Course Syllabus

Spring 2025 | BIO-2250-VU01 - Freshwater Ecology

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Faculty

Matthew Davis
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Jen Guarino

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

Through field trips and/or individual field work, students examine aquatic ecosystems including streams, wetlands, and lakes. Topics include watershed processes, biological communities, physical habitats, nutrient cycling, energy flow, and management issues. The course culminates with individual research projects focused on local watersheds.

Essential Objectives

1. Describe unique aspects of water as an environment.
2. Observe and identify diverse aquatic organisms.
3. Compare biological communities across different aquatic habitats.
4. Explain differences in energy flow patterns among aquatic ecosystems, including those differences highlighted by the river continuum concept.
5. Analyze population changes over time for different aquatic species.
6. Compare patterns of nutrient cycling in lakes, rivers, and wetlands.
7. Articulate ways in which hydrologic processes affect landscapes, from local to global.
8. Assess the health of aquatic habitats based on biological, chemical, and physical indicators, and evaluate how water quality influences ecosystem services for humans.
9. Discuss how laws, politics, and socioeconomic factors prevent or promote human access to clean and healthy aquatic ecosystems, including the Clean Water Act, National Aquatic Invasive Species Act, Vermont’s Wetlands Protection Act, and Vermont’s Act 250.
10. Examine the impact of human behavior on freshwater ecosystems and discuss the role that freshwater plays in the biosphere and overall global sustainability.
11. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding, interpreting, applying, and evaluating the accuracy of data and information sources.
12. 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.

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

Textbook Information will be posted here on December 6.

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

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.

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