PCB 5443

Advanced Ecology - Communities and Ecosystems

Spring 2012

Instructor: Jim Fourqurean, Ofc MSB 360 BBC campus, 305-348-4084, Jim.Fourqurean@fiu.edu

Class web page: posted at www.fiu.edu/~seagrass/class/classlist.html

Class meeting time: T-Th, 11:00-12:15, MSB 350 and HLS 216

Texts:     1) Ecology, 4th Edition, R.E. Ricklefs and G. L. Miller, WH Freeman and Co, NY
                2) An Entangled Bank, J. B. Hagen, Rutgers University Press (note - now out of press - I will provide access to these readings)
                3) The Philosophy of Ecology: from Science to Synthesis, D.R. Keller and F.B. Golley, eds, U. Georgia Press, Athens

                4) Readings from the primary literature

GENERAL INFORMATION. The purpose of this class is to introduce graduate students to the science of ecology at more complex levels of organization. Lectures are important, but graduate students must be able to find, read and interpret the primary literature, so emphasis will be placed on literature reading as well as lecture. Most weeks will have a thematic subject area covered by both lecture and discussion. Most weeks will thus include a class lecture and a student-led discussion of literature. You will be responsible for leading one class discussion (and, of course, participating in all of them!). The readings will prepare you for the lectures (and thus should be read beforehand!). Readings for discussions will be two contemporary papers (no more than 5 years old), one chosen by the instructor and one chosen by the student leading that week's discussion. Clearly, attendance in class is very important, because of the amount of material that will be covered during the semester and the emphasis on class discussion. A significant portion of your course grade will be based on your participation in discussions.

To complement this experience with verbal expression and articulation, you will be asked to complete a several writing assignments. One of the important skills you need to develop as a graduate student is the ability to digest the ideas in the literature you read and draw new linkages between independent lines of research and synthesize these connections into new research questions. You will do this 5 times during the course of this semester in formal written papers. For each of these assigned papers, you will identify two new publications (appearing in print within the last 3 months) from different journals on seemingly unrelated topics. You will write a synthesis of these two papers, pointing out how each paper would have benefitted from incorporating the ideas in the other and proposing a new question that emerges when these papers are considered together. Each of your written papers will be no more than 5 pages, single-spaced, in length. You will write these in proper scientific style, and you will properly cite important literature that bears on your review. The list of literature cited, in the format for the journal Ecosystems, will not be included in the page limit. You will also prepare a conceptual diagram for each paper that illustrates the novel hypothesis that you identify. The figure will also not be included in the page limit. At the end of the class, we will have a class symposium, where each student will prepare a formal10-minute presentation of one of their synthesis papers. Students will rank their peers on the quality of the ideas and the presentation style for this final presentation.

GRADING POLICY. Advanced undergraduates will be expected to perform at the same level as graduate students in the class. Grades in the class will be based on participation in class discussions (30%), your efficacy at leading a discussion (5%), your 5 written assignments (10% each), your synthesis presentation (10%), and your peer-reviews + participation in the synthesis symposium (5%). Graduate students presumably are to the point in their careers where they provide their own motivation to learn. It is expected that the information you glean from the readings, lectures, and discussions will appear in your writing assignments. There are no tests or final exam planned for this course. If it becomes apparent that this type of "motivation" is necessary, however, the grading policy may be changed in mid-semester to allow the incorporation of quizzes, tests, or a final exam.