Biology 697: Global Change Biology
Fall 2011
Time and location: Tu Th 9.30-10.45
Instructor: Dr. Jen Bowen, Wheatley 3 rd
Floor, Room 008
Jennifer.bowen@umb.edu
7-6626
Office Hours: Tu/Th 11.00-12.30
Synopsis: The human population is increasing at an unprecedented rate and is expected to range between 9-15 billion people by 2100. In addition to the shear number of people, large industrializing nations are following the energy intensive trajectories of development used by the US and other western nations in their own development. The end result is increasingly intense pressure on many of the Earth’s systems that are necessary to sustain life. This course will delve deeply into some of the major agents of change that are acting globally and the impact that these agents are having on our biological systems. Particular emphasis will be paid to three areas: climate systems, the world’s oceans, and ecosystem/biodiversity loss. Although the course focus will be on biological response to global scale perturbation, we will also examine the chemistry and physics underlying the changes occurring across the globe so prior coursework in these areas is a pre-requisite.
Course Wiki: I have set up a wiki for the course. All course materials will be placed on the wiki, including course lectures and all reading materials. There will also be a discussion board that I hope you all will use to post articles of interests, questions that you may stumble upon regarding course content, and any other information you find pertinent. The address of the Wiki is: https://globalchangebiology.wikispaces.com/ .
Readings: There will be no assigned text for the course. The majority of the readings for the course will derive from the primary literature. If you are interested in more in depth analysis or want to learn more background on areas that are unfamiliar, these references are available either at the Healey Library or from me directly:
1.
Schlesinger, WH. 1997. Biogeochemistry: an analysis of global change.
Academic Press.
2.
Keller, EA. 2000. Environmental Geology. Prentice Hall.
3.
Steffen et al. 2004. Global Change and the Earth System. A planet under pressure. Springer.
4.
Kump et al. 2010. The Earth System. Pearson.
Course structure: This course will primarily be a discussion of literature related to the topics described below. Each course period will start with a brief lecture that provides background relevant to the topic being discussed that day and will be followed by a group

discussion of the primary literature assigned. This course is designed to be participatory, therefore reading of all assigned material PRIOR to the start of class is essential and a large portion of your grade will be based on your course participation.
There will be two take home problem sets (each worth 20%, one covering climate the other covering oceans) that will be handed out during the regular meeting time on the scheduled day and will be returned to me during the next class period. Although you can use any resources to answer the problems, you are NOT allowed to work with or consult with each other on any aspect. They are to be entirely your own work. Any evidence that this is not the case will be considered evidence of academic dishonesty and you will fail the course.
Each student in the class will also prepare the preliminary lecture and lead the discussion on a topic during the last section of the course. Once enrollment for the course is set you will select the topic of your choice (this will be done by a lottery). You will work with me to select the papers for the class and to design the introductory lecture and it will be your responsibility to lead the subsequent discussion. More details on these presentations will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
Based on your topic, the papers assigned for that topic, and the discussion that you lead, you will also be required to hand in a final term paper (due the last day of class). The term paper will be a synthesis of the reading that you presented that will need to be placed into the broader context of global change biology. More details about the final paper will be given later in the semester.
Grades: Grades will be based on the following breakdown:
1.
class participation (20%):
2.
problem sets (2@20%, both will be take home)
3.
In class presentation (10%)
4.
final paper (30%)
Tentative schedule of topics:
6 Sept Intro, logistics, Earth as a system and the role of humans
8 Sept
13 Sept
Physics of coupled climate/ocean systems
Chemistry of coupled climate/ocean systems
15 Sept
20 Sept
22 Sept
27 Sept
29 Sept
4 Oct
6 Oct
Terrestrial carbon cycle
Climate on geological time scales
Modern climate perturbations and warming trends
Sea level rise/glacial retreat
Freshwater redistribution
Extreme events
Deforestation (part 1)

11 Oct
13 Oct
18 Oct
20 Oct
25 Oct
27 Oct
1 Nov
3 Nov
8 Nov
10 Nov
15 Nov
Ozone chemistry
Introduction to oceans; Problem set #1 assigned
Ocean carbon cycle; Problem set #1 due
Acidification #1: the chemistry
Acidification #2: Coral Reefs
Acidification #4: Everyone else
Ocean Nitrogen cycle
Eutrophication
Overfishing
Large scale patterns in biodiversity loss; Problem set #2 assigned
Arid systems; Problem set #2 due
17 Nov
22 Nov
24 Nov
29 Nov
Polar systems
Temperate Forests
Thanksgiving
Tropical forests
1 Dec
6 Dec
8 Dec
Grasslands
Wetlands
Reefs
13 Dec Climate solutions and where things stand today
Academic Conduct: Please refer to the UMass rules regarding academic standards and cheating. Any student caught violating these rules by plagiarizing from other students, books/articles, or the internet will automatically fail the course and will be reported to the relevant authorities. I have a very strict ZERO TOLERANCE policy for academic dishonesty.
Students with Disabilities: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 offers guidelines for curriculum modifications and adaptations for students with documented disabilities. If applicable, students may obtain adaptation recommendations from UMass Boston's Ross Center for Disability
Services http://www.rosscenter.umb.edu (617-287-7430). The student must present and discuss these recommendations with each professor within a reasonable period, preferably by the end of the Drop/Add period.