environmental ecology lecture 125) (3 credits...esp 125 syllabus, page 3 1) exams: there will three...

SYLLABUS SPRING 2021

ENVIRONMENTAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ESP 125)

(3 CREDITS)

INSTRUCTOR: Joseph K. Staples PhD.

Office: 105E Bailey, Telephone: 780-5552, email: [email protected]

LECTURES: M/W 8:00—9:15 Bailey Hall, Bailey 10 on the USM Gorham campus.

OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday 11-12, Weds 11-12

LABORATORY COURSE: Students must also enroll in one of the Environmental Ecology

Laboratory (ESP 126) sections. REQUIRED TEXT: Ecology Edition: 5th By: William D. Bowman; Sally D. Hacker Publisher: Sinauer Associates Print ISBN(13): 9781605359212, ISBN(10): 1605359211 etext ISBN(13): 9781605359236, ISBN(10)1605359238 RECOMMENDED TEXTS: Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference, 7h Edition, Bedford: Boston. ISBN-13: 9780312601430 Hacker also has a free web site: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/hacker/writersref/. BIOS Instant Notes in Ecology 2nd ed. (2001) Aulay MacKenzie, Andy Ball, Sonia Virdee ISBN-10: 1859962572 | ISBN-13: 978-1859962572

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Environmental Ecology examines the interactions between

organisms and their environment. Basic ecological principles are covered and specific

topics are considered in the light of anthropogenic interactions and impact. Significant

emphasis is given to applied ecology and natural resource management/conservation

and monitoring.

PREREQUISITES: successful completion of the University's writing and mathematics

proficiency requirements. Prerequisites: ESP 101K/102K or BIO 105K/106K.

CO-REQUISITE: Environmental Ecology Laboratory (ESP 126).

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Students completing Environmental Ecology should be able to

participate in the science of ecology by:

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/hacker/writersref/

ESP 125 syllabus, page 2

Integrating the scientific method with ecological principles to develop and assess

falsifiable hypotheses and mathematical models.

Critically assess ecological research and claims.

Use basic ecological principles and evolutionary theory covered in this class to

characterize and interpret interactions of individual organisms, populations,

communities, and ecosystems.

Identifying anthropogenic impacts on species, communities, habitats,

ecosystems, landscapes, and the biosphere.

ON-LINE SUPPORT: This course has a Brightspace site with announcements and course materials will be made available.

ATTENDANCE is required. Students are expected to arrive on time for class..

INTEGRITY AND CIVICS: In accordance with USM policy (and basic decency), students are expected to do their own work and not appropriate or plagiarize the works of others. Proper behavior is expected in the classroom, lab, and field at all times. Cell phones should be off. ADAPTATIONS: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992 mandates the elimination of

discrimination against persons with disabilities. If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of disability please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities, 2nd floor Luther Bonney Hall (780-4706; TTY 780- 4395) ASSESSMENT:

93-100 = A 90-93 = A- 87-89 = B+ 83-87 = B 80-83 = B-

77-79 = C+ 73-77 = C 70-73 = C- Less than 70 =D Less Than 60 = F

Grading: Please refer to the Brightspace and course schedule for the exams and other assignment dates. Please keep track of your own grades. Calculating Grades: Grades are weighted as shown below. For example, if you receive on 90% for your quiz and homework grade, then you would multiply 0.9*30 to get 27 = 27% out of a possible 30%.

Participation 5%

Quizzes and homework 30%

Exams (3) 50%

Annotated Bibliography: 5%

Final review paper 10%


1) Exams: There will three exams during the course. The last exam is not cumulative. NO MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN.

2) Quizzes: Roughly every Week there will be a quiz will be posted on Brightspace. Please pay attention to the due date. Note: It is your responsibility to complete the quiz on time. Typically, quizzes will be made available during the week each the topic is covered.

3) Review paper: You will be required to write a review paper on a topic that examines a topic in environmental ecology.

4) Your paper topic must be approved by me. This review will be composed of three parts

1. A proposed topic must be submitted through Brightspace includes a proposed title and justification for your review. Remember, your paper must address

some a key environmental ecology topic. Feel free to bounce ideas off me while you are deciding on your topic.

NOTE: I will not accept parts 2 or 3 of this assignment until you have submitted your proposed topic.

2. The 2nd part of your review will be an annotated bibliography. I will provide a combined guide & rubric to assist you with this assignment. Also note that there is an abundance of material.

3. The 3rd part of the review assignment will be to submit a completed review paper

Your paper must meet the following minimal requirements to receive a grade.

i. Minimum of 7 pages of text (>>1.5 spacing 10-11 font


III.You are required to cite a minimum of 10 peer reviewed (primary source) articles in your paper.

This means you must cite journals - NOT websites.

If you wish to cite a website, it may be included in addition to the required number of peer reviewed journal articles. USE APA STYLE

IV. Your paper must be formatted following APA style. For more information regarding APA style, please refer to the writing reference listed in the suggested text section of this syllabus, the USM Library Website (http://usm.maine.libguides.com/tutorials), and Purdue University’s Writing Lab Online (OWL): APA Formatting and Style Guide http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Plagiarism: Plagiarism (e.g., falsification of data) is not acceptable and will not be

tolerated. If you have any questions regarding referencing formats and correct citations,

please ask us. If a student is caught plagiarizing information the student will receive an

automatic F and will be reported to the Dean of Students and the Office of Student and

University Life for additional review.

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. If you must miss lecture for medical, safety, or

other reason, it must be cleared with me 24 hrs prior to missing the lecture. You should

also make arrangements with another student to obtain notes and materials you may

have missed. Any absence other than unexpected medical or other safety issues will be

considered an unexcused absence. Please note that 1% will be deducted from your

overall grade for every unexcused absence. Five or more absences will result in a non-

passing grade for the class.

ADA: Academic Support for Students with Disabilities - Students who may need

assistance due to a disability are encouraged to contact the Office of Academic Support

for Students with Disabilities located in Luther Bonney 242. Phone number 780-4706;

TTY 7804395.

CELLPHONES, OTHER ELECTRONICS, AND PERSONAL COMPUTING DEVICE POLICY.

Per request of many students over the years, all handheld communications or recording devices such as cellphones, smartphones, or cameras are to be turned off or muted during lecture.

http://usm.maine.libguides.com/tutorialshttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/


Zero tolerance will be accepted for inappropriate use of a personal computing device such as checking one’s email, social media, or shopping online. Individuals found engaging in these activities may be asked to leave a lecture.

Laptops, tablets, or other personal computing devices, may be used with the permission of the instructor. Personal computing devices cannot pose a distraction of any kind, including visual or acoustic distractions to another student or the instructor.

In some cases students are given permission to use computing devices – for example when computing devices will help meet ADA requirements. In these instances students are expected to show common courtesy to those around them.

Audio recording of the lectures requires consent of the instructor. NOTE: Lectures presented in this class include materials protected by copyright laws.

Tentative course schedule: subject to change due to weather or other factors.

DATE LECTURE TOPIC

WEEK 1

January 25 CH 1. Introduction (review on your own)

CH 2. The Physical Environment

January 27 CH 2. The Physical Environment

WEEK 2

February 1 CH 3. The Biosphere

February 3 CH 4. Coping with Environmental Variation: Temperature

and Water

WEEK 3

February 8

CH 5. Coping with Environmental Variation: Energy

>>>REVIEW PAPER TOPIC DUE ONLINE


DATE LECTURE TOPIC

WEEK 7

March 8 CH 11. Population Dynamics

>>>ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE ONLINE>>>>REVIEW PAPER DUE ONLINE


Additional materials regarding specific assignments will be provided in a

separate document or on Brightspace (preferred).


ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY RUBRIC AND CHECK LIST NAME: 0% given if section is missing or does not meet minimum requirements for content for quality

TITLE PAGE

(CENTERED)

Title: Concise – clearly and completely presents the topic while avoiding abbreviations

Title includes relevant key terms appropriate for the general topic

Includes Author’s name and affiliation

Course name, Department, and Institution

Instructors name and appropriate title

Date

5%

PREFACE

Short Concise Paragraph 150 words (NOTE: Typically you do not cite any sources in the preface)

Introduce the topic: In one or two sentences state what is known and what is not known.)

Statement of specific purpose, focus or topic area for this annotated bibliography.

If for a research paper provide the overarching research question)

10%

TABLE OF

CONTENTS Table providing Indicates numbered pages for each section (Preface, Index, Bibliography) 5%

INDEX OF KEY

TERM AND

CONCEPTS

Provide an indexed (i.e. indicating numbered annotation) list of key terms and topics. Key terms and topics are indexed based on the number for each annotate source in which they occur. (Minimum of 5 key terms or concepts are required)

5%

REFERENCES &

ANNOTATIONS

Annotated papers are listed following APA referencing format. 1st ) alphabetically 2nd)

chronologically. All annotations must be numbered

1. Allen, R. B., P. W. Clinton, and M. R. Davis. 1997. Cation storage and availability along a

Nothofagus forest development sequence in New

Zealand. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 27:

323-330.

Write your annotation here………………

2. Amaranthus, M., J. M. Trappe, L. Bednar, and D. Arthur. 1994. Hypogeous fungal production in

mature Douglas-fir forest fragments and

surrounding plantations and its relation to coarse

woody debris and animal mycophagy. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 24: 2157-2165.

Write your annotation here………………

Provide adequate summary of the source including the following (limited to a sentence or two each) (Note 2-5 are in no particular

order:

1) __ Topic and problem statement,

2) __ Research questions and hypotheses, (stated or

implied)

3) __ Objectives (stated or implied)

4) __ Key findings,

5) __ The authors’ claims as to the significance of their

findings.

6) __ A sentence or two with your own assessment of the paper & claims. (i.e. summarize, assess, reflect)

Annotations are to be 50 to 150 words each.

NOTE: Avoid summarizing other others references – focus specifically on their findings or arguments.

Provide sentence at the end of each annotation states how many times this entry has been cited by others.

55%

GENERAL

APPEARANCE &

QUALITY OF

WRITING

Clean and professionally formatted document – structurally easy to follow. Paragraphs and sentences are coherent, cohesive, and consistent.

Appropriate punctuation and spelling and written in a professional/college level technical style.

10-11 font and 1.5 or 2 line spacing, left or left and right justified and consistent throughout the document.

Pages are numbered

20%

Remember: the objective of this assignment is to lay out the basic text that you will use in your final review paper. For example the preface could easily be

adapted to become an abstract. The alphabetical and chronological sequence of the papers will become your references cited section. The sentences and

paragraphs in each annotation should be easy to insert into the body of your final review paper. For more information on annotations:


https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/

Here is an example of an annotated bibliography: (Note this does not include the number of times individual articles are cited however you are required to provide

number of times an article is cited at the end of each your annotation. Be sure to cite the database you used to obtain this number. E.g. Web of Science, Agricola,

Google Scholar, etc)

Title Annotated Bibliography on the Ecology, Management, and Physical Effects of Large Woody Debris (LWD) in Stream Ecosystems

Author and Affiliation: Neil S. Lassettre Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning University of California, Berkeley Prepared for

the California Department of Forestry

Date 1999

http://www.krisweb.com/biblio/gen_ucb_lassettreetal_1999_lwd.pdf

Here is an example of an annotated article entry with final sentence indicating the number of citations. Adapted from, Lasserette N.S., 1999. Annotated bibliography

on the ecology, management and physical effects of large woody debris in stream ecosystems. Berkley: California Department of Forestry, 49 pp.

1. Abbe, T. B. and D. R. Montgomery. 1996. Large woody debris jams, channel hydraulics and habitat formation in large rivers. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 12: 210-221.

Field surveys document the accumulation of large woody debris (LWD) into structurally distinctive jam types in the alluvial channel of the Queets River

on the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington. Calculations, field observations and historical evidence show that these jams can form stable

structures controlling local channel hydraulics and providing refugia for riparian forest development over decades and possibly centuries. Distinctive

spatial patterns of LWD, pools, bars and forested islands form in association with particular jam types. The deposition of 'key member' logs initiates the

formation of stable bar apex and meander jams that alter the local flow hydraulics and thereby the spatial characteristics of scour and deposition leading

to pool and bar formation. Historical evidence and the age structure of forest patches documents the temporal development of alluvial topography

associated with these jam types. Bar apex jams, for example, are associated with a crescentic pool, an upstream arcuate bar and a downstream central bar

that is the focus of forest patch development. Experimental and empirical studies in hydraulic engineering accurately predict channel scour associated

with jams. Individual jams can be remarkably stable, providing long- term bank protection that creates local refugia for mature forest patches within a valley floor environment characterized by rapid channel migration and frequent disturbance. Processes controlling the formation, structure and stability

of naturally occurring LWD jams are fundamental to the dynamics of forested river ecosystems and provide insights into the design of both habitat

restoration structures and ecosystem-based watershed management.

As of 1/28/2015 Google Scholar indicates that this article has been cited 516 times.

Deconstructing this annotation (JKS).

1) Topic and/or problem statement,

Field surveys document the accumulation of large woody debris (LWD) into structurally distinctive jam types in the alluvial channel of the Queets

River on the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington. Calculations, field observations and historical evidence show that these jams can form stable structures controlling local channel hydraulics and providing refugia for riparian forest development .

2) Research questions and hypotheses,

IMPLIED: Can understanding to influence of historical and existing LWD jams provide tools and insight for habitat restoration structures and

ecosystem-based watershed management?

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/http://www.krisweb.com/biblio/gen_ucb_lassettreetal_1999_lwd.pdf


3) Objectives,

IMPLIED: Summarize historical and existing reports indicating how LWD jams are fundamental to the dynamics of forested river ecosystems

4) Key findings,

The deposition of 'key member' logs initiates the formation of stable bar apex and meander jams that alter the local flow hydraulics and

thereby the spatial characteristics of scour and deposition leading to pool and bar formation.

Historical evidence and the age structure of forest patches documents the temporal development of alluvial topography associated with

these jam types.

Bar apex jams, for example, are associated with a crescentic pool, an upstream arcuate bar and a downstream central bar that is the focus of

forest patch development.

Experimental and empirical studies in hydraulic engineering accurately predict channel scour associated with jams. Individual jams can be

remarkably stable, providing long- term bank protection that creates local refugia for mature forest patches within a valley floor

environment characterized by rapid channel migration and frequent disturbance.

5) The authors’ claims as to the significance of their findings.

Processes controlling the formation, structure and stability of naturally occurring LWD jams are fundamental to the dynamics of forested river

ecosystems and provide insights into the design of both habitat restoration structures and ecosystem-based watershed management.

6) A sentence or two with your own assessment of the paper & claims.

MISSING

Number of times cited:

GUIDE TO WRITING AN ANNOTATION (TRY TO FILL IN THE BLANKS)

Provide APA style reference for the paper here:

Print this page out. After reading an article provide a brief summary for the following topics. The assemble these summaries into a paragraph format that

you will use in your literature review.

Topic and/or problem statement (What is the subject of this paper and what problem or gap in our knowledge it address?)

Research questions and hypotheses (The overarching research question in ecology papers may be outlined based on broad principles or theories. The question then

become narrower to focus on, for example, a specific group or species. The research question can be addressed with a specific hypothesis. Note: observational papers may not have an hypothesis, but they do have a question – often implied)


Objectives and goals (what kind of research did they conduct and why…this may be a series of experiments)

Key findings

The authors’ claims as to the significance of their findings (this is typically in the discussion)

A sentence or two with your own assessment of the paper & claims (What are some issues with this research: examine methods and interpretations of results. What

is your own assessment of the importance of this research within the discipline? How does this paper fit into your own research or literature review).

Number of times cited and database source used to obtain this information:

environmental ecology lecture 125) (3 credits...esp 125 syllabus, page 3 1) exams: there will three...

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