitat Selection
Interrelations With Other Species
Physical-Chemical Factors
Relationship b/t Distribution and Abundance
Exam 2
Population Parameters
Demographic Techniques: Vital Statistics
Population Growth
Competition
Predation
Herbivory and Mutualism
Disease and Parasitism
Population Regulation
Exam 3
Nature of the Community
Community Change
Biodiversity
Predation and Competition
Disturbance and Nonequilibrium
Human Impacts
Final Exam (Time TBA)
Chapter
1
2
25
26
27
1,2,25,26,27, biomes
3
4
5
6
7
8
3,4,5,6,7,8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16
20
21
22
23
24
28
20,21,22,23,24,28
Date
8/21
8/23
8/25-8/28
8/30 – 9/1
9/6
9/8 – 9/11
9/13 – 9/18
9/20
9/22
9/25
9/27
9/29
10/2-10/4
10/6
10/9
10/11
10/16-10/20
10/23-10/25
10/27
10/30
11/1
11/3
11/6
11/8
11/10
11/13
11/15
11/17
11/27
11/29
TBA
BIOLOGY 404: Fall 2006 Semester Laboratory Calendar
Note: This schedule is tentative. All changes to laboratory schedule will be announced in class. Chapter refers
to lab manual and FT = field trip.
Topic
Introduction / Data analysis
Data analysis with Excel
Describing Fish Collection Samples
Sampling Gear / Water Quality
Aquatic Plants (Bayou Chevreuil)
Primary Production (Begin Competition)
Midterm Exam
Transect & Plot Estimates (Farm)
Large River Floodplain Ecology (ARB)
Coastal Marsh Ecology
Competition
Mark-recapture
Biodiversity
Final Exam
Lab Period
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Chapter
1, A1 – 3
1, A1 – 3
1
16
FT
17
7
FT
10
3
13
Date
8/23
8/30
9/6
9/13
9/20
9/27
10/4
10/11
10/18
10/25
11/1
11/8
11/15
11/29