Courses

Biology (BIOL) 345

Ecology (Revision 2)

Revision 2 closed, replaced by current version.

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Delivery Mode: Individualized study online with mandatory four home labs, and four-day supervised lab component.

BIOL 345 lab exemption.

Check dates and locations of supervised lab prior to registering for the course. This course is charged a lab fee.

Credits: 3

Area of Study: Science

Prerequisite: BIOL 204 and BIOL 205, or BIOL 207. Alternatively six credits from a recognized university and approval by the course professor.

Centre: Centre for Science.

BIOL 345 is not available for challenge.

Powerpoint icon Field Ecology Workshop: Overview

Home Labs

Internet Resources: Ecology

Field Ecology Workshop Details

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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 29 units.

Unit 1: Introduction and Background

Chapter 1: The Nature of Ecology
Chapter 2: Adaptation and Evolution

Unit 2: The Physical Enivironment

Chapter 3 : Climate
Chapter 4 : The Aquatic Environment
Chapter 5 : The Terrestrial Environment

Unit 3: The Organism and Its Environment

Chapter 6 : Plant Adaptations to the Environment
Chapter 7 : Animal Adaptations to the Environment
Chapter 8 : Life History Patterns

Unit 4: Populations

Chapter 9 : Properties of Populations
Chapter 10: Population Growth
Chapter 11: Intraspecific Population Regulation
Chapter 12: Metapopulations

Unit 5: Species Interactions

Chapter 13: Interspecific Competition
Chapter 14: Predation
Chapter 15: Parasitism and Mutualism

Unit 6: Community Ecology

Chapter 16: Community Structure
Chapter 17: Factors Influencing the Structure of Communities
Chapter 18: Community Dynamics
Chapter 19: Landscape Ecology

Unit 7: Ecosystem Ecology

Chapter 20: Ecosystem Energetics
Chapter 21: Decomposition and Nutrient Cycling
Chapter 22: Biogeochemical Cycles

Unit 8: Biogeographical Ecology

Chapter 23: Terrestrial Ecosystems
Chapter 24: Aquatic Ecosystems
Chapter 25: Land-Water Margins
Chapter 26: Large-Scale Patterns of Biological Diversity

Unit 9: Human Ecology

Chapter 27: Population Growth, Resource Use, and Sustainability
Chapter 28: Habitat Loss, Biodiversity, and Conservation
Chapter 29: Global Climate Change

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:

Assignment 1 (Chapters 1-8 plus Home Lab 1)	10%
Assignment 2 (Chapters 9-19 plus Home Labs 2-3)	15%
Assignment 3 (Chapters 20-29 plus Home Lab 4)	15%
Lab Report (following 4-day Field Ecology Workshop)	20%
Final Exam (Chapters 1-29 plus Home Labs 1-4)	40%
Total	100%

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

Course Materials

Textbooks

Smith, T. M. and Smith, R. L. 2006. Elements of Ecology, 6th edition. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

Ambrose, H. W., III, Ambrose, K. P., Emlen, D. J. and Bright, K. L. 2007. A handbook of biological investigation, 7th edition. Hunter Textbooks, Winston-Salem.

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 compulsory. It consists of four days of field and laboratory work. It will be held in the summer 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, Robert Carmichael (780) 675-6276.

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.

Opened in Revision 2, January 5, 2009.

View previous syllabus

Last updated by SAS 04/28/2015 15:09:48