PCB 5443
Advanced Ecology - Communities and Ecosystems
Spring 2014
Instructor: Jim Fourqurean, OE 225 Modesto Maidique Campus, 305-348-4084, Jim.Fourqurean@fiu.edu
Class web page: posted at www.fiu.edu/~seagrass/resources/courses/pcb5443/pcb5443.html
Class meeting time: T-Th, 11:00-12:15, MSB 3362
and AHC2-216
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 2 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. Here is
an example of a nice synthesis paper turned in in a prior semester. 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.