Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | BIO-2340-VO01 - Fundamentals of Ecology

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Jaimi DeFeo
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Ryan Joy

General Education Requirements

VSCS Natural Science

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of ecology. This course includes an introduction to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, spatial and temporal changes in ecosystems, and the relationships between organisms within their environment. Students use sampling techniques common within the field to investigate ecological communities. Prerequisite: BIO-1210 or BIO-1211

Essential Objectives

1. Explain how the life sciences and the physical sciences integrate to inform the study of natural systems.
2. Explain the ecological terms population, community, and ecosystem, and how energy flows and matter cycles in nature.
3. Identify the major ecosystems and describe the ecological characteristics that make each of them distinct.
4. Explain how abiotic and biotic factors influence the biological diversity present in a given region.
5. Investigate ecological relationships between species and analyze their effects on population and community dynamics, including but not limited to competition, mutualism, commensalism, predation, parasitism, amensalism, and symbiosis.
6. Analyze the impacts of invasive and other non-native species on ecological communities and populations and investigate management strategies used to control their spread.
7. Explain how pollution can alter ecosystem function and how ecosystems can adjust to and recover from pollution’s effects.
8. Explain how climate change is affecting community and population dynamics in a variety of ecosystems.
9. Discuss how ecological data informs natural resource management decisions.
10. Evaluate how human activities affect regional and global ecology and natural resource sustainability.
11. Explain how knowledge created in the natural sciences has contributed to the creation, maintenance and dismantling of social inequalities and discuss the impacts of diversity and inclusion on scientific research and practice.
Lab Objectives:
1. Apply the scientific method to design and carry out experiments and write lab reports.
2. Analyze and critique ecological experiments found in scientific publications.
3. Employ ecological sampling techniques, like transects and plots, to study aquatic and terrestrial communities.
4. Use mapping and GIS software to demonstrate how data is collected and analyzed for ecological communities.
5. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding, interpreting, evaluating, and applying quantitative data and information, and present findings to others through oral presentations, written materials, online resources, etc.
6. Apply proper techniques in using common scientific tools to collect data and describe how they work (i.e., microscopes, spectrophotometers, UV sterilizers, etc.).
7. Identify and demonstrate lab safety techniques that are in line with CCV’s Chemical Hygiene Plan, Lab Safety Agreements, and chemical Safety Data Sheets (SDS).

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations.

Spring 2024 textbook details will be available on 2023-11-06. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

BIO-2340-VO01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

* Use the interactive, online SimUText program for the textbook assignments, which includes embedded quizzes and interactive labs.

* Weekly Discussion forum in Canvas

* Field observations with a report

* Interpreting and evaluating data sets

Evaluation Criteria

55% SimUText Chapters: Part of your grade will be based on answering the questions embedded within SimUText, the interactive, online general ecology textbook we will use.

25% Labs - online labs from SimBio/SimUText and field observation report

20% Discussions

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

A note about time: CCV lists a 3-credit course as taking about 8-10 hours a week, and a 4-credit course requires 14-16 hours, including the contact time and homework. Please keep in mind that because this is an online course, we cannot cover the 3 hours of instruction and activities that would have been provided in an in-person class. Therefore, you will need to compensate for this by dedicating time to reading and completing tasks that would have been covered during our lectures. Additionally, you will still be responsible for completing the homework that would have been assigned outside of class. Sometimes, the homework from an online class may seem like more, but we cover the same material as we would have if we met in person. (Just think of all the time you save getting ready to go out and then commuting and being in class!)

I understand it may take some people longer to do the work than others, as we all go at a different pace for different reasons. Getting into the flow and routine may take a little time, too. How long it takes you is very subjective; I've had some students finish assignments in 2 hours that took other students 4 hours or more. It also depends on how detailed and complete your assignments are; more effort results in better grades. Be patient, learn how to pace yourself, and finish early if you can to reduce the anxiety and stress of a deadline, especially if you aren't grasping something right away. Also, ask for help when you need it. If you feel the work is exceeding these hours, please reach out and let me know.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Remember to check the Canvas modules every Tuesday as the semester progresses to stay updated on the latest news and assignments. Assignments are due on a weekly basis. If you fail to submit an assignment on time, a penalty of 5% will be deducted for each day it is late, up to a maximum of one week. If you do not submit an assignment within that time, it will automatically close in Canvas, and you will no longer be able to upload it. If you require any assistance or if you have any special circumstances, please contact me, and I will do my best to help you. However, please do not wait until the end of the semester.

It's important to keep in mind that the discussion topics cannot be created after the start of a new week. This is because we will be starting a new discussion every week, and you won't be able to participate in the previous week's discussion if it's already past the due date. I suggest completing the discussions early in the week.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity