Biology 729 Syllabus
Spring 2006
Title: Advanced
topics in ecology
Time: Meets
twice per week, Tuesday and Thursday, 12-1:30.
Place: 615C Rieveschl
Hall.
Instructors:
Ken Petren, 802 Rieveschl; 6-9736; ken.petren@uc.edu
Other
instructors are likely.
General course description:
This class will meet twice per week
for 90 minutes to discuss recent approaches to ecological questions. The course is concept oriented, with an
emphasis on theoretical underpinnings and empirical work that drives the
reformulation of basic concepts and makes major advances. In a typical week, the class will begin
with a lecture reviewing the historical developments behind a body of theory or
a longstanding question of
ecology. The second session will
involve discussion of recent papers from the literature that represent cutting
edge approaches to classical questions. Discussion papers will be chosen by the
instructors, who will consider suggestions from the students. Students
will participate in the discussion and on at least one occasion will lead the
discussion by preparing a short summary presentation and appropriate questions
to foster discussion.
Expectations
Students will prepare a summary
presentation and lead the discussion at least once per quarter. All students
are expected to participate in d`iscussion every week. discussion with
questions instead of developing presentations (limited to 1-2 graphics per
meeting). We will adhere to
university regulations regarding ethical conduct and plagiarism, although we do
not expect such issues to arise in this course.
Graduate Program
fulfillments
The Department of Biological Sciences
has approved this course for three credits. This course fulfills one of the
required topics seminars. As of
now, a student may only count this course toward one of the two topics courses
required for degree fulfillment.
Grading
Grading will be pass/fail and will be
based on attendance, participation and effective leadership of discussions.
Students missing more than two meetings, or with more than one unexcused
absence will receive a failing grade.
This course teaches theoretical
ecology and quantitative methods for the
design and interpretation of
ecological experiments. It focuses
on
processes operating at the individual,
population and community levels
to understand patterns of species
abundance and distribution. Topics
to
be covered may include community
structure and stability, food webs,
energy flux, effects of predation,
inter- and intra-specific
competition, and parasitism and
disease. The course will be in
both
lecture and discussion
format. Discussions will follow
student
presentations focusing on articles
chosen from the primary ecological
literature. Grades will be based on a student's
oral presentation(s),
participation in discussion and
written assignments.
Topics covered in this course
previously (with M. Polak)
Review of basic concepts
Organisms
and the environment
Distribution
and abundance
Biotic
interactions
Community
Ecology
Experimental studies of
competition
Theoretical
framework
Landmark
studies
Experimental
design
Mechanisms
and behavior
Experimental studies of predation
Theoretical
framework
Landmark
studies
Mechanisms
and behavior
Community ecology
Community
structure and patterns
Theories
of community stability
Food
webs
Higher
order interactions and indirect
effects
Parasitism
Theoretical
framework and history
The
ecology of parasitism
Physiological
aspects of parasitism
Host-parasite interactions
Quantifying
parasite community structure
Local
adaptation
Behavior
modification
Ecological genetics
Natural
selection
Genetic
patterns of adaptation
Population
structure and dynamics
Phylogenetic approaches to ecology
Ancestral
states and character transitions
The comparative method in ecology