Course Syllabus

Fall 2025 | 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 computer recommendations Support page.

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.

Fall 2025 textbook details will be available on 2025-05-19. 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.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Prohibited: The use of generative AI is not allowed in this course, with the exception of spellcheck, grammar check and similar tools. This course rests in the value of students engaging in the learning process without relying on AI-generated content. Students will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills independently, owning their learning journey from start to finish. If you use these tools, your actions would be considered academically dishonest and a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

Methods

* We will use the interactive, online general ecology textbook SimUText, which includes embedded quizzes and interactive labs.

* Weekly Discussions in Canvas

* Field and home project observations with reports

* Interpreting and evaluating data sets

Evaluation Criteria

50% SimUText Chapters

30% Labs - online labs from SimBio, field observations, home activities

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

• Check the Canvas Modules every Tuesday and review the “Overview” page for the latest news and assignments. Attendance is essential for successfully completing this course, and it will be marked at the end of each week when assignments are due.
• Students are expected to participate in all discussion forums, including replies, and complete all homework weekly for their attendance to be marked as “Present” and for them to receive their weekly grades. We will cover new material each week, so it is important to stay on top of all assignments.
• Read the assigned material and demonstrate understanding of those resources in your assignments and posts.
• Do not hesitate to ask for extra help or clarification if you need it or don't understand something. Your questions may help me clarify things for others, too. I am always available to answer questions via email, and we can set aside time on Zoom if necessary.
• Please check your email throughout the week. I will send "Announcements" about new modules and any updates or notices. Please take a moment to set your preferences for notices, check your school email, or forward it to your personal account.
• All assignments must be uploaded to or completed in Canvas to be graded. Please do not email me assignments for grading. If you cannot upload an assignment, please get in touch with me.
• All posts and assignments should be in your own words. Copying and pasting from sources is not allowed and will be considered plagiarism unless it is a quote and identified as such. Proper grammar and spelling are expected in all assignments. Using AI to write any assignments is not allowed in this course.
• For more information, please read the "Netiquette" document about online communication expectations for this class, which will be posted in the Resources section of the Modules.
• 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 do not cover the three hours of instruction and activities that would typically occur in an in-person class. Therefore, you will need to compensate for this by dedicating time to reading, completing tasks that would have been covered during our lectures, and completing the homework.
• You can check your most recent grades in Canvas's "Grades" section, which can be found to the left of the page under the course section. Your average is calculated with each newly released grade.
• Communication goes a long way, and you are ultimately responsible for your final grade, so take advantage of all available resources. Those who do best in the class are the ones who complete all the assignments on time each week. You are responsible for submitting your work, asking for help or clarification, or making arrangements if there are issues beyond your control. Please reach out if this happens so we can work on a plan together.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Weekly discussions cannot be made up because everyone moves on to a new topic each week, and they are no longer considered "live." Interacting with classmates is essential in online courses, so try to complete these first whenever possible.

For late assignments (other than the discussions, which cannot be submitted late), 5% will be deducted daily for up to one week. After that, the assignment will automatically close in Canvas, and you can no longer upload it. If you continually submit late work, your average will be significantly reduced. Please contact me if you need any help or if you need to discuss special circumstances. I will do my best to work with you but do not wait until the end of the semester. You will not be able to make up a semester's worth of work at the end.

Please focus on completing the weekly assignments and do not rely on extra credit work to improve your grade. I concentrate on bringing you interesting and valuable weekly assignments and grading your work, so I do not offer extra credit.

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

Apply Now for this semester.