EEES 2150-002 (FALL 2009) - BIODIVERSITY 

Diversity of Life, Evolution, and Ecology

Course Description:
This course serves as an introduction to the basic principles of biological evolution, diversity, and ecology.  It begins with a discussion of the characteristics of living organisms, the hierarchical structure of biology and its major organizing concepts. It briefly examines chromosomes, cell division, and the concept of heredity in order to understand the mechanisms of evolution and speciation.  Biological diversity is emphasized in the context of evolution, rather than as a ‘parade of kingdoms’.  Throughout the course, the structure of ecosystems, and concepts of population and community ecology are examined.

This course counts towards fulfilling the Natural Science competency requirements of our general education/core curriculum.  It is designed to expose students to the process of scientific inquiry and to encourage development of a perspective of science in the world.  It concentrates on providing an understanding of the basic issues, methodologies, and theories that drive scientific inquiry.  Because of the large number of nursing students in this course, many of the case studies and applications I use in class will have direct links with the broader discipline of health sciences.

In order to qualify for the general education/core curriculum in Natural Science, this course:
a.  provides an understanding of the nature of science in general and of major scientific concepts
b.  provides analysis and evaluation of scientific information
c.  provides discipline specific principles and information
d.  presents applications and demonstrate the value of the discipline to society in general
e.  introduces scientific reasoning skills

Requirements and evaluation:
You are expected to attend every scheduled class meeting and to read the material before it is presented in the lectures.  I will cover all key points in lecture and your presence at each class meeting will greatly impact your grade.  Active participation in class is encouraged and I expect your full attention.  There are no dumb questions and only few dumb answers!

Please minimize late arrivals and early departures!  It is your responsibility to get the notes if you miss lecture.  I do not give out notes to be copied but would be happy to go over the material with you during office hours.  Powerpoint files will be posted in PDF format on the course web site.

Grades will be based on three midterms and a final exam (each 25%).   The lowest grade among the first three midterms will be dropped.  Among others, this will help avoid persistent problems with make-up exams.  The final exam is required of all students.

Exams will be objective, i.e., multiple choice/computer-graded (bring #2 pencil to each exam).  Only a few of these questions will deal with memorization (selecting an answer that was presented in the same form in class).  The large majority of the questions will focus on interpretation (recognizing relationships within some body of information), extrapolation (extending what you have learned in class to determine its implications or consequences), and synthesis (creating something new out of what you already know). Material for the exams will come from the lectures and assigned readings.   Some example test questions can be found here.

In addition, four pop quizzes (no make-ups!) will be scattered throughout the term.  These quizzes are given at the start of class, cover material from some of the ‘classic’ papers in biology, and count for extra credit (up to 10% additional points).  Our first paper will be Watson and Crick's seminal article on the structure of DNA (Nature, 1953, Vol. 171, 737-738).  This paper can be found here.  Our second paper is Robert Whittaker's "New Concepts of Kingdoms of Organisms" (1969, Science 163: 150-160) and our third paper (Tilman, D. 2000. Causes, consequences and ethics of biodiversity. Nature 405: 208-211) may be found here.  The final paper of the semester is available here.

October 30 is the last day to withdraw from the course and receive a “W” grade.  Unless a student withdraws him/herself by this date, he/she will remain enrolled in the class and will be graded.  “I” grades are only given in extraordinary cases when unexpected conditions prevent the student from completing the requirements of the course within the term of enrollment. 

Note:  Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact me as soon as possible so that necessary accommodations can be made.

Required reference:
Campbell, N.A. and J.B. Reece. 2008.  Biology (8th edition).  Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco: 1276 pp. + app. (ISBN-13: 978-0-8053-6844-4).

You are asked to read each assignment before it is covered in class.  The book, however, is not a replacement for the lectures, which are primary for the exams.  In preparing for the exams, you should emphasize the keywords and concepts listed in your textbook.  In order to help you with this, I will provide additional lists with keywords and concepts during the term.  I have requested that a copy of the textbook is placed on reserve in Carlson Library (in-house; 2 hours max).  Free access (using the code provided with your text book) to study questions, chapter summaries, a glossary of terms, and a series of web exercises can be found here.

Academic Honesty:
Students are expected to adhere to principles of academic honesty in all aspects of this course.    During exams and quizzes, cell phones must be turned off and packed away (cell phones may be on ‘silent mode’ during lectures).  Infractions may result in a failing grade for the course.

Instructor:
Dr. Gottgens is a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences.  He teaches and does research in aquatic ecology, the study of lakes, rivers and wetlands.  Over the years, aquatic ecology has grown from a basic science to an applied discipline which is increasingly called upon to help understand and solve pollution problems impacting our freshwater resources.  As a result, modern aquatic ecology combines traditional biology with engineering, hydrology, geology, chemistry, and other disciplines.  Training, required for successful employment in this field, stresses such a modern approach to ecology.   Students in the aquatic ecology program use this approach in their research projects.  Field sites include Lake Erie, Maumee Bay, Great Lakes’ wetlands, and wetland systems in Central and South America.  Click here for a copy of the lab research flyer.

BIODIVERSITY - EEES 2150-002

Gottgens: Fall 2009

^* Campbell, N.A. and J.B. Reece. 2008.  Biology (8^th Ed.).  Pearson/Benjamin Cummins Publ., CA
Reading assignments may change during the semester.

Reset:  20 Aug 2009