STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
CANTON, NEW YORK
COURSE OUTLINE
BIOL 213 - FIELD BIOLOGY & ECOLOGY
Prepared by: Ken Erickson
SCHOOL OF SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
FALL 2004
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Field Biology and Ecology: A Comprehensive Course Outline for BIOL 213, Study notes of Biology
An outline for the field biology and ecology course (biol 213) offered at the state university of new york college of technology in canton, new york. The course covers ecological principles, ecosystem components, and various techniques used in collecting and analyzing ecological data. Students will learn about adaptation, environmental factors, competition, predation, trophic structure, energy cycles, populations, ecosystems, and biogeochemical cycles through lectures and laboratory experiences.
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STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
CANTON, NEW YORK
COURSE OUTLINE
BIOL 213 - FIELD BIOLOGY & ECOLOGY
Prepared by: Ken Erickson SCHOOL OF SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES SCIENCE DEPARTMENT FALL 2004
BIOL 213 - FIELD BIOLOGY & ECOLOGY
A. TITLE: Field Biology & Ecology B. COURSE NUMBER: BIOL 213 SHORT TITLE: Field Biology & Ecology C. CREDIT HOURS: 3 D. WRITING INTENSIVE COURSE: No E. COURSE LENGTH: 15 weeks (full semester) F. SEMESTER OFFERED: Fall G. HOURS OF LECTURE, LABORATORY, RECITATION, TUTORIAL, ACTIVITY: 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab per week H. CATALOG DESCRIPTION: This course provides an introduction to the basic ecological principles underlying the interrelationships of living organisms and their environment. The lecture focuses on principles and theory related to environmental factors, adaptation, competition, predation, trophic structure and energy cycles, populations, ecosystems, and biogeochemical cycles. The laboratory consists primarily of field visits to various types of ecosystems in the area to provide experience in various techniques employed in collecting and analyzing ecological data. I. PRE-REQUISITES: Introduction to Biology (BIOL 101) or Introduction to Human Biology (BIOL 102) or College Biology I (BIOL 105). J. GOALS: By the end of this course, the student will:
- Define ecology and ecosystem and discuss the main components of ecosystems and how they interact..
- Describe the scientific method, including the importance of observation, hypothesis development, experimentation, evaluation of evidence, and the employment of mathematical analysis.
- Describe and discuss the concepts of adaptation, environmental tolerance, habitat, and niche; and describe how the distribution of organisms reflects environmental variation.
- Describe the mechanisms by which organisms transform and assimilate energy.
- Describe the mechanisms that produce patterns of climatic variation and how the relationship between temperature and precipitation affects terrestrial ecosystems..
BIOL 213 Field Biology & Ecology Specific Topic Outline
- Introduction to ecology. a. Definitions: ecology, environment, ecosystem. b. Subdisciplines within ecology. c. Hierarchical organization of ecosystems. d. Case studies: 1. Forest warblers: resource partitioning. 2. Sea otter declines: ecological cascade. 3. Global warming: global effects.
- The organism and its environment. a. Variability of the physical environment. b. Microclimates. c. Homeostasis. d. Law of Tolerance. e. Law of the Minimum. f. Species distribution. g. Habitats. h. The niche concept. i. Ecological generalists and specialists.
- Processes of exchange. a. The importance of carbon. b. Photosynthesis: 1. C 3 2. C 4 3. CAM c. Cellular respiration. d. Decomposition.
- Climate. a. Definitions: climate, weather. b. Mechanisms producing climatic variation. c. Circulation of the atmosphere. d. Adiabatic cooling. e. The Coriolis force. f. Relative humidity. g. Global patterns of precipitation. h. Climate diagrams. i. Landscape features and their influence on microclimate. j. Aquatic temperature patterns. k. Properties of water: specific heat, heat of vaporization, latent heat of fusion.
- Temperature relations. a. Case study: Dryas integrifolia. b. Importance of temperature as an environmental factor. c. Methods of heat transfer. d. Temperature regulation by desert plants. e. Temperature regulation by arctic and alpine plants. f. Temperature regulation by tropical alpine plants. g. Temperature regulation by animals. h. Homeotherms, poikilotherms, and heterotherms. i. Temperature regulation by Liolaemus multiformis. j. Temperature regulation by Cannula grasshoppers. k. Aquatic poikilotherms. l. Temperature regulation by Bombus. m. Special mechanisms of temperature regulation: 1. torpor 2. hibernation 3. evaporative cooling 4. “heat storing” 5. supercooling; antifreeze
- Water relations. a. Case study: Diceroprocta. b. Maintaining water balance. c. Properties of water: 1. molecular structure 2. specific heat 3. latent heat of fusion 4. cohesion 5. adhesion d. Osmosis. e. The water cycle. f. Transpiration. g. Plant adaptations to arid environments. h. Water conservation by animals. i. Dissimilar organisms with similar approaches to desert life: camels & saguaro cacti.
- Properties of populations. a. Definition of population. b. Crude density and ecological density. c. Dispersion patterns. d. Small-scale distribution. e. Large-scale distribution. f. Predicting average density of populations. g. Relationship between body size and population density. h. Population age structure.
- Community structure and dynamics. a. Definition of ecological community. b. Biological structure of communities. c. Species diversity. d. Physical structure of communities. e. Vertical layering. f. Zonation. g. Transition zones: edges and ecotones. h. The Edge Effect. i. Fragmented habitats. j. Island biogeography theory. k. Metapopulation theory. l. Succession of plant communities. m. Disturbance. n. Succession of heterotrophic communities.
- Production in ecosystems. a. Introduction to ecosystems. b. General components of ecosystems. c. Autotrophs and heterotrophs. d. Primary production, primary productivity, GPP, NPP. e. Climate influence on productivity. f. Evapotranspiration. g. Global patterns of production. h. Primary productivity of the oceans. i. Primary production as a function of time. j. The fate of primary production. k. Secondary production. l. Efficiency of secondary production. m. Production efficiency, assimilation efficiency. n. Efficiency of homeotherms vs. poikilotherms.
- Trophic structure. a. Food chains and food webs. b. Trophic levels. c. Decomposers. d. Grazing food chain. e. Detrital food chain. f. Energy flow through trophic levels. g. Efficiency of energy transfer across trophic levels. h. Energy pyramids. i. Features of food webs.
- Nutrient cycling and retention. a. Overview of biogeochemical cycles. b. Gaseous and sedimentary cycles. c. Nutrient flow between reservoirs. d. The carbon cycle. e. The oxygen cycle. f. The nitrogen cycle. g. The phosphorus cycle. h. The sulfur cycle.
- Global ecology. a. Overview of environmental change. b. Sources of atmospheric CO 2. c. CO 2 uptake by the oceans. d. The “greenhouse effect”. e. Possible effects of increased CO 2 concentration on climate, ecosystems, etc. f. Global land use patterns. g. Habitat destruction. h. Effects of habitat destruction on biodiversity and the future of humanity.