ECOLOGY
BIOL 3550
3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

This course introduces the basic concepts of ecology, the study of how organisms interact with each other and with their habitat. The course begins with a review of the basics of evolution and natural selection, since many of the ideas in ecology depend on organisms attempting to maximize their fitness. It then covers, in order, the ecology of individuals, considering some aspects of both physiological and behavioral ecology; the ecology of groups of individuals, or populations; and finally, the ecology of groups of populations, or communities, and how they interact with each other.

Lectures will consist primarily of PowerPoint presentations, and there will be demonstrations of important concepts using programs such as Populus. Evaluation of student progress will be done with examinations, quizzes, and homework assignments (including web-based research).

This course is for teachers who are seeking a Biology Add-on Endorsement ONLY.  It will not substitute for required ecology courses in the Biological Sciences or related majors.

Course Objectives:

The primary objectives for Ecology 3550 are:

To understand microevolution, Darwin’s formulation of natural selection, and the concepts of fitness, and to be able to relate them to ecological processes.

To understand how abiotic factors (precipitation, temperature, climate) affect the ecology of organisms; to understand and define the concept of a niche; to know the major biomes of Earth.

To understand the concepts of trophic dynamics, or how energy and nutrients flow through organisms and ecosystems.

To understand and be able to apply the major concepts of population biology, including patterns of distribution and abundance of organisms; population demography; population growth; regulation of population size; and life histories.

To understand and be able to apply the major concepts dealing with interactions among organisms, in particular competition, predation, and mutualism.

To understand and be able to apply some of the major concepts in community ecology, including patterns of biodiversity; food web ecology; and succession.

To understand potential effects of humans on each of the above processes and patterns.

Prerequisites and Corequisites:

The student must have completed BIOL 1110 and BIOL 1120 (or their equivalents) in order to have a working knowledge of basic biological concepts as well as an introduction to the topics to be covered in this course.

Course Topics:

The topics to be covered include: 

    1) Introduction

     2) Microevolution

     3) Natural Selection and Fitness

     4) Biomes

     5) Niches

     6) Temperature Effects on Organisms

     7) Water Balance in Organisms

     8) Energy Flow in Ecosystems and Organisms

     9) Trophic Levels and Food Chains

     10) Basic Ideas in Population Ecology

     11) Life Tables

     12) Population Growth

     13) What Regulates Population Growth?

     14) Life Histories

     15) Competition Basics and Examples

     16) Modeling Competition

     17) Basics of Predator-Prey Interactions

     18) Modeling Predation

     19) Mutualism

     20) Biodiversity

     21) Food Web Ecology

     22) Ecology of Succession

     23) Global Ecology

Specific Course Requirements:

Access to an up-to-date computer.

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:
http://direct.mbsbooks.com/tbr.htm

Supplementary Materials:

Course materials other than the textbook will be supplied. Instructions for accessing and utilizing freeware programs will also be provided by the course instructor.

Hardware Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.tn.regentsdegrees.org/students/hardware_software.htm.

Software Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.tn.regentsdegrees.org/students/hardware_software.htm. The student should also have access to Adobe Acrobat Reader and Real Player.

Instructor Information

Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.

Assessment and Grading

Testing Procedures:

All work for this course will be conducted online, including exams, quizzes, and homework assignments.

Grading Procedure:

There will be three exams in the course. The first two will be worth 100 points each; exam 1 will cover material on course topics 1-9, exam 2 on topics 10-16. The third exam will be the final exam. It will be worth 150 points and be partially comprehensive, with approximately 70% new material and 30% old material.

There will be six quizzes, spaced approximately biweekly, over lecture content and assignments. Each will be worth 20 points.

There will be three research-related assignments covering aspects of finding and interpreting ecological data. Each will be worth 30 points.

There will be 40 points available for participation in email correspondence and/or class discussions.

The total number of points for the course is 600.

Grading Scale:

528-600 points--A
468-527 points--B
408-467 points--C
348-407 points--D
0-347 points--F

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects:

See grading procedure for assignments. Students are expected to maintain regular (weekly) contact with the instructor and to submit assignments within the required time period.

Class Participation:

Students must participate in all interactive aspects of the course; these will include contact with the instructor and class discussion.

Punctuality:

Students are expected to follow the lecture sequence as outlined in the  Course Topics section.

Course Ground Rules

Participation is required for this course. You will be expected to communicate both with your instructor and with other students, to learn how to navigate in WebCT, to keep updated on course announcements and activities, to use the assigned college or university e-mail address as opposed to a personal e-mail address, to observe course netiquette at all times, and to promptly contact the instructor if there are any problems. 

Guidelines for Communications

Email:
  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members

Discussion Groups:
  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Chat:
  • Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
  • Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
  • Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
  • Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
  • Be constructive in your comments and suggestion

Web Resources:

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses.

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the left to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

Telephone Support:

If you are having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the AskRODP Help Desk by calling

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to the AskRODP website at:

http://askrodp.custhelp.com