Overview

Ecology, as a branch of biology, is the study of the interactions of organisms with their environments. This course covers experimentation and models, relationships between organisms and their abiotic environments, population ecology and various symbiotic relationships, community ecology, ecosystem energetics and biogeochemical cycles, as well as aquatic and terrestrial biomes.

Outline

The course consists of the following 30 units.

• Unit 1: Chapter 1—Ecology: Its Meaning and Scope
• Unit 2: Chapter 2—Experimentation and Models, Home Lab 1: Temperature and Microclimates

• Unit 3: Chapter 3—Adaptation
• Unit 4: Chapter 4—Climate
• Unit 5: Chapter 5—Water Balance
• Unit 6: Chapter 6—Thermal Balance
• Unit 7: Chapter 7—Light and Biological Cycles
• Unit 8: Chapter 8—Nutrients
• Unit 9: Chapter 9—Soils

• Unit 10: Chapter 17—Properties of Populations
• Unit 11: Chapter 18—Population Growth and Regulation
• Unit 12: Chapter 19—Intraspecific Competition
• Unit 13: Chapter 20—Life History Patterns
• Unit 14: Chapter 21—Population Genetics
• Unit 15: Chapter 22—Interspecific Competition, Home Lab 2: Intra- and Interspecific Competition
• Unit 16: Chapter 23—Predation, Home Lab 3: Predator-Prey Modeling
• Unit 17: Chapter 24—Plant-Herbivore Systems
• Unit 18: Chapter 25—Herbivore-Carnivore Systems
• Unit 19: Chapter 26—Parasitism
• Unit 20: Chapter 27—Mutualism

• Unit 21: Chapter 28—Community Structure, Home Lab 4: Sampling with Quadrats
• Unit 22: Chapter 29—Disturbance
• Unit 23: Chapter 30—Succession

• Unit 24: Chapter 10—Concept of the Ecosystem
• Unit 25: Chapter 11—Ecosystem Energetics
• Unit 26: Chapter 12—Biogeochemical Cycles

• Unit 27: Chapter 13—Grassland to Tundra
• Unit 28: Chapter 14—Forests
• Unit 29: Chapter 15—Freshwater Ecosystems
• Unit 30: Chapter 16—Salt Water Ecosystems

Evaluation

To receive credit for BIOL 345, you must obtain a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent) as well as 50 percent on the examination, 50 percent on the lab report, and an average of 50 percent on the three assignments. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Smith, R. L. 1996. Ecology and field biology, 5th edition.
New York: HarperCollins College Publishers.

Smith, R. L. 1996. Study guide to accompany Ecology
and field biology, 5th edition. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin/Cummings.

Ambrose, H. W., III, and K.P. Ambrose. 1995.
A handbook of biological investigation,
5th edition. Knoxville, TN: Hunter Textbooks.

Other Materials

The course materials also include a student manual, laboratory and field manual, and an assignment manual.

Special Course Features

Assignment 3 includes an essay that will require library materials, which can be borrowed from Athabasca University Library. The first three home labs require some materials that you must supply. These materials, if not owned by you already, should cost less than $30. The assignments and examination must be completed within your registration period (normally six months). However, the Field Ecology Workshop can be done up to 14 months after your initial registration. The Field Ecology Workshop (FEW) is compulsary. It consists of four days of field and laboratory work. It will be held in the summer, usually at Athabasca University's headquarters in Athabasca, Alberta.

For up-to-date information regarding the Field Ecology Workshop dates, see lab schedule or contact the science lab coordinator, (780)675-6276.