Ecology for Voters

Botany/Zoology 260

COURSE SYLLABUS, FALL 2006 

[Slavery] was essentially an economic institution, and while not free of costs, it had tangible economic advantages.  The exploitation of almost four million blacks underlay the prosperity and luxury of Southern life in the same way that the exploitation of other species and of the environment underwrote and continues to underwrite American affluence.

Meets:   M W F  9:55 A.M.,  145 Birge Hall  Class # 19827 

Staff:   Instructor        Teaching Assistant

                  Dr. Don Waller                 Ms. Michelle Haynes

                  232 Birge Hall                   234 Birge Hall

                  263-2042                           265-2191

                  dmwaller@wisc.edu   mahaynes@wisc.edu 

                                    (or by appointment) 

Discussions:   301 Honors:    302 Drop-in: 

                  Required for those taking for Honors OPTIONAL – for those available & interested

                  Mon. 3:30 pm – 119 Noland Hall  Weds.  11:00 am  - 379 Noland Hall 

Course Web Sites:  http://botany.wisc.edu/courses/botany_260/  (public)

                  https://uwmad.courses.wisconsin.edu/  (UW students only) 

Thumbnail Description:

I aim this survey course at non-biology majors who want to learn how to critically evaluate leading ecological issues of our time.  It is designed to expand your awareness of how human activities are affecting biotic systems as well as your interest in nature and ecology generally. We begin with threats to natural systems: the global extinction crisis, global warming, habitat loss and fragmentation, invasions of exotic species, over-harvesting, and threats to particular ecosystems around the world.  With our eyes thus opened, we continue by considering what science is, what ecology is, and how it is applied to understand and address these critical issues.  Along the way, we explore questions like:  How do species interact?  How do ecosystems work?  How do we relate (or not) to the natural world?  Why do some bedbugs commit homosexual stabbing and rape?  How do species evolve to adapt to changes in their physical and biotic environments?  Why can’t they keep up with human-induced changes? Why are more pests and diseases emerging all the time?  Our goal in the final weeks will be to explore how best to protect and restore natural areas, improve our farms and cities, conserve clear air and water, and sustainably address our global food, energy, climate and extinction crises. 

Instead of one big expensive textbook, you will read 3 paperbacks (ISBN):

      Aldo Leopold.  1990.  A Sand County Almanac.  Ballantine. (0-34534-505-3)

      David Quammen.  1998.  The Flight of the Iguana.  Touchstone Books. (0-68483-626-2)

available from the University and Underground bookstores, Borders, Amazon, etc.  I will also assign short readings for some lectures as on-line URL’sthat or posted on the course web site. 

Course Objectives:

Ecology is a broad and technical field so we concentrate on basic principles. "Ecology for Voters" will contribute to your ecological and environmental literacy and your ability to make informed decisions. Specifically, we aim to:

You should increase your ecological awareness and your ability to critically evaluate environmental issues.  You should also learn how to discriminate between serious and less serious (or bogus) threats to ecosystems, and real versus illusory solutions to these threats. 

Lectures:

The lectures will be as diverse and interesting as possible and make liberal use of color images and current news stories. Help me by sharing interesting and pertinent stories that you come across. I often present a pertinent “Organism of the Day.”  The lectures present accepted thinking, arcane or obscure factoids,  supported and fallacious scientific theories, provocative ideas, and sometimes my opinions. I will strive to make clear which are which and expect you to learn how to discriminate among these as well. I don’t want or expect you to follow any "party line." Challenge any point of view you wish to and try on any idea you want to.  You will never be penalized for speaking up. 

We learn best by being actively involved with a subject.  To encourage thinking and interaction, I often ask questions in lecture.  I will sometimes ask you to respond by discussing a point with your neighbor or writing a short response.  You may have a chance to share these ideas in class or turn in written responses (often marked for points).  You need to be present to take notes (strongly encouraged).  If you are smart, you will go over or copy your notes the same day – research shows this helps transfer ideas from short- to long-term memory. If you miss a class, pester a class-mate for notes.  I will also make an effort to share my slides (Powerpoints) via the course web-site, but these fall short of what is covered in class and may be delayed.  Review sheets and other hand-outs will be sometimes placed at the back of 145 Birge next to the doors for you to pick up before class. Please turn off cell phones during lecture. 

Ask questions!  In or out of class, verbally or via notes, email, telephone, or courier. We won’t always have an answer, but they will help you, and us, and make this a better class.  

Discussions

Discussions are required of Honors students (Section 301 at 3:30 Mondays, 119 Noland).  Others are welcome to attend an optional Discussion on Wednesdays (11 am, 379 Noland). Here, you will have opportunities to clarify concepts, debate ideas, and share reactions to the readings and lectures.  Before each exam, the TA will also offer late afternoon or evening Review Sessions.

Field Trips

The TA offers 2-3 optional Field Trips early in the semester.  Aside from their intrinsic interest, these help you prepare to do the Field Report. Dates and times for the Field Trips are announced in class and sign-up sheets will be posted.

Written Work

In the first weeks, you have a ‘do-it-yourself’ field lab which you write up as a Field Report worth 30 points. We will hand out a description for this and grading criteria. For help with a draft or with organizing your writing, see the TA or visit out the Writing Lab (6171 Helen C. White, M-TH 9 AM - 8:30 PM, 263-9305; Web site:  http://www.wisc.edu/writing/). 

You will also write several (8-10) short in-class (or take-home) assignments.  These are generally not announced and are intended to check comprehension and/or synthesis skills.  They will be graded on a simple 5 point scale (giving 40 - 50 points over the semester).  Most reasonable answers will garner 3+ points, but you receive no credit if you aren’t present.  There are no make-ups but everyone is allowed to miss one no questions asked.

Examinations

You will have two hour exams (worth ~100 points each) and a two-hour Final Exam  (worth about 180-200 points). These are mostly multiple choice and in-class (see syllabus). We all know that multiple choice exams are not ideal, but I try to make them as fair as possible and they are quick to score. The Final Exam emphasizes the last sections of the course, but also covers points from all sections of the course (former exam questions are fair game). If you know that you will be absent for an exam, arrange in advance with the TA to take the make-up.  If your native language is not English, you may bring a dictionary to the exams.

Academic Conduct

You are expected to be familiar with UW rules on academic misconduct – see:  http://www.wisc.edu/students/conduct.htm

We encourage you share ideas, reactions to the readings and lectures, and questions with your fellow students and with us, in or out of class.  You may also be assigned team writing or other projects in class or Discussion.  At other times, and for all exams and assignments, you are expected to work independently.  Violation of UW’s academic conduct rules may subject you to heavy penalties ranging from a failing grade on the assignment or a failing grade in the course to expulsion from the University.

Grades

Your final grade depends on how many points you earn from:

  1. Exams (380-400 points),
  2. Field Report (30 pts), and
  3. In-class writing (40-50 points),

Curves for each exam showing approximate letter grades will be posted.  Do not be concerned if you miss a grade by one or two points, however,  as your final grade is based on your total point score, not the letter grades.  Although we would rather talk about ecology (or many other subjects), the TA and I are available to answer questions about exam or paper grades.

The best student usually:

  1. Attend all lectures and take several pages of notes per lecture.
  2. Complete all assigned readings, ideally in advance, taking notes or writing a summary
  3. Review notes regularly, and ask questions via email or office hours if anything is unclear. 
  4. Form study groups with 2-3 other students in the class.
  5. Make a habit of attending the optional discussions.
    6.  

Date  Lecture    Reading Assignment

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sept. 6  Ecology in an age of extinction Intro – Flight of the Iguana (Quammen) 

Sept. 8  Why nature matters   Foreword – A Sand County Almanac (Leopold)

            Natural history    Leopold:  ‘A man's leisure time’ & ‘Natural history’  

Sept. 11 The extinction crisis   Foreman Intro & Ch. 1 

Sept. 13 Human evolution and the  Foreman Chs. 2 & 3

            Pleistocene extinctions  http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/lec04/b65lec04.htm 

Sept. 15 Endemism, rarity, and extinction Q:  "Island getaway" &  "Flight of the iguana"

                                          L:  “On a monument to the Pigeon” 

Sept. 18 Waves of human expansion  Foreman Ch. 4

            << Field Report Due >>   

Sept. 20 Ecological wounds – killing  Foreman Ch. 5 (to p. 73)

            Threats to small populations  Q:  "The beautiful and damned" 

Sept. 22 Habitat loss & fragmentation  Foreman Chs. 5 & 6 (to p. 94) 

Sept. 25 Disrupted disturbance regimes  & Foreman Ch. 6 (remainder)

              Invasions of exotic species  Q:  ‘Of plagues and magic bullets’ (website)

                                          L:  “Cheat takes over” 

Sept. 27 Threats to wetlands   L: "Marshland elegy" & “Flambeau”

            Rivers, flooding, and dams  Q: "Swamp odyssey" &  “The same river twice” 

Sept. 29 Global warming   http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/fcons.asp

            ‘Global Warming FAQ’: http://www.ucsusa.org/global_environment/global_warming/index.cfm

                                          Essay:  Consensus on climate change (course website) 

Oct. 2  Fouling our air and water  http://www.ec.gc.ca/acidrain/acidfact.html

            Running out of resources  Q:  “Provide, provide”

                                          http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/ 

Oct. 4  Disappearing arctic & other habitats Farley Mowat ‘Two who were one’ (course website)

                                          http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/qthinice.asp 

Oct. 6  <<  EXAM I  >>

 

 II.   Ecosystems and species interact and adapt

Date  Lecture    Reading Assignment

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oct. 9  How do we interact with other  L:  January – March

               species?    Q: ‘The face of a spider’ 

Oct. 11  Nutrients in and out of place   L: “Odyssey” Q: "Turnabout"

            Lakes & eutrophication  http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/0465.html 

Oct. 13  Flows of energy   ‘Why big fierce animals are rare’ (course website) 

Oct. 16  Boreal & deciduous forests  L:  April – Sept.

                                          ‘Logging:  bane or balm?’  (course website)

             

Oct. 18  Coping with heat & drought   Q: "See no evil" & "Drinking the desert juices"

            The desert smells like rain  L: “The Green Lagoons” 

Oct. 20  Seasons, migration, and home  L:  October-December 

Oct. 23  Ocean environments    Q:  "Agony in the garden"

            Coral reefs    http://www.coralreef.org/coralreefinfo/about.html 

Oct. 25  Oceans in trouble   http://whyfiles.org/139overfishing/

              can the oceans feed us?  http://blueocean.org/seafood/

                                          Fishing down marine food webs (course website) 

Oct. 27  Prairie grasslands, savanna, and fire L: "Illinois bus ride" & “The Sand Counties”

            Guest Lecture:  Bob Wernerehl Q: "Thinking about earthworms" 

Oct. 30  Tropical forests   Q: "Stalking the gentle piranha"

            Peruse ‘Rainforest information’ at: http://www.mongabay.com/home.htm

            OR:    http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/lec16/b65lec16.htm 

Nov. 1  How do populations grow?  Malthus essay on population (excerpts) at:

                              http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/malthus/malthus.1.html 

Nov. 3  Limits to growth  http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/lec24/b65lec24.htm

            What is human carrying capacity? Beck on immigration (course website) 

Nov. 6   Competition and the niche  Q:  “The ontological giraffe”

            African mammals 

Nov. 8  Can we build more sustainable cities?    Read all 7 pages of 1. & ‘visualize’ at 2.:

                        1.  http://www.great-lakes.net/teach/pollution/sprawl/sprawl_1.html

                        2.  http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/community/transformations/index.asp 

Nov. 10 << EXAM II >> 
 III. Interactions, pitfalls, and prospects 

Date  Lecture    Reading Assignment

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Nov. 13 Top dogs and cats –    Foreman Ch. 7

            Pretty ornaments or key functions? L: "Thinking like a mountain" 

Nov. 15 Are deer overabundant?   http://www.botany.wisc.edu/waller/deer/

                        http://www.tiee.ecoed.net/vol/v2/issues/figure_sets/deer/overview.html  

Nov. 17 The history of life and geological Q: "The Poseidon shales"

             calamities – is life fragile or resilient? 

Nov. 20  Natural selection   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_selection

                                          Q:  “The Lonesome Ape” 

Nov. 22  Plant defenses & chemical ecology 

            <<  Thanksgiving >> 

Nov. 27 Mating habits & sexual selection Q: "The miracle of the geese" & "Nasty habits" 

Nov. 29 When is it (not) science?  http://www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org/

                                          http://www.venganza.org/

                        Karl Popper:     http://www.geocities.com/healthbase/falsification.html 

Dec. 1  How do human cultures collapse? J. Diamond: ‘Easter Island’ (from Collapse)

                                             http://dieoff.org/ 

Dec. 4  Can we sustain our agriculture? http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm 

Dec. 6  Rewilding: Carnivores, cores,  Foreman Ch. 8

              & connectivity 

Dec. 8  U.S. public land conservation  Foreman Ch. 9 

Dec. 11  Connecting the pieces   Foreman Chs. 10 & 11 

Dec. 13  Ecological Ethics   L:  “The Land Ethic” 

Dec. 15  What’s the point?   Q:  “Dirty word, clean place” (course website) 

Dec. 21  Thursday, 2:45 pm       * * * Final Exam * * *