VEGETATION ECOLOGY (Botany 4700/5700) 2009 SYLLABUS
Dr. Elise Pendall
E-mail: pendall@uwyo.edu
Office hours: MW, 9:30-10:30 AM, and by appointment
Office location: 110A Aven Nelson
Teaching Assistant: Colin Tucker
E-mail: ctucker4@uwyo.edu
Office hours: M 12 - 1 PM
Office location: 107 Aven Nelson
Botany 4700/5700 is a 4-creditcourse on the ecology of vegetation, with emphasis on vegetation-environment relationships, plant adaptations, succession, spatial patterns in the landscape, the effects of management decisions, and methods of vegetation analysis. Reading assignments are distributed among books and journal literature. The prerequisite is Biology 3400 (General Ecology) or an equivalent course. Grades are based on 5 lab write-ups (2-5 pages each),one research report (10-15 pages) and three exams (one of which is the final).Exams cover material presented in lecture and lab, and reading assignments. Students must complete an additional project to receive graduate credit. Please refer to the Grading Policy sheet for more details.
In discussing the ecology of various vegetation types, we will consider the following topics: vegetation characteristics, past and present distribution of different vegetation types on the earth and in North America, environmental factors affecting current distribution, special plant adaptations, plant demographic features of special interest, unique plant-animal interactions (domestic livestock as well as wildlife), land management issues, and the effects of periodic events such as drought, pest outbreaks, and fire.
The laboratory will consist of field trips during the first half of the course and lab exercises after that. The purpose of the field trips is to provide students with opportunities to 1) become more familiar with the flora and vegetation of the Rocky Mountains and western Great Plains, 2) learn more about the methods commonly used for studying the ecology of plants and the ecosystems in which they occur, and 3) better understand topics discussed in the reading assignments and lectures. After the field trips are completed, indoor laboratory exercises focus on methods of data analysis and interpretation.
Course web site: http://www.uwyo.edu/vegecology/
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LECTURE or LAB TOPIC |
M Aug 24 |
Intro Lecture |
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T Aug 25 |
No Field Trip Today (Do your reading) |
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W Aug 26 |
History and trends in plant ecology. |
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F Aug 28 |
Setting the stage: environmental factors controlling plant distributions. |
M Aug 31 |
Population Dynamics: Plants vs. animals |
T Sep 1 |
First LAB meets in AV 316 at 12:30pm: Common plants in the Laramie region. Bring notebook and be prepared to walk around campus. |
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W Sep 2 |
Outcomes of evolution. |
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F Sep 4 |
No class: Do your reading! |
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M Sep 7 |
Labor Day Holiday |
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T Sep 8 |
Afternoon Field Trip: Medicine Bow National Forest, Snowy Mountains. Treeline, alpine tundra, and old-growth forests. Leave at 12:30pm from the bus stop across from UW Car Pool at 14th and Lewis. Bring notebook, water, jacket, etc. Will return by 5:30 pm. |
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W Sep 9 |
Plant adaptations Part 1: Morphology and Life history strategies |
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F Sep 11 |
Plant adaptations Part 2: Physiological and symbiotic relationships |
M Sep 14 |
Community Ecology |
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T Sep 15 |
Afternoon Field Trip: Medicine Bow Mountains. Forest habitat types, fire ecology, and snowglades. (Leave at 12:30 pm; return by 5:30 pm). |
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W Sep 16 |
Succession: current thinking about an old concept. |
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F Sep 18 |
Succession and disturbance, cont. |
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M Sep 21 |
Competition: The Niche vs the Neutral Theory |
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T Sep 22 |
Field trip postponed to next week due to Wildlife Society Meeting |
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W Sep 23 |
Multiple pathways of succession: class discussion |
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F Sep 25 |
Ecosystem development over succession |
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M Sep 28 |
Catch-up and Review (bring questions) |
T Sep 29 |
Afternoon Field Trip: Laramie Mountains . Sampling forests. (Leave at 12:30 PM; return by 5:30 PM). |
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W Sep 30 |
FIRST EXAM during class. |
Friday Oct 2: Earth's Climate System; Read Ch 17 in GSF
Monday Oct 5: Biomes and Physiognomy; Read Ch 18 in GSF
Tues Oct 6: Field trip to Laramie Basin. DATA DUE FRI 10/16, WRITE-UP DUE FRI 11/20
Weds Oct 7: Cold desert ecosystems; Read Ch 6 and p. 133-140 in Knight
Fri Oct 9: Succession in rangelands; Suggested reading Westoby et al.
Monday Oct 12: Biodiversity; Read Ch 13 in GSF; optional reading Mack et al. 2000
Tuesday Oct 13: Meet at 12:30 for Sybille Canyon Field Trip, Bring clipboards
Wednesday Oct 14: Classification; Read Ch 15 in GSF
Friday Oct 16: Meet with your team to work on prairie data (DUE TODAY) and sagebrush data (DUE MONDAY)
Mon Oct 19: Ordination; Read Ch 15 in GSF
Tues Oct 20: Meet in AG 229 at 1-3 PM for PC ORD
Weds Oct 21: Desert Biomes; Optional Reading McAuliffe 1994
Fri Oct 23: Desert Plant Adaptations
Mon Oct 26: Grassland Biomes; Read Ch. 5 in Knight
Tues Oct 27: Meet in AG 229 at 1-3 PM for PC ORD
Wed Oct 28: Grassland Vegetation Dynamics: Woody encroachment and global change
Fri Oct 30: Class Discussion: Read Knapp et al., Bison as Keystone Species
Mon Nov 2: Grassland Vegetation Dynamics (herbivory) (wrap-up) and
Wetland and Riparian Ecology; Read Ch. 4 in Knight
Tues Nov 3: Meet in AG 229 at 1-3 PM for PC ORD
Wed Nov 4: Wetland Ecology (con't) and Exam Review
Fri Nov 6: Second Exam. Bring a calculator.
Mon Nov 9: Tamarisk invasion and management; Read Lesica&Miles
Tues Nov 10: Meet in AG 229 from 1-3 PM for PC ORD
Weds Nov 11: Conifer Forest Ecosystems, Read Knight, Ch. 12
Fri Nov 13: Ecosystem consequences of beetle infestation; Read Walker
Mon Nov 16: Aspen Ecology; Read Hessl
Tues Nov 17: AG 229, Last chance for help during lab time on PC ORD and report preparation
Weds Nov 18: Class Discussion
Fri Nov 20: Boreal forests
Mon Nov. 23: Meet for Final Report peer review
Tues Nov 24: FINAL REPORT DUE by 4 PM to Colin (Undergrads) and Elise (Grads)
Mon Nov 30: Tundra ecosystems
Tues Dec 1: Tropical adaptations, Williams Conservatory, 1-3 PM
Weds Dec 2: Tropical ecosystems
Fri Dec 4: Review for final; Grad student term papers due by 4:30 PM in Elise's mailbox
MON DEC 7: FINAL 10:15 - 12:15 AV 223