BIO 401: ECOLOGY – T, Th 9:40 am – 11:10 am in GSC 220

 and Mondays 8 – 9 am in GSC 102

Fall 2008 Syllabus (3 credit hours) – August 26^th until October 30^th

Prerequisites for Course: CHM 121 and BIO 122

Instructor: Dr. E. Kosal

Office: 108 Gravely Science Building

Office Hours: Mondays 9:30 – 11:30 am; Wednesday 12 – 1 pm; Thursdays 2 – 4 pm;

                        or by appointment

Phone Number: 985-5156

Email address: ekosal@ncwc.edu

Textbook (required): Krohne, D.T. 2001. General Ecology 2^nd Edition. Brooks/Cole Publishing.

Important web sites:

http://faculty.ncwc.edu/ekosal/

http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/townsend/

http://cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/stiling4/

• How do you learn?  Visit this website to find out: http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

At this site, you will be able to determine your learning style as well as the best techniques to use to study and learn material from all of your courses.

Course Description

This course studies the environmental factors operating within biotic communities as they influence the patterns, distribution, succession, growth, and behavior of plants and animals.  This course is basically divided into four areas: (1) the physical environment and how organisms adapt to it; (2) population ecology; (3) community ecology; and (4) conservation biology.  We will take each area in a block throughout the semester both in lecture and in the laboratory.

Course Objectives

·        Learn the connection between all living organisms

·        Predict how organisms would respond and adapt over time to environmental changes

·        Strengthen knowledge of photosynthesis in a community and to predict what type of photosynthesis would occur within a given climate

·        Learn how populations of organisms regulate themselves and how they are kept in check by outside biotic and abiotic forces

·        Study the role that biodiversity plays in ecosystems and how that biodiversity is established

·        Model and predict population growth using mathematical formulas

·        Learn nutrient and chemical cycles and the role they play in the lives of organisms

·        Make connections between disciplines such as chemistry and natural history 

·        Strengthen knowledge of natural selection

·        Analyze a given set of data and be able to predict what type of adaptations you would expect an organism to have

·        Learn the difference between C-3, C-4, and CAM pathways of photosynthesis

·        Learn how to build a web page

·        Increase cooperative team skills such as group interaction and communication

Tentative Schedule

**  NOTE:  The above point values for work is subject to change depending on the progress of the class.**

Evaluation and Grading

            Students are expected to perform honestly in all of their work.  Please refer to the catalog as to the College’s policy on plagiarism and cheating (pg. 69 – 70 of current catalog). From our catalog:

“Definitions: “Cheating” means the giving or receiving of information illicitly with intent to deceive the instructor in his or her effort to grade fairly any academic work. “Plagiarism” is “to take and use as one’s own the thoughts, writings, or inventions of another” (Oxford English Dictionary). It is plagiarism when one uses direct quotations without proper credit and appropriate quotation marks, and when one uses the ideas of another without proper credit.

The following penalties for cheating and plagiarism will apply:

First Offense The instructor will not give the student any credit for the work involved.

Second Offense The Vice President of Academic Affairs will withdraw the student from the course in which the second offense occurred, and the student will receive an “F” in that course.

Third Offense The Vice President of Academic Affairs will suspend the student from the College for at least one semester. The suspension will be effective immediately upon the Vice President’s notification to the student and the Registrar.”

Working with one another in study groups is a fantastic idea and is highly encouraged; however, remember that assignments and exams are not group projects.  In addition, the only other exception to this rule of independent work is when you are doing group in-class assignments.  These in-class assignments will be given as needed throughout the semester and will not be announced.  In order to be eligible for these assignments, you must be present in class in order to do so.  If you are absent from class, you will not be able to make up the in-class work.

            Your course grade will be based on in-class work, textbook and other homework assignments, a web project, two quizzes, and four exams as indicated on the schedule above.  Make-up examinations will only be given when there are extenuating circumstances (and you must have a documented excuse).  There are NO make-up quizzes given for any reason – if it is a legitimate documented reason for missing a quiz, this quiz will not be counted against your grade.  All assignments are due the date as indicated on the schedule above.  Failure to turn in work on time will result in a full letter lowering (i.e. a deduction of 10%) for each day the assignment is late.  For example, if the assignment was due Tuesday and you turn it after class or on Wednesday, the highest grade you can earn would be a B.  If the work is C quality, but it is one day late, you would earn a D.  Thus, for your own interest, do not turn in any assignments late.

            The exams given this semester will have the following format: short essay questions and multiple-choice questions.  They are designed so that you will have ample time to finish them during the class period.  The tests will cover primarily material that we cover in class; however, there will be questions from the book as well as indicated on the syllabus above.

The grade you earn in the course will be weighted in the following manner:

• Examinations                                                                                        60%
• Homework Assignments                                                                       25%
• In-class Work                                                                                        5%
• Quizzes (three) – there are no make-up quizzes given in course    2%
• Web Project                                                                                           8%

The letter grade you receive is based on the following scale:

            >93%               A                     77-79%           C+

            90-92%           A-                    73-76%           C

            87-89%           B+                   70-72%           C-

83-86%           B                      67-69%           D+

            80-82%           B-                    60-66%           D

                                                            < 59%              F

Important Note

            If you are having trouble during the semester, please talk with me as soon as possible.  We will be discussing the same topics throughout the semester and building on our knowledge, so it is imperative that you get help as soon as you need it.

            From experience, most students succeed in this course if they stay on top of the material (with their readings and by reviewing notes) as well as taking practice tests (see links on top of syllabus).  Additionally, students that succeed often have formed study groups to review notes and discuss confusing topics covered in lecture.  They also make practice tests for one another to take (or alternatively you could use the tests on the computer - see web site address above).

            Please talk with me if you have any disabilities of which I need to be aware.  We can talk about alternatives to help you study and strategies for taking exams.  Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) at 985-5269 as soon as possible to coordinate and implement accommodations in a timely fashion. The Office of DSS is located in the Student Support Center, PC 188.