TROPICAL ECOLOGY PCB 3373 SPRING 2010

Dr. STEVE OBERBAUER MW: 5-6:15 Golden Panther arena 119

        
 Jan 4:   First Meeting -Syllabus*, Course Overview, Requirements, comportment
 Jan 6:   Introduction and Overview of Tropical Ecology - Homework 1 due (email) Page 1-17
 Jan 11:     Q Tropical Climatology Page 1-17
 Jan 13:         Q Tropical Seas not covered in text
 Jan 18:     Martin Luther King Holiday, University Closed
 Jan 20:      Q Tropical Seas pg 321-348
 Jan 25 :  Q Tropical Mangroves Page 299-319
 Jan 27:     Coral reef ecology- Guest Lecture, Dr. Longin Kaczmarsky
 Feb 1   Q Mangroves/Estuaries
 Feb 3:   Research Lecture: - Mangrove Ecology, Dr. Kevin Whelan of the National Park Service, Homework 2 due  (on coral reef paper, hardcopy)
 Feb 8 Q Tropical Rivers Page 186-220
 Feb 10:     Q Tropical Rivers- Homework 3 due (hardcopy)
 Feb 15:   Q Tropical Lakes & Wetlands Page 128-168
 Feb 17:     Q Tropical Lakes and Wetlands Page 221-237
 Feb 22 :   Research Lecture: - Ecology of Tropical Wetlands, Dr. Tiffany Troxler
 Feb 24: MID TERM 1 
 Mar 1: Tropical Lowlands DRAFT OF WHITE PAPER DUE (hardcopy) Page 238-279  (white paper format, white paper example)
 Mar 3: Q Tropical Lowlands - Homework 4 due (hardcopy)
 Mar 8: Research Lecture: Lowland forest ecology
Mar 10 Q Tropical savannahs Page 72-86, 50-55
Mar 15: Spring Break
Mar 17:   Spring Break
Mar 22 Tropical Deserts - Homework 5 Due (hardcopy) Page 18-49
Mar 24:   Research Lecture: Tropical Desert Ecology 
Mar 29: Q Tropical Mountains and plateaus Page 64-71, 280-298
 Mar 31:     Q Tropical Mountains and plateaus
 Apr 5:    Research Lecture: Tropical Mountain Ecology, Homework 6 Due (hardcopy), WHITE PAPER DUE (hardcopy)
 Apr 7:        Issues in Tropical Conservation - TROPICAL SCRAPBOOK DUE
Apr 12:     Issues in Tropical Conservation - Homework 7 Due, CRITIQUES DUE
 Apr 14  MIDTERM 2 
 Apr 19  Tropical Summit  (location to be determined) 5 - 8:00 PM
   

*This syllabus schedule is subject to change in response to unforeseen factors.

TEXTBOOK: Tropical Ecosystems and Ecological Concepts. Patrick L. Osborne, 2000. Cambridge University Press.

GRADING: Grades will be assessed on in-class activities (homework assignments, quizzes, scrapbook), writing assignments (2 page critiques), group projects, and two exams. Grades are based on a percentage of points: A: 100-90% B: 89.9-80%, C: 79.9-70% D:69.9-60%, F: < 59.9%.

POINTS: Each midterm exam is worth 50 points, quizzes (best 12 of 13 = 120 points, given each class meeting except for exams and research lecture) homework assignments (6, 5 points each = 30 points total), and a Tropical Ecology Scrapbook = 50 points), the 2-page critiques are worth 30 points (15 points/critique; you must critique two of the seven assigned readings and guest lectures), the group project involves preparation of a white paper (40 points) and an oral presentation (50 points). Groups of two/three will be assigned randomly; a country will be selected for each group to report on in the white paper and during the tropical summit held during the final exam periood (using Powerpoint). We will provide a format for the white paper. Each team will submit a draft of the white paper on March 1 (25 points) and the final version is due March 31 (15 points). The oral Powerpoint presentations will involve all team members and will be given during the tropical summit during the final exam period.


COMPORTMENT: Each student is expected to follow the FIU codes of conduct. Violations of the codes of conduct (including language specific to plagiarism and cheating) will be reported. Plagiarism is using the text of someone elses writing without citation giving the impression that it is your own.  


HOMEWORK (#2-7): For each research paper review, read the assigned paper and answer the following questions:  Be sure to answer all questions. Grading of these is primarily based on questions 1, 5, and 6. 

1. What was the purpose of the paper, that is, what was the paper testing or what was its real objective? 
2. What aspect of the paper did you find to be most interesting. 
3. What aspect of the paper was most confusing? 
4. Which graphical presentation was most helpful and which was most confusing and Why?
5. What was the most important point of the paper, that is what is the message the paper is trying to convey?
6. What question would you like to ask the speaker to increase your understanding of his/her subject area.

These homework assignments are due by 5:00 pm on the dates indicated, submit them as hardcopy. We will describe Homework #1 on Jan 4.


TROPICAL SCRAPBOOK: During the course of the semester, collect electronic news articles concerning the tropics. Provide the date you found the article, the full url and write a one paragraph synopsis of the article. There are several sources (Yahoo News, Google News, the New York Times, NPR, Sciencedaily). Your scrapbook will be graded based on the number of articles included, semester-long activity, and the quality of your synopses.  Last year students had as many as 120 articles.  


CRITIQUES: During the semester you will submit two 2-PAGE critiques on the assigned papers associated with our research scientists (we will send PDFs to you over email or place then on CE6).  Critiques should be written in paragraph format with topic sentence, body and conclusion sentence. For each critique you must include: 

your name, panthersoft number (line 1)
full citation of the paper in the same format used in the references of the assigned paper.
the purpose of the study
the basic scientific approach
the most important result
the most interesting thing you learned from the paper
a one paragraph summary of the presentation made by the associated research scientist. 
The format  to follow is: 1 inch margins all around, use 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced. Points will be deducted for failure to follow the correct format. 

EXAMS.  Exams will include material from the lectures, research lectures, and the book.  Test format may  include short answer, multiple choice, true false, graphic interpretation, and essays.

GROUP PROJECTS: The group project involves written and oral components that we will describe in detail following the drop/add period.


LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this course, you should be able to locate the tropics, describe basic climatological patterns and the phenomenon responsible for them; describe tropical ecosystems and how they function, and understand some of the conservation issues that impact these biologically diverse ecosystems. We will use active-learning approaches to help reinforce the learning experience. These activities are designed to draw you into the educational process. While this approach reduces lecture time, it does reinforce learning of key concepts and will help you develop critical thinking skills. Exposure to a variety of research scientists and their work will help you grasp the importance of the research process. The research activities involved in the course are designed to help you learn how to work with primary scientific literature using the world wide web and the library. Regardless of career goals, this course will help you gain useful research and presentation skills you can use in the future.


CONTACT INFORMATION: ph 305-348-2580, email oberbaue@fiu.edu; email is best, but they should have the subject line:   PCB 3373-   

OFFICE HOURS: Oberbauer: W 9:00 - 12:00 AM (HLS 218A).

Important University dates

Monday Jan 9 : Drop/Add Period ends; last day to drop courses or withdraw from the University without incurring financial liability.

January 29 Friday: Last day to withdraw from the University with a 25% refund of tuition

February 8 Monday: Last day to apply for graduation at the end of Spring 2010 term. All four subtests of CLAST must be satisfied and reflected in official University records.

February 26 Friday: Last day to drop a course with a DR grade. Last day to withdraw from the University with a WI grade