IB 153 Population and Community Ecology, Fall 2004
Updated: 12/8/04
 
Instructors: 

First half of course:

Second half of course:


Cherie Briggs
office: 4014 VLSB
office hours:  Mondays 2-3, Tuesdays 4-5
e-mail: cbriggs@socrates.berkeley.edu

Mary Power
office: 4184 VLSB
office hours:  Mondays 1:30-3:00
e-mail: mepower@socrates.berkeley.edu


GSIs:

Maria Goodrich
office:  4178 VLSB
office hours: Mondays 9-11 and by appointment
e-mail:  goodrich@berkeley.edu

Kevin Simonin
office:  2011 VLSB
office hours:  Wednesdays 11-12 and by appointment
e-mail:  ksimonin@berkeley.edu


Discussion Section Web Page

Synthesis paper assignment (due Dec. 9 in class)

Some useful resources are posted at the bottom of this page.

 

Final exam: Wednesday, Dec. 15, 12:30-3:30 pm, 102 Wurster Hall

Syllabus

Book: C. J. Krebs, Ecology, 5th edition

Schedule:

Week:

Date:

Topic:

Lecture Notes and Handouts:

Readings:

1

Tues: 8/31/04

Introduction and organization

Syllabus

Chap 1

Thurs: 9/2/04

Approaches to Ecology

approaches_small.ppt

Chap 1, 3

2

Tues: 9/7/04

Limits to distribution

distribution_small.ppt

Chap 4-8

Thurs: 9/9/04

Demography

demography_small.ppt , Demography Homework

Chap 9, 10

3

Tues: 9/14/04

Life Histories

I was having trouble uploading the entire presentation as one file, so here it is in 2 parts:
lifehistories_part1.ppt , lifehistories_part2.ppt

Chap 10

Thurs: 9/16/04

Population growth, intraspecific competition

popgrowth.ppt

Chap 11

4

Tues: 9/21/04

Population regulation

Guest lecture by Maria Goodrich:  intraspecific_comp.ppt

Chap 16

Thurs: 9/23/04

Parasitism and disease

Cherie is sick today, so the guest lecture on parasitism and disease by John Latto that was planned for 10/5/04 has been moved up to today.
DiseaseEcology.ppt   

Chap 13

5

Tues: 9/28/04

Interspecific competition

interspecific_comp.ppt
Correction to Krebs page 183.

Chap 12

Thurs: 9/30/04

Interspecific competition

Lecture continued from Tuesday.
Population Dynamics Homework: Due Oct. 14

Chap 12

6

Tues: 10/5/04

Finishing Interspecific competition/Starting Predation

Competition_Predation_small.ppt

Chap13, part of Chap 14

Thurs: 10/7/04

Predation

predation_small.ppt

Chap 15

7

Tues: 10/12/04

Consumer-resource dynamics

predation_space_small.ppt
Sample midterm questions

Chap 18

Thurs: 10/14/04

Spatial processes

 

 

8

Tues: 10/19/04

MIDTERM

Warning:  Cherie will be out of town from 10/18/04-10/19/04.  Please get your midterm questions answered before then.

Thurs: 10/2104

Herbivory, detritivory

Herbivory-detritivory reading list, Herbivory-detritivory slides

Chap 14

9

Tues: 10/26/04

Mutualisms

Mutualism slides, Mutualism reading list

Chap 14

Thurs: 10/28/04

Food webs, food chains

Food web slides, Food web reading list

Chap 23, 24

10

Tues: 11/2/04

Disturbance, succession

Disturbance reading list, Disturbance slides

Chap 21, 24

Thurs: 11/4/04

Alternative (stable?) states

Alternate states reading list, Alternate states slides

Chap 24

11

Tues: 11/9/04

Island biogeography and reserve design

Island biogeography slides, Island reading list

Chap 19, 24 (501-508)

Thurs: 11/11/04

Veterans Day Holiday

 

 

12

Tues: 11/16/04

Resource and pest management

 Management reading list, Management slides

Chap 17, 18

Thurs: 11/18/04

Ecosystems: primary production

 Primary productivity slides

Chap 25

13

Tues: 11/23/04

Secondary production and stoichiometry

 Secondary production and stoichiometry slides, Secondary production and stoichiometry reading list

Chap 26

Thurs: 11/25/04

Thanksgiving Holiday

 

 

14

Tues: 11/30/04

Ecosystem fluxes: nutrients

 Spatial flux slides, Spatial flux reading list

Chap 27

Thurs: 12/2/04

Species and ecosystems

Guest lecture by Kevin Simonin: Species and ecosystems slides

 

15

Tues: 12/7/04

Global biodiversity: patterns, changes

 Biodiversity slides

Chap 22

Thurs: 12/9/04

Review, Synthesis Paper Due, GSI Evaluations

Be prepared with questions for exam review.

Bring a #2 pencil to do GSI evaluations.

 

16

Wed: 12/15/04

FINAL

Instructor Evaluations

12:30-3:30 pm, 102 Wurster Hall

Bring a #2 pencil to do instructor evaluations.

 

Thurs: 12/16/04

Tentative return date for synthesis papers

Papers can be picked up outside of 4184 between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm from today until the end of the semester.

 


Ecology Links:
Ecological Society of America
Publications of the Ecological Society of America
List of Ecology-Related Seminars on Campus from the California Biodiversity Center

Material from first half of the semester:

Page of equations for first midterm

Correction to Krebs page 86 (I'm not sure how many copies of the book have this problem, but in mine, the labels on the figure axes are not complete.  I've also seen copies that are correct.)

Correction to Homework 2 assignment
.  In the version that I handed out on class, on the third line of the second problem, it should read:  "The flour beetles have a density-dependent death rate that increases linearly with increasing flour beetle density".  Also, both the birth and death rates that I describe are the per-capita rates.

Homework Assignments:

Homework:

Due Date:

Answers:

Homework 1: Demography

September 23

 

Homework 2: Population Dynamics (the version here has been corrected)
For those who picked this up in class, see correction here.

October 14

PopDynHomework2004_answers.pdf

Homework 3: Competition/Predation

October 14

CompetitionHomework2004_answers.pdf

Sample Midterm Questions

 

midterm_examples_answers.pdf


Synthesis paper resources:

 

A few good scientific writing examples – these show the general form and tone that is expected in your synthesis paper; the Jones and Chapman papers are also examples of the Ecology citation format you must use for this assignment:

Paine et al. 1998.pdf – Compounded perturbations yield ecological surprises.  Good synthesis review, also useful background if you are doing your project on option #3. 

Jones et al. 1997.pdf – Positive and negative effects of organisms as physical ecosystem engineers.  Another good synthesis review, also potentially useful if you are working on option #1.

Findlay and Sinsabaugh 1999.pdf – Unravelling the sources and bioavailability of dissolved organic matter in lotic aquatic ecosystems.  Another example of a synthesis review…..

Chapman et al. 2003.pdf – Insect hervibory increases litter quality and decomposition: an extension of the acceleration hypothesis.  Cool experimental paper with excellent synthesis in the discussion.

 

General writing guidance

UW Madison Writing Center – Excellent online handbook for improving your writing: organization, grammar and punctuation, clarity, proper citation usage, plagiarism issues, editing, etc.