Courses
Biometry (BIO 415)
Click here for more information (PDF format)
Course Synopsis
The goal of this class is threefold: 1) to introduce you to a wide range of statistical tools that you can apply to analyze data from ecological or evolutionary studies, 2) hone your analysis skills in Excel, Systat and Matlab, and 3) teach you the situations in which specific tools are called for and in which situations you must use caution in applying each tool. To do this, we will spend 1-2 weeks on each topic, devoting typically two lecture “modules” to each. During the first lecture (Tuesday), I will introduce a statistical test, discuss assumptions and limits of application. In the following lecture we will discuss how to deal with cases in which data violate the simple assumptions of the test, discuss alternate tests. In the last half of this lecture we will DISCUSS a paper that uses the tool of the week and evaluate whether the test has been used appropriately. In lab, you will learn to visualize data, apply the tool of the week and will then analyze the data from the paper used in discussion in Thursday’s lecture. These data will be altered so that the interpretation and result differ from the published outcome. Your job will be to analyze the data and rewrite the results section of the same paper.
Grading
Grades will be based on three class components:
- Take home exams (2). The midterm exam is worth 20%, the final exam 30% of your final grade—50% of final grade
- Lab Write-ups (10) each one worth 4%, and you may drop your worst score out of 10 labs–40% of your final grade (grade scaled to 40% based on best 9 labs). These assignments should be turned into YOUR TA (LSA 311) by 5:00 pm the Thursday following each Lab exercise. Late work will be accepted but penalized 1 letter grade (i.e., 10% deduction) per day after the due date. No late work will be accepted after the Wednesday following the posted due date.
- Attendance and participation in discussions (11), participation will be “encouraged” by 2-3 calls to student teams throughout the semester to answer questions about weekly readings being discussed—10% of final grade.
Field Ecology (BIO 321)
Click here for more information (PDF format)
Synopsis
This course is designed to give you broad exposure to field methods and analysis techniques in ecology. We will cover at least one basic topic in behavioral, population, community and ecosystem ecology. Our focus will be mostly on animals for behavioral and population ecology and plants for community and ecosystem ecology. This division is simply made for convenience and time efficiency. I have also tried to design the field exercises to provide data that answer compelling questions by comparing measurements of the same variable (e.g., species diversity) among diverse taxa or by using more than one method to answer a more detailed question.
Assignments & Grading
The majority of your grade for this class will be determined by your performance in two categories: 1) individual lab reports (30%), and 2) a takehome final exam (40%). The remaining 30% of your grade will be determined by your participation in mandatory field trips. You will get full credit for each trip by simply attending the whole trip (7.5% for each of 4 trips).
Textbook & Suggested Field Guides
Krebs, C.J. Ecological methodology, 2nd Edition. 1999. Addison Wesley
Longman. Menlo Park, CA.
Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson. 1998. A Field Guide
to Insects (Paperback). Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston.
Stebbins, R.C. and R.T. Peterson. 2003. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and
Amphibians: Field Marks of All Species in Western North America, Includung Baja California. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston.
NEW CLASS—Water & the American West
Click here for more information (PDF format)
Course Synopsis
This class is devoted to instilling a landscape & geographic perspective of water use practices in the Western US. A specific goal is to provide non-science majors with enough scientific background to interpret landscapes historically and understand how the West may have looked prior to modern water development vis-à-vis present day ecosystems. The class will be taught to juniors in the Barrett Honors College, School of Life Sciences and School of Sustainability. No formal training in biology, hydrology or ecology is necessary. My goal is to train future generations of policy makers, lawyers, doctors, real estate brokers and scientists to consider water as a limiting resource for humans and ecosystems. The teaching philosophy will be a hybrid between a standard science class and a discussion-based seminar course more typical of a small liberal arts college. Briefly, I will give one science based lecture and guide one reading-based discussion per week. Core, required readings for the class include:
- Stegner, W. 1954. Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York.
- Reisner. M. 1993. Cadillac desert. Penguin Books. New York.
- Lichatowich, J.A. 2001. Salmon Without Rivers: A History Of The Pacific Salmon Crisis. Island Press. Washington, D.C.
- Glennon, R. 2002. Water follies. Island Press. Washington, D.C.
- A reader of key scientific papers relevant to Western water policy
Science-based lectures will be based on material from the reader and the following supplementary texts:
- Allan, J.D. 1995. Stream ecology. Chapman & Hall. New York.
- NRC. 2002. Riparian Areas. National Academy Press. Washington, D.C.
These science based lectures will be designed to provide non-scientists with enough technical information to discuss and form opinions about the balance between the beneficial services and detrimental impacts of major water projects in the West. They will typically be delivered in less than one hour and be followed up by student-led break-out groups in which students take turns teaching small groups of students the essentials from technical science papers from the reader.
Weekly discussions will be held either in the classroom—as debates in which students take on various assigned roles—or in the field on visits to key water resource landmarks in the greater Phoenix area. I will also take the class on 2 required overnight field trips (on weekends):
- Glen Canyon float trip with guest scientists from USGS and NPS
- San Pedro River: a road trip to see wet and dry reaches of the river
Students will be graded based on the following:
- Participation in discussions (debates) and attendance of field trips
- Performance on five key assignments
- Design of an educational project for K-12 about how water is delivered and used in the state of Arizona
- An op-ed piece written for the Arizona Republic about a local water controversy
- An op-ed piece written for the LA Times about a regional or international water controversy
- A short report summarizing and comparing the major revenues generated by the 10 largest dams in the US.
- An essay proposing an algorithm for calculating ‘ecological footprints’ that includes impacts on global carbon and regional water budget