Second Half Homepage
EEB 301, Spring 2007
Instructors:
Eldridge Adams
TLS 302; Office hours: M,W 11-12
486-5894
eldridge.adams@uconn.edu
Robert Colwell
TLS 375; Office hours by appointment
486-4395
colwell@uconn.edu
Class Meetings: Tues & Thurs, 12:30-1:45, TLS 301
Credits:
3 Credits
Text:
Gotelli, Nicholas (2001) A primer of ecology, 3rd edition. Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Sunderland, MA.
Other readings will be available for downloading here. These will be book chapters and papers from the primary
literature on topics not covered by GotelliÕs text.
Format and Grading:
Class meetings will include lectures and group
discussions.
Grades will be based on a midterm exam (120 points), a
final exam (counts the same as the midterm, and covers only the second half of
the course, 120 points), 4 problem sets (20 points each), and 2 paper critiques
(40 points each): Total 400 points.
Schedule of Meetings and Assignments: Community Ecology
|
Month/Date
|
Day
|
Instructor
|
Subject
|
Readings/ Assignments Due
|
|
March
|
|
|
|
|
|
13
|
Tu
|
Colwell
|
Competition: Models
Interspecific
competition: models
|
Gotelli, Chap. 5
|
|
15
|
Th
|
Colwell
|
Competition: More
1.
More on competition
2.
Competition 2 (for next time as well)
3. Problem Set 3
|
Abramsky,
Z., M. L. Rosenzweig, and A. Subach. 2001. The cost of interspecific
competition in two gerbil species. J. Animal Ecology 70 :561-567.
|
|
20
|
Tu
|
Colwell
|
Field and laboratory studies of competition
1.
Limiting similarity
2.
Rob's Homework 1
|
No new reading.
|
|
22
|
Th
|
Colwell
|
Predation:
simple models
|
Gotelli, Chap. 6; Problem Set
3 due
|
|
27
|
Tu
|
Colwell
|
Predation:
Model variations. Evolution of predators and prey
|
Nielsen
(1999). Gyrfalcon Predation on Ptarmigan: Numerical and Functional Responses
|
|
29
|
Th
|
Colwell
|
Predation and competition
|
Clark
& Clark (1984) Spacing Dynamics of a Tropical Rain Forest Tree:
Evaluation of the Janzen-Connell Model
|
|
April
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
Tu
|
Colwell
|
No class
|
|
|
5
|
Th
|
Colwell
|
Mutualism
Problem
Set 3 Answers and Notes
|
Paper Critique #2 due: Silliman et al. (2005) Drought,
snails, and large-scale die-off of southern U.S. salt marshes. Science 310
:1803-1806.
Reading for class:
Parker, M.
A. 2001. Mutualism as a Constraint on Invasion Success for Legumes and
Rhizobia. Diversity and Distributions 7:125-136.
|
|
10
|
Tu
|
Colwell
|
Succession:
Models and examples
|
Gotelli, Chap. 8
Succession Spreadsheet
|
|
12
|
Th
|
Colwell
|
Community
models
|
(Catch-up day...)
|
|
17
|
Tu
|
Colwell
|
1. Biodiversity: Species abundance distributions;
Species diversity indices
2. Problem Set 4 |
MacArthur,
R. H. (1960) On the relative abundance of species. American Naturalist 94:
25-36.
|
|
19
|
Th
|
Colwell
|
Biodiversity 2: Species area
relations, island biogeography
|
Gotelli, Chap. 7
Grant, P. R. and B. R. Grant (2006). "Evolution of character displacement in Darwin's finches." Science 313: 224-226.
|
|
24
|
Tu
|
Colwell
|
Biodiversity 3: Biodiversity and Macroecology
|
Rahbek et al. 2007. Predicting continental-scale patterns of bird species richness with spatially explicit models. Proc. Roy. Soc. B 274 :165-174 |
|
26
|
Th
|
Colwell
|
Biodiversity 4: Biogeography, convergence, and ecosystem function of biodiversity
|
Problem Set #4 due
|
|
May 4
|
Fri
|
|
Final exam (early): 2-4 PM, 301 TLS
|
Sample Exam (EEB 301, 2005) for study
|
|
May 5 |
Sat |
|
Final exam (scheduled): 1-3 PM, 301 TLS |
|