Ecology online - Summer C 2019

Course Instructor	Learning Assistants: Ridha Ahmad, Kelcey Homilus, & Sofia Ocampo
Dr. Suzanne Koptur Professor of Biology	PLTL: online sections available, also in person, for summer C term
OE 232, ph. 305-348-3103; email: kopturs@fiu.edu Website: faculty.fiu.edu/~kopturs
Virtual office hours Tuesday 4 – 6 pm EST Thursday 3 – 5 pm EST; and by appt.	Course hosted in Canvas

What can Ecology do for you?

Have you ever wondered how things in nature have become the way they are? What is the worth and role of organisms, and non-living parts of ecosystems, on the earth? How do organisms adapt to environmental stresses? How are organisms modified in response to their environments? How can the life history of a species be used to evaluate and compare its strategies for reproduction and interactions with other species? How do organisms and habitats compare in different biomes around the world? How does energy flow and nutrients cycle through food webs and communities? How can we compare and evaluate communities in terms of species richness and diversity? What roles have humans played in transforming natural ecosystems? And what are our prospects for conservation of remaining biodiversity?  In this course you will use your foundation in biology, chemistry, and math to explore the data examining and implications of the answers to these questions. 

Learning goals:

            Students completing this course should gain foundational knowledge, including:  the worth and role of all organisms and non-living parts of ecosystems on the earth; how organisms adapt to environmental stresses; how organisms are modified in response to their environments; how life histories can be used to evaluate and compare strategies for reproduction and interactions with other species; how organisms and habitats compare in different biomes around the world, and how things have come to be the way they are; energy flow and nutrient cycles through food webs and communities; how communities can be compared in terms of species richness and diversity; the role humans have had in transforming natural ecosystems; the prospects for conservation of remaining biodiversity; and more. 

You will integrate and apply what learn to hypothetical and real-world situations, preparing for challenges you may face in future courses, research, employment, and life.  Students will solve problems, retrieve and synthesize informatiom, write, present, and work with others.  Hopefully, you will also become aware of the consequences of our/human actions on natural biota, and what can be done to ameliorate negative effects and promote ecosystem health. 

Class Content:

            Concepts will be presented in our textbook and recorded lectures by the professor and videos available on our course website.  There will also be readiness quizzes over the reading, and other assignments to be completed online to augment your learning. We will use small-group learning, and students will engage in contests, discussions, games, problem solving, and various assessment techniques to facilitate their understanding of the material.

Writing in Ecology: The writing component of the course has two main parts:  short essay assignments, and two group projects called jigsaws.  The essays will pop up in class throughout the semester, and the best 80% of them will be counted for a percentage of your final grade.  The jigsaws will be done in groups on assigned topics, in stages; we will have some training in library research to help you find references relevant to your topics, and you should start projects early enough to find relevant references, read the scientific articles, as well as other relevant information found from other sources, and to put together your ideas.   Groups will present their findings online, and also turn in their words via TurnItIn.com to verify originality.  Students will review the work of other groups’ presentations and also report their group members contributions to their final products.  Needless to say, plagiarism is unethical and will not be tolerated in this or any course activity.     

            We will also explore the quantitative aspects of ecology using exercises and models, including some in our textbook.  Learning Assistants will facilitate group work, as well as interact with students in discussions and other activities. The PLTL session each week will focus on strengthening comprehension and recall of important things covered week by week, and is part of the lecture class grade.  Packback (see below) will offer a continuous forum for discussing course material, and sparking interest in areas that might have been overlooked. We plan that all parts of the course will work together to give you a dynamic understanding of this science and its interfaces with mathematics, statistics, and other sciences. 

PLTL: Peer Led Teaching and Learning sessions are required for Ecology online. You may register for a session that takes place online, or you may also join a PLTL session that meets in a classroom on campus.  Each week you will do worksheets that review important concepts, in a session led by an undergraduate student who has previously taken the course.  Our data have shown that students with PLTL do markedly better than those who do not have it; that is why it is now required for this course.

PackBack:  For the first time in Ecology online, we will use PackBack, an online learning tool, to facilitate weekly discussions on the topics of the week. Participation is a requirement for this course, and the Packback Questions platform will be used for online discussion about class topics. Packback Questions is an online curiosity community where you can be fearlessly curious and ask BIG questions about how what we’re studying relates to life and the real world. My goals for using Packback are for us to hear more about, and discuss, some topics that are not  covered in depth in my lectures, yet are important, interesting, and relevant.  I also hope to increase participation by students who often prefer to sit back in person, as there are many hidden diamonds we might otherwise not see.

            Your participation on Packback will count towards 10 percent of your final grade. In order to receive your points per week, you must post 1 Question and 2 Answers per week, relevant to our class subject matter that week (i.e., focused on the chapters and topics covered that week).   Before you start posting, be sure to read the Community Guidelines found in the tutorial on Packback. If your post doesn’t follow the Packback Community Guidelines, there is a chance it will be removed and you won’t receive points for that post. There will be a Sunday 11:59 PM deadline for submissions in your community each week. Note: it takes 24 hours for the Packback team to moderate a post and send a coaching email. If by any reason your post is moderated because it does NOT meet the Community Guidelines, you will need to edit and re-publish your post to receive credit for the week. This is why it is important that you complete your Packback questions and responses a few days before the deadline, in case your post needs repairs.

How to Register on Packback: There is a fee for registering with Packback ($25 unless you have used it previously in another course, then reduced). You will receive a welcome email from holla@packback.co prompting you to finish registration.   Packback has already created an account for you with your school email, all you need to do is reset your password. This email may be directed to spam or filtered out, so make sure you do a thorough scan of your inbox if you can't find the email.

Grading:

            This course will involve continuous assessment, not all of the graded kind: some will be educative in nature, allowing us to know if you have learned the material, and helping you to learn more in the process of being assessed. One way this will be accomplished is with exams at the end of each module.  Another way is with student assessments of your own knowledge at the beginning of the course, and learning gains, along with some other in-class surveys.

Individual/Group assessments – end-of module exams (four highest scores out of five - 30%) and online quizzes (10%)	40%
Final Exam	10%
Best 80% of "pop" essay grades and other activities	10%
Jigsaws – two presentations with written components	20%
PLTL - attendance, participation, and performance	10%
Packback – posting at least one question and two responses each week	10%

Syllabus for Ecology (PCB 3043) online – Summer C 2019

Textbook:  Ricklefs, R.E. and R. Relyea. 2014.  Ecology: The Economy of Nature, 7th edition, W.H Freeman and Company, New York.   

Schedule of events

Module	Dates to open	Lecture Topic	Readings - R&R chapter
1	6 May 2019	Pre-test and Introduction Read through module 0 and get familiar with course On to Module 1 – read ch. 1 of textbook take quiz 1 listen to lecture – Introduction watch short videos – What is Ecology? And Giant pandas in China	1
	8 May	The Physical Environment - Water and Nutrients – adaptations to the aquatic environment Read ch. 2 in textbook Take quiz 2 Watch lecture – Physical Environment: water and nutrients Watch plant nutrition video Essay: Ecological questions about your favorite organism (due by 14 May)	2
	10 May	The Physical Environment - Light, Energy, Heat – adaptations to the terrestrial environment Read ch. 3 in text book Take quiz 3 Watch lectures:   Light and energy Heat and energy Watch videos on photosynthesis and Emperor penguins Do area/volume relationships exercises and submit answers Biomes assignment – begin collaboration on topics – use collaboration option in our Canvas course	3
	13 May	Variation in Climate and Soils Read chapters 4 and 5 Take quiz on chapters 4 and 5 Watch lectures: Biological Communities Soils & Biomes Watch videos on soil, soil textures, pottery making, and survival of trees Work with partners on Biomes project	4 & 5
	15 May	Read chapter 6 Take quiz on chapter 6	6
	17 May	Biomes Group presentations due today – review and feedback – all online Students evaluate each group’s presentation, and evaluates their own group’s collaboration – feedback due 20 May
	20 May	Exam 1  - online – from 12 am until 11:59 pm (can be taken twice – by yourself first time – second time later - start before 11 pm at latest to allow 1 hr at least)
Module 2	22 May	Evolution and Adaptation  Read chapter 7 Take quiz on chapter 7 Watch lectures: Adaptation and Natural Selection A. & S. part 2 – Behavioral Plasticity Evolutionary Change and Genetic Fixation Watch videos on the Galapagos finches and the Peppered Moth Write Essay # 2 – herbivore and tree evolution	7
	24 May	Life Histories and Fitness Read chapter 8 Take quiz on chapter 8 Watch lectures: Life History Strategies Life History Theory Watch videos on Bacteria, and Birds of Paradise, Crickets	8
	27 May	Reproductive Strategies Read chapter 9 Take quiz on chapter 9 Watch lecture: Sex and Family Watch videos on Beetles and Sex in the Insect World Complete activities sheet on Life Histories, Fitness, and Reproductive Strategies	9
	29 May	Social Behavior Read chapter 10 Take chapter 10 quiz Watch lecture: Society and Evolution Watch videos: mountain lions, prairies dogs Listen to recordings: Charles Darwin meets Snoop Dogg Complete Clutch Size vs. Age of First Reproduction activity	10
	31 May	Exam 2 - online – from 12 am until 11:59 pm (can be taken twice – by yourself first time – second time later - start before 11 pm at latest to allow 1 hr at least)
Module 3	3 June	Population Distribution Read chapter 11 Take quiz on chapter 11 Watch lectures: Population structure Population size Watch videos: Bugger off and Mark/recapture Complete Mark/recapture activities with butterfly and vole simulated populations Species interaction jigsaw assignment – library training - begin collaboration on topics	11
	5 June	Population Growth and Regulation Read chapter 12 Take quiz on chapter 12 Watch lectures: Population Growth Life Tables Population Regulation Watch videos: Pied Flycatcher, Dall sheep, Thinning your plants Write essay individually and submit online	12
	7 June	Population Dynamics    Read chapter 13 Take quiz on Chapter 13 Watch lectures: Population dynamics Time delays and oscillations Watch videos: monarch butterflies, moose and wolves, and manatees Complete Population dynamics activities in an online group collaboration	13
	10 June	Exam 3
Module 4	12 June	Predation and Herbivory Read chapter 14 Take quiz on Chapter 14 Watch lectures: Predation Mimicry and modeling predation Herbivory Watch videos: body invaders, black racer, plant vs. predator Complete assignment:  predation experiment Write up results of predation experiment and submit online	14
	14 June	Parasitism and Infectious Diseases Read chapter 15 Take quiz on chapter 15 Watch videos: lyme disease, S-I-R model on prime time	15
	17 June	Competition  Read chapter 16 Take quiz on Chapter 16 Watch lectures: Competition Modeling Competition Watch videos: gooseneck barnacles, mussel-eating competition Complete activity on competition models and turn in online	16
	19 June	Exam 3
Module 4	21 June	Mutualism  Read chapter 17 Take quiz on Chapter 17 Watch lectures: Coevolution and Mutualism Modeling Mutualism Watch videos: I’iwi bird, crazy ant farmers Complete activity on Complex Interactions and turn in online	17
	21 June	Species Interactions Jigsaw Presentations  due  today – peer review and feedback by 26 June
	26 June	Exam 4
Module 5	28 June	Community Structure   Read chapter 18 Take quiz on Chapter 18 Watch lectures: Community Structure Community Attributes Watch videos: James Lovelock, Trophic Level Cascades Complete activity on Community Diversity and turn in online	18
	1-5 July	Catch up week!
	8 July	Community Succession Read chapter 19 Take quiz on Chapter 19 Watch lectures: Community development -succession Community development – models of succession Community development – disturbance Watch videos: Mayan community discovered, beaver dams, volcanic eruptions Complete group activity on succession and submit online in discussion forum	19
	10 July	Energy in Ecosystems Read chapter 20 Take quiz on chapter 20 Watch lectures: Energy pyramids and productivity Energy transfer Watch video: Frances Moore Lappe Complete Energy in Ecosystems problems and activities – turn in online	20
	12 July	Elements in Ecosystems Read chapter 21 Take quiz on chapter 21 Watch lectures: Elemental cycles Nutrient flow Watch videos: acid rain Complete group activity – elemental cycles – submit online	21
	15 July	Exam 5
Module 6	17 July	Landscape Ecology, Biogeography, and Biodiversity Read chapter 22 Take quiz on chapter 22 Watch lecture: Biodiversity and Niche Theory Watch videos: Complete individual activity – poem or creative composition – submit online	22
	19 July	Conservation of Biodiversity Read chapter 23 Take quiz on Chapter 23 Watch lectures: Conservation Biology Conservation and Extinction Watch videos: spotted owl and Green Ninja Complete Endangered Species group activity and submit online	23
	22 July	Exam 6
	26 July	Cumulative Final Exam
	28 July	Complete all surveys and work by today – Summer C term ends