Ecology Lab

Ecology Lab

About the Lab

The Ecology course includes a required lab section. The labs will deal with topics discussed in the lecture section of the course. Lab grades will be based on 3 assignments that are turned it. The assignments will consist of problems designed to demonstrate your knowledge of ecological theories. We will be using computers to model various ecological problems, so you will also be learning some computer skills. The lab computer sessions will be held in JC-103. We will also be running at least one experiment during the course of the semester, to test various ecological principles and ideas.

Meeting Times

There are two meeting times for the lab - Wed from 9:00 to 10:30, and from 2:25 to 3:55. Your are required to show up for the lab that you have registered for. If you have a problem and will miss the lab, speak to Chris AHEAD of time to work something out - you can not simply show up for a different lab. The lab schedule is listed below (subject to change, to please check this regularly)

Wed, Jan 15: Introduction meeting
Wed, Jan 22: no meeting
Wed, Jan 29: Measuring Abundance, Distribution (computer)
Wed, Feb 5: Start population growth experiment (lab)
Wed, Feb 12: Measuring Population growth, birth, death, and exponential growth (computer)
Wed, Feb 19: no meeting
Wed, Feb 26: First problem set due, get results from population growth experiment (lab)
Wed, Mar 5: (gone, Spring Break)
Wed, Mar 12: Logistic Growth (r, K, growth curve) (computer)
Wed, Mar 19: no meeting
Wed, Mar 26: Fecundity/Survival (computer)
Wed, Apr 2: no meeting
Wed, Apr 9: Second problem set due; Equilibrium Densities (computer)
Wed, Apr 16: no meeting
Wed, Apr 23: Competition (computer)
Day of Final: Third problem set due

Lab Policy and Assignments

Lab assignments consist of 2 to 3 broad questions concerning ecology. Each questions will generally have many parts. Each question must be answered fully, with all work must be shown (this is for the students benefit, in case he/she makes a mistake, they can still get partial credit). Student are allowed to work together in figuring out how to solve a problem, but all work on the problem set must be done by the individual.

Laboratory assignments must be turned by midnight the day they are due. Problem sets can be turned in late, however, 10%t will be deducted from the final score for every day it is late, up to three days late. Keep in mind however, any points are better than none, so even if the problem set is a few days late, it pays to turn it in. If there are any problems in turning in a problem set, prior arrangements must be made with Todd or myself.

Problem sets can be downloaded from the website. They should be turned in either via email (to Chris) or via the Blackboard digital drop box. Once all problem sets have been turned in, the correct answers will be posted to the Blackboard website.

Grading

Lab grading will be based on 100 points, distributed as follows

Attendance - 10 points
Participation - 10 points
Problem Sets - 20 points each (3 problem sets)
Lab write up - 20 points (if there are more than 1 lab write up, they will be worth a total of 20 points)

Office Hours

I am happy to answer any questions for students outside of the lab. While I do not have specific office hours, I can usually be found in my office most time, most days of the week. My desk is located in Todd Livdahl’s lab, BP 305. In addition, I can be reached via phone at x4646 (793-7711, x4646 from off campus). I usually check my email at least once per day, so I can be reached that way as well. cvitek@clarku.edu.

Useful Links

The following links are to Excel "tutorials" that might be useful for people who don't have a lot of experience with Excel.

http://www.functionx.com/excel/
http://www.usd.edu/trio/tut/excel/ (this one is very good)
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/Excel/homepage.html
http://www.baycongroup.com/excel.htm