A course in systematics/taxonomy or ecology is helpful but not needed
Lecture 9:55 - 10:45 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, & Friday, 346 Birge; lecture schedule
Ken Sytsma, 250 Birge Hall, 262-4490 - Lecture
office hour: after class or by appointment
John Zaborsky, 258 Birge, 262-4422 - TA
office hour: Wednesday 11-12 noon or by appointment
Lomolino, M.V., Riddle, B.R., Brown, J.H. Biogeography, 3rd ed. 2006. Sinauer Associates
Lomolino, M.V., Riddle, B.R., R.J. Whittaker, Brown, J.H. Biogeography, 4th ed. 2010. Sinauer Associates
Mon., Feb. 25 (in class); Wed., Apr. 3 (in class); Mon., May 14 at 12:25 pm final exam time- no cumulative final
There will be three exams during the semester with no cumulative final. The exams will be multiple choice, short answer and may include a one-page essay. Take home portions of each exam are possible. They will cover lecture, lab/greenhouse tours, and reading materials.
The other major source of your grade (worth one exam) will be from your term paper or project (the latter for more advanced students - please talk to us if you are interested). It is too early to give details about the term paper or project and more information will be presented later. The term paper or project will be due Friday, May 3.
Lecture handouts will be available as a course packet (3-hole punch) from Bob's Copy Shop (208 N Charter - at corner of Charter and Dayton). This will include (1) lecture outlines that should be helpful as I will include plant names to facilitate spelling, (2) accessory tables, pictures, and figures that we will go over, and (3) literature references (both classical and recent). Additional handouts will be provided throughout the semester. Slide pdfs of lectures will be available via the course webpage, and you may want to have them prior to each class and insert them into the 3 ring binder.
The optional texts cover most of the topics on which I will be lecturing, so most of the readings will come from the 3rd or 4th edition of Biogeography - both texts on reserve in the Steenbock Library. They are fairly well written and understandable even if you do not have a strong natural history course background. Selected readings that you should cover will be highlighted and made available via Learn@UW. Readings from other sources will be available electronically, via the course webpage or Learn@UW. Additional references on reserve in Steenbock Library that will allow you to pursue a topic in more detail (e.g., for term papers) are also listed in the class handouts.
Three times during the semester, you will take a self-guided "Greenhouse Tour" (including virtual tour) that will allow you to actually see plant examples of what we are learning in lecture. An optional half to full day field trip to a southern mesic forest and dry prairie in southern Wisconsin will be given on Saturday, April 27. We will see plants that will have been discussed at length during class.
Attend lecture - it is the best way to understand the material. You will be graded on attendance.
Concentrate on the major points of the lecture. Do not get swamped in the details that are just used for illustration. Lecture pdfs will be available via the course webpage, and you may want to have them prior to each class.
I will hand out a review sheet about 10 days before each exam period that lists the terms, concepts, etc. with which you should be becoming familiar.
Many (most) of the plants discussed will not be familiar to you, but that is not the problem you might think it to be.You do not need to have a strong backgound in botany or ecology to be successful in this class.