EY505 Foundations of Ecology (Fall 2010)

Instructors: Alan Knapp, A/Z 210, 491-7010

Tuesday – Thursday, 1100-1150 AM, E203 Engineering Bldg.

Web Site: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~aknapp/ey505/

Text: No required texts – but below are two suggested books for your shelf:

Philosophy of Ecology: From Science to Synthesis. D.R. Keller and F.B. Golley, eds., 2000, University of Georgia Press.

The Princeton Guide to Ecology. S. Levin, ed., 2009, Princeton University Press

Text Box:

Goals of the course:

The Graduate Degree Program in Ecology (GDPE) is an interdisciplinary program for students with interests in a wide range of ecological subjects. The Program's stated goal is “to provide advanced training in current ecological methods, theories, concepts, controversies and applications by synthesizing knowledge from a wide variety of traditional disciplinary areas of science”. EY505 is the starting point for meeting this goal. It is one of the few courses that all GDPE students will share in their programs of study, despite their varied backgrounds and academic goals.

Although the course title might imply that EY 505 is a “General Ecology” course at the graduate level, this is not the case. One might also assume that a “Foundations” course might be a “History of Ecology” course – also not the case. I view this course as one that will emphasize students exploring, gaining appreciation for, and ultimately increasing their understanding of the breadth of Ecology. The rest of your academic careers in GDPE can be focused on receiving advanced training in methods, concepts, controversies, etc. for the particular sub-discipline that most interests you (the “depth” of your training). Here is where we will improve our understanding of the context of ecology. This requires some knowledge of where, how and why Ecology came to be, how and why ecologists ask questions today, appreciating what is unique about Ecology, how it compares to other sciences, and where Ecology might be headed in the future.

Along the way, students will develop abilities to both critique and value ecological ideas past and present, and approach the ecological future with an open mind.

Format:

Typically there will be a lecture on Tuesday to introduce a topic or issue and a discussion on Thursday that may be general in nature or may focus on critiquing studies from the literature. Readings will for the most part be from journal papers (most available from the course website). This basic format will be flexible however with several guest speakers presenting topics and perhaps leading discussions.

Syllabus to download

Tentative schedule

Week Topic Readings

Aug 24, 26 Expectations, overview, class assignments

Aug 31, S. 2 Science & context - Biology and Ecology Mayr 1996

Elliott & Brook 2007

Sept. 07, 9 The why and how of ecology Graham & Dayton 2002

(past and present) Kingsland 2004

Sept. 14, 16 How ecology is done I: Manipulative experiments Stohlgren et al 2003

vs. insights from natural patterns Naeem et al 2000

Guest: Tom Stohlgren Rousch 1995

Sept. 21, 23 How ecology is done II: Revisiting “what we Binkley et al. 2006

think we know” Johnson & Miyanishi 2008

Guest: Dan Binkley Wilkinson 1999

Sep 28, 30 Using succession to illustrate Clements 1916

philosophical shifts in ecology. Gleason 1939

The Ecological Hierarchy

Oct.05, 07 Organismal Ecology – adaptation & Gould & Lewontin 1979

ecophysiology Young et al 2004 & Responses

Guest: Lisa Angeloni Aubret et al. 2004

Oct. 12,14 Population Ecology Murray 1999

Guest - Dale Lockwood Hall 1988

Oct. 19, 21 Community Ecology Hutchinson 1959

Hairston et al 1960

Ricklefs 1987

Oct. 26, 28 The Ecosystem Odum 1969 & Chaffin 1998

Lindeman 1942 & Cook 1977

Contemporary Ecology

Nov. 02, 04 What are the core principles of ecology? Lawton 1999

Lockwood 2007

Nov. 9, 11 Career Paths of successful Ecologists Class presentations

Nov. 16, 18 Using the past to understand the present Kelly et al 1991

and predict the future Chadwick et al 2007

Guest: Gene Kelly

Nov. 30, D. 2 Global Change and Ecology Vitousek et al. 1997

Ehrlich & Pringle 2008

Fang 2010

Dec. 07, 9 Ecology, policy and getting involved Ecology-Policy Interface

Guest - Dale Lockwood Strong 2008

Pielke, Jr. 2002

Take this survey before the Dec 07 class!

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEt6RkZiVmlzZzdLM0toRUJLc3oxU0E6MA

Grading and Assignments:

Weekly assignments: 50% – From week 2 onward, discussions of the weekly topic and the readings will be held (usually) on Thursday. To facilitate involvement by all – which is a daunting task for a class this size – each student will email the instructor a minimum of 2 questions/comments for discussion based on the readings. These can be points of interest, confusion, elaboration, or general (not specific) questions, etc. I will use these to generate discussion in areas that you (rather than me) have an interest. This email must be received (barring server problems) by 8:00 am the morning of the proposed class discussion time!

Additionally, each week, students may be called on to provide a brief elaboration on their comments as an introduction to their discussion points. So please be prepared for class!

Discussions: 20% – this class is all about ideas in and about ecology, understanding how and why ecology is done, and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different ecological approaches, so your participation in the discussions is a key part of your course grade. Participation will be assessed in a number of ways…in-class surveys and activities, random attendance, etc…

Group project and Presentation: 10% - Biographies of successful Ecologists. A powerpoint presentation to the class must be made and emailed to me (or a pdf of a powerpoint if the file is too large).

Final exam: 20%. The final exam (a short paper) will be based on synthesizing ideas from a selected group of readings assigned during the semester. More details about this as the semester proceeds.

What can we learn from the biographies of successful Ecologists?

Group projects…4 students per group – 1 presenter

Goal – From the Web or other sources (Web of Science, Home pages, Google Scholar), trace the career paths of our most successful current ecologists

Each report should include:

An academic biography (degrees from where and when)

Positions held (when and where and what)

Graphs of:

Publications/year

By journal + Changes through time

By authorship (order) + Changes through time

Most cited papers (3-5) and citations/year

Major topics of research + Changes through time

Successful students?

Did they have a “famous” advisor?

Any other interesting facts or graphs you can provide.

Prepare a short (10 min max!) powerpoint presentation to be presented to the class and turned in to me.

Select from:

ISI most highly cited scientists in Ecology and Environmental Sciences

http://hcr3.isiknowledge.com/home.cgi

Or – if you want to choose someone not on this list, please check with me first. Do NOT select CSU ecologists (even though many are worthy).

For class periods on Oct 7, 14, 21 and 28, we will need a biography ready for class presentation in the Organismal, Population, Community and Ecosystems weeks.

Remainder will present week of Nov. 9.

Examples of past BIOs – Daily, Callaway