ESCI 325 FUNDAMENTALS OF ECOLOGY (3 cr.)

Huxley College of the Environment

Western Washington University

Winter 2009

Instructor: James M. Helfield

Office: ES 338

Tel: 650-7285

Email: james.helfield@wwu.edu

Office hrs: W 2:30 – 3:30 pm, or by appt.

Lectures: MWF 11:00 – 11:50 am, ES 310

Course Objectives:

Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their physical environment and with each other. The primary goal of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the fundamental concepts of ecology and the ways in which physical, chemical and ecological factors interact to shape the structure and dynamics of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Another goal is to help students become informed, critical thinkers able to consider how ecological principles can be applied to a variety of environmental issues affecting society.

Prerequisites:

Students should have taken BIO 204, 205 and 206 before enrolling in this course. If you do not have these prerequisites, you cannot expect to do well in this course.  We won’t stop you from registering, but we are giving you fair warning. 

Readings and Course Materials:

The textbook for this course is Ecology: Concepts and Application (4th Edition), by Manuel C. Molles, Jr. Supplemental readings and other course materials can be downloaded from the ESCI 325 Blackboard site.

Assignments and Grading:

Final grades will be based on the following:

Midterm Quiz 1	25%
Midterm Quiz 2	25%
Assignment 1	5%
Assignment 2	10%
Assignment 3	10%
Final Exam	25%
Total:	100%

Late assignments will be penalized 5% per day if turned in without a valid excuse. Students who miss a test without a valid excuse will be given a grade of 0% for that test. If you have a valid excuse for missing a deadline or a test, you should contact the instructor beforehand so that alternate arrangements can be made.

Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

Grade %	Grade %	Grade %	Grade %	Grade %
	B+ 87 – 89.9	C+ 77 – 79.9	D+ 67 – 69.9	F 0 – 59.9
A 93 – 100	B 83 – 86.9	C 73 – 76.9	D 63 – 66.9
A- 90 – 92.9	B- 80 – 82.9	C- 70 – 72.9	D- 60 – 62.9

Schedule:

Week	Date	Topic	Readings*
1	W 1/7	SECTION I: INTRODUCTION Introduction to the Course: What is Ecology?; Assgn. 1	Ch. 1
	F 1/9	Climate and Biomes	Ch. 2
2	M 1/12	SECTION II: ORGANISMAL ECOLOGY Evolution and Natural Selection	Ch. 8
	W 1/14	Evolution and Natural Selection (cont’d)	Ch. 8
	F 1/16	Temperature Regulation; ASSGN. 1 DUE	Ch. 4
3	M 1/19	no class (Martin Luther King, Jr., Day)
	W 1/21	Water Regulation; Energy and Nutrient Resources	Chs. 5, 6
	F 1/23	Energy and Nutrient Resources (cont’d)
4	M 1/26	MIDTERM QUIZ 1	Ch. 6
	W 1/28	SECTION III: POPULATION ECOLOGY Distribution and Abundance	Ch. 9
	F 1/30	Population Dynamics	Ch. 10
5	M 2/2	Population Dynamics (cont’d); Population Growth; Assgn. 2	Ch. 11
	W 2/4	Life History Strategies	Ch. 12
	F 2/6	SECTION IV: COMMUNITY ECOLOGY Competition and Niches	Ch. 13
6	M 2/9	Exploitation: Herbivory, Predation, Parsitism and Disease	Ch. 14
	W 2/11	Exploitation (cont’d); ASSGN. 2 DUE	Ch. 14
	F 2/13	Mutualism	Ch. 15
7	M 2/16	no class (Presidents Day)
	W 2/18	MIDTERM QUIZ 2
	F 2/20	Biodiversity; Assgn. 3	Ch. 16, Chapin et al. 2000, Hooper et al. 2005
8	M 2/23	Food Webs	Ch. 17, Estes and Palmisano 1974
	W 2/25	SECTION V: ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY Primary Production and Energy Flux	Ch. 18
	F 2/27	Nutrient Cycling	Ch. 19
9	M 3/2	Salmon, Bear and Riparian Forests: A Keystone Mutualism?; ASSGN. 3 DUE	Helfield and Naiman 2006
	W 3/4	Disturbance and Succession	Ch. 20
	F 3/6	Landscape Ecology; Island Biogeography	Ch. 21
Dead	M 3/9	Climate Change, Biodiversity and Extinction	Ch. 23
	W 3/11	Loose Ends
	F 3/13	Summary and Review
Finals	T 3/17	FINAL EXAM 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

*Unless otherwise indicated, assigned chapters are from the Molles textbook.