BIO 145: PLANT ECOLOGY Sept. 24 Introduction. Evolution and adaptation.
(Provisional) SYLLABUS 2009 Ch 1 Ch 6 Ch 2 Sork et al. 1993 Ch 3 Ch 4 Tobin et al. 1999 Ch 7 Crawley 1997 (156-199)* Parker et al. 2002 Rees 1997 (214-238)* Ch 5
Discussion: Reading, writing, and Real Ecology. Sept. 29 Ecological genetics. Population structure. Gene flow. Oct. 1 The ecology of photosynthesis. Discussion: Local adaptation. Oct. 6 Water relations and water stress. Oct. 8 Nutrients. Plant-soil interactions. Discussion: Physiological ecology. Oct. 13 Reproduction. Pollination. Pollen limitation. Oct. 15 Theory of sex. mating systems. Discussion: Pollination. Oct. 20 Dormancy. Seed dispersal. Oct. 22 Seed predation..Age structure. Population models. Discussion: Real Ecology help. Oct. 27 MIDTERM Oct. 29 Stage structured models. Life history. Discussion: Matrix models and conservation. Nov. 3 Interspecific competition. Nov. 5 Pathogens/plant disease. Discussion: Competition, pathogens, & herbivores. Nov. 10 Herbivory. Nov. 12 Plant defenses. Discussion: Plant chemical defenses. Nov. 17 Community structure. Nov. 19 Succession, disturbance and diversity. Discussion: Nov. 24 Nov. 26 Species diversity and invasibility Plant communities & ecosystem function. THANKSGIVING
Ch 8 Sinclair et al. 2005 Ch 10 Gilbert 1998* Ridenour & Callaway 2003 Ch 11 Hartley &Jones 1997(284-324)* BrenesArguedes &Coley 2005 Ch 9 + 357-361 Ch 12 + Ch 13 Zavaleta & Hulvey 2004 Ch 14
Discussion: Wrap up and review for final. Dec. 1 Real ecology presentations. Dec. 3 Real ecology presentations, cont.
Dec. 7 FINAL EXAM 12-3 (Monday) *Readings other than text chapters are located on the website. Open them with password “redwood”
BIO 145: PLANT ECOLOGY
(Provisional) SYLLABUS 2009-2
http://bio.classes.ucsc.edu/bio145/ Fearless Leader Ingrid M. Parker Ecology & Evolutionary Biology parker@biology.ucsc.edu A341, Earth & Marine Sciences 459-5017 OFFICE HOURS 1:45-2:45 Wed, 11:45-12:45 Thu Intrepid TA Jenn Yost Ecology & Evolutionary Biology jennyost@gmail.com D324, Earth & Marine Sciences 459-1812 11:45-1:45 Tues
TEXTBOOK: J. Gurevitch, S.M. Scheiner, G.A. Fox. 2006. The Ecology of Plants, 2nd Edition (Sunderland, MA: Sinauer). * Are chapters taken from Crawley, M. J. 1997. Plant Ecology 2nd Ed (Oxford: Blackwell Science). NARRATIVE EVALUATIONS The narratives for this course will comment on all different aspects of learning and performance, including creativity, diligence, punctuality, and ability to work effectively with peers. Particular strengths and weaknesses (e.g. exams vs. papers and discussion vs. Real Ecology) will be discussed, as well as improvement through the quarter. Much of the evaluation is based on the Real Ecology assignments. POINT TOTALS FOR LECTURE (200 points total): Quizzes 10 (2.5 each) Midterm 45 Final 45 2 critical reviews 20 (10 each) Class participation (incl. discussion and 3 responses) 15 “Real Ecology” 65---Breakdown: Field notes + 25 Reference plant collection 10 Twenty questions 10 Experimental design paper 20 QUIZZES There will be five unannounced quizzes in this class, based on the reading assignment just for that day. These quizzes are not designed to be an instrument of torture. I believe it will benefit you, me, and especially the class as a working unit, if everyone shows up prepared. I also believe that if you do the reading, which is going to take a lot of your time, that effort should be reflected in your evaluation. Quizzes will be OPEN NOTES, but not open book. If you have to miss class (or are late for class) and have the bad luck of missing a quiz (probability = 0.222), there is no way to make it up. No whining allowed! On the bright side, your final point total will be based only on your four best out of five; so if you blow one it will not hurt you.
BIO 145: PLANT ECOLOGY
(Provisional) SYLLABUS 2009-3
DISCUSSIONS
Mon 3:30-4:40, Crown 201 Wed 8-9:10am, Soc Sci 2 171
Every week the class will meet for discussion. We will take 40-45 minutes to evaluate a paper from the primary literature. The students writing critical reviews for that week will be responsible for leading the discussion. Afterwards, there will be 15-20 minutes to discuss Real Ecology progress with the TA and in small groups. CRITICAL REVIEWS Twice in the quarter you will be asked to write a one-page critical review of a paper, as if it were being submitted to a journal and the editor of that journal has asked for your opinion on whether to publish the manuscript. Your review should include a short (3-4 sentence) summary of the paper, its main point and the approach taken by the authors. Then you will critique the methods, interpretation, creativity, and significance of the work, and make suggestions about how to make the research and the paper better. You may also want to provide suggestions to the authors for their future research. THREE RESPONSES Whenever you are not writing a full-on critical review: in order to help you think critically about the paper as you read it, we ask you to respond (briefly!) to three points every week. These will be read by us and will be evaluated without a formal grade. 1) Describe one thing you liked about the paper. 2) Describe one thing you did not like about the paper, something you would have done differently. 3) What is something this paper made you wonder about? This could be a conceptual issue, or a practical one. You can write your answer in the form of a question. POLICIES THAT I HOPE WILL BE IRRELEVANT TO YOU: LATE PAPERS: 5% will be taken off for every day late, stopping at 50%. All required assignments must be turned in eventually to pass the course. MISSED EXAMS: If you miss an exam, the make-up will be in the form of an oral examination in which we will cross-examine you on your understanding of the material. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: You are welcome and encouraged to discuss papers and assignments with each other, but copying or paraphrasing of someone else’s work is not acceptable. Reading papers from previous years is not okay. Also, quoting directly from, or cutting and pasting from, published work including the internet, even if you cite the author, is considered plagiarism. Always put it in your own words. The consequences of cheating and academic dishonesty — including no credit for the work done, a formal discipline file, possible loss of future internship, scholarship, employment opportunities, or admission to graduate school—are simply not worth it. A paper showing plagiarism or cheating on an exam will result in a 0 on that assignment, and the student will be reported to their college for disciplinary sanctions. To understand the process, see http://www.ucsc.edu/academics/academic%5Fintegrity/undergraduate%5Fstudents/ FABRICATION OF DATA: There is one thing worse than cheating, and that is faking data. Faking data, making up numbers or observations, doctoring results…these things all violate the most fundamental ethical code in science. When scientists report false information, they influence the thinking of many other people, thereby compromising our collective understanding of nature and undermining the work of others. In this class you will be treated like scientists and are expected to follow the ethical code of honesty and integrity in your own science.