Lecture/Tutorial: 4 hours/week
Laboratory/Field trip: 4 hours/week
The methods of instruction for this course include some or all of the following: lectures, tutorials, laboratory activity, field trips, and textbook and scientific journal readings.
1. Introduction to Ecology
- The scientific method
- Ecology and the levels of the biosphere
- Ecology, evolution and adaptation
2. Biotic and abiotic aspects of the environment
- The abiotic environment
- The biotic environment
- Terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems
3. Life history theory
- The principal of allocation
- Life-history trade-offs
- Phenotypic plasticity
- Senescence
4. Evolution of sexual reproduction
- Sex ratios
- Female choice and mating systems
- Sexual selection
5. Social behaviour
- Costs and benefits of social behaviours
- Kin selection and altruism
- Game theory and cooperative behaviour
- Parent-offspring conflict and/or sexual conflict
- Evolution of eusociality
6. Population ecology
- Characteristics of populations
- Estimation of population density
- Exponential and logistic growth
- Age structure and life tables
- Density-dependent and -independent factors
7. Predation, parasitism and herbivory
- Adaptations of predators (parasites, herbivores) and prey (hosts, plants)
- Prey location, selection, capture and assimilation
- Predator avoidance, escape and defence
- Predator-prey population dynamics
- Stabilizing mechanisms in two-species models
8. Competition
- Interspecific and intraspecific competition
- Competitive exclusion
- Resource partitioning
- Exploitation and interference competition
- Logistic model and competition
9. Mutualism
- Obligate vs. facultative mutualism
- Effect on individual fitness
- Effect on communities and ecosystems
- Coevolution
10. Community ecology
- Community structure
- Food webs
- Abundance-diversity indices
- Ecological succession
11. Ecosystem ecology
- Food chains and trophic levels
- Food webs
- Ecological efficiency
- Nutrient cycling and regeneration
- Biogeography and climate diagrams
12. Biological diversity
- Global patterns of biological diversity
- Landscape ecology
- Species area-relationships
- Island biogeography theory
- Metapopulation theory
- Conservation of biological diversity
13. Environmental issues and resource management
Topics may include:
- Environmental impact assessments
- Persistence and toxicity of pollutants
- Integrated pest management
- Toxic waste, acid rain, air pollution
- Global warming
14. Ecological field and lab techniques
- Design of manipulative field and lab experiments
- Habitat characterization (e.g. stream, forest, meadow, salt marsh)
- Plant/animal identification
Techniques may include: - Quadrat/point quarter sampling
- Transect sampling
- Random/systematic sampling
Upon completion of this course, the successful student wil be able to:
- Characterize and distinguish biotic and abiotic components of terrestrial, marine and fresh water environments.
- Employ an evolutionary ecology approach to analyze life histories, sexual reproduction, sex ratios, mate choice, and social and altruistic behaviour.
- Describe population structures and growth, and identify the factors that limit the distribution and abundance of populations.
- Describe community structure and the dynamics of community organization and change including the process of ecological succession.
- Illustrate the flow of energy through ecosystems with reference to trophic levels and ecological efficiency.
- Illustrate the cycling of nutrients through ecosystems, then compare and contrast ecosystem energy flow with nutrient flow.
- Compare and contrast the effects of competition, predation, and mutualism on individual life histories and behaviour, population growth, community structure and ecosystem function.
- Analyze human impacts on ecosystems using the general principles of ecology.
- Describe the principles of field sampling and conduct field research using a variety of sampling techniques.
- Interpret field results, perform simple statistics and write reports.
- Research an ecological topic and communicate the results in a written report, oral presentation and/or poster.
Evaluation will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The instructor will present a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. Evaluation will be based on the following:
| Class Tests & Assignments | 10-20% |
| Lab & Field Trip Reports | 10-20% |
| Term Project | 10-20% |
| Midterm Examination | 20-30% |
| Final Examination | 20-35% |
| Total | 100% |
Note: A student who achieves less than 50% in either the lecture or laboratory portion of the course will earn a maximum P grade.
Consult the Douglas College Bookstore for the latest required textbooks and materials. Example textbooks and materials may include:
Relyea, R and Ricklefs, R.E. The Economy of Nature, current edition. W.H. Freeman and Company Publishers, New York, NY, USA.