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Pictures from previous classes (click to enlarge)

2009 Class at Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary

 

2009 class quantifying forest vegetation at South Mountain.

2009 class studying dune ecology at Island Beach State Park, NJ

2009 class hiking ridge over the Delaware River at Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary.

 

2009 Class in Hellertown "Swamp."

 

2008 class identifying trees in preparation for forest ecology lab.

 

2008 class studying dune ecology at Island Beach, NJ

 

2008 class collecting vegetation data along transect at Island Beach, NJ

 

2007 class celebrating with their TA

 

2007 class investigating dune ecology at Island Beach State Park, NJ.

 

2006 class at Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary

 

2006 class contemplating dead hemlocks

 

 

 

 

 

Ecology, EES-152, 4 credits

**Offered Every Fall Semester**

Course description

Basic principles and applications of ecological interrelationships. Examination of ecological phenomena at the individual, population, community, and ecosystem levels. Impact of human activities on global ecosystems.

Course objectives

1. Gain an appreciation of relationships between organisms and their environment at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels.
2. Understand the various approaches and methods that ecologists use to study these relationships.
3. Become familiar with how ecological principles are applied to the management of ecosystems.

Instructor

Bob Booth, 114 Williams Hall

Schedule

Three 50-min lectures and one 3 hour lab per week.

Text

Molles, M.C. 2008. Ecology: Concepts and Applications. 4th Edition. McGraw Hill Publishers.

 

Example schedule (Fall 2009)

DATE	TOPICS	READINGS
8/24 M	Course overview and introduction to ecology	Ch 1
8/24 M	LAB- Overview of lab expectations. Topographic map interpretation and tree identification.
8/26 W	Life, energy, & the physical environment
8/28 F	Global climate patterns & processes	Ch 2
8/30 M	Life on land – soils & terrestrial biomes	Ch 2
8/30 M	LAB – Forest Ecology at South Mountain - Scientific Method and Naturalist Observations
9/02 W	Life in water – oceans & rivers	Ch 3
9/04 F	Life in water – lakes & wetlands	Ch 3
9/07 M	Preparation for lab - overview of study design and sampling techniques
9/07 M	LAB – Forest Ecology at South Mountain
9/09 W	Ecology and evolution	Ch 4 (only 4.1, 4.3, and 4.4)
9/11 F	Social relations and behavioral ecology	Ch 8
9/14 M	Activity/Discussion #1 - Kin selection case study
9/14 M	LAB – Forest Ecology at South Mountain
9/16 W	Autecology: temperature relations	Ch 5
9/18 F	Autecology: water relations	Ch 6
9/20 Sun	All-day field trip: Dune Ecology at Island Beach State Park, NJ
9/21 M	Autecology: water, energy, and nutrient relations	Ch 6-7
9/21 M	LAB – Island Beach follow-up
9/23 W	Autecology: energy and nutrient relations	Ch 7
9/25 F	Population distribution and abundance	Ch 9
9/28 M	Activity/Discussion #2 – Potential impacts of introduced species
9/28 M	EXAM 1
9/30 W	Population genetics	Ch 4 (4.2, 4.5), Ch 10
10/02 F	Population dynamics	Ch 10-11
10/05 M	Pacing break - no class
10/05 M	Pacing break - no class
10/07 W	Population growth	Ch 11
10/09 F	Life histories	Ch 12
10/11 Sun	All-day Field Trip - Island Beach State Park, NJ. Dune Ecology.
10/12 M	Species abundance and diversity, intro to competition	Ch 13, Ch 16
10/12 M	LAB - Analysis of Island Beach samples
10/14 W	Interspecific competition – mathematical models & the niche concept revisited	Ch 13
10/16 F	Exploitation: Predation, herbivory, parasitism, & disease	Ch 14
10/19 M	Predator satiation and introduction to mutualisms	Ch 14-15
10/19 M	LAB – Population ecology problem set
10/21 W	Mutualisms	Ch 15
10/23 F	Community concepts and structure	Ch 16-17
10/26 M	Activity/Discussion #3 – Gypsy moths, mice, deer, and lyme disease
10/26 M	EXAM 2
10/28 W	Community dynamics	Ch 17
10/30 F	Activity/Discussion #4 – Ecological impacts of high deer density
10/31 Sat	Field trip to Tannersville Bog & Mariton Wildlife Preserve
11/02 M	Ecosystems, primary production, & trophic cascades	Ch 18
11/02 M	LAB – Design competition and predation experiments
11/04 W	Energy flow and nutrient cycling	Ch 18-19
11/06 F	Nutrient cycling II	Ch 19
11/09 Sun	All-day Field Trip - Tannersville Bog, Mariton Wlidlife Sanctuary, and Hellertown Swamp.
11/09 M	Activity/Discussion #5 – Nitrogen cycling and forest disturbance
11/09 M	LAB – Competition and predation experiments
11/11 W	Community & ecosystem development I	Ch 20
11/13 F	Community & ecosystem development II	Ch 20
11/16 M	Paleoecology: long-term perspectives on ecological dynamics
11/16 M	LAB – Competition and predation experiments
11/18 W	Landscape ecology	Ch 21
11/20 F	Biogeography and equilibrium theories	Ch 22
11/23 M	Biogeography and history
11/23 M	LAB – Landscape ecology: 20th century ecological change using aerial photographs
11/25 W	Thanksgiving Break – No Class
11/27 F	Thanksgiving Break – No Class
11/30 M	Human impacts on biodiversity
11/30 M	LAB – Growth and Competition group presentations
12/02 W	Human impacts and global ecology	Ch 23
12/05 F	Conservation and restoration ecology
12/14 M	Final Exam during finals week

 

 

2009 RK Booth