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ESCI 432 - Topics in Marine Ecology - Syllabus - Winter 2009

Lecture Location: ES 413                                                       

Instructor: David H. Shull (Homepage)
Meeting time: TR 4:00-5:50 PM                                   Office: ES 445, ext. 3690
CRN: 13953                                                                      Office hours: M 10 AM-12 PM, W 10 AM-2 PM
                                                                                          Email: david.shull@wwu.edu

OBJECTIVES:

1.   Cover important and emerging topics in marine ecology and biological oceanography
2.   Gain familiarity with primary literature in the field
3.   Learn and practice the skill of leading discussions
4.   Foster original and independent thinking in oral and written assignments

Course Topics:

The following will be covered in the course: Fertilization limitation, recruitment and complex life cycles, metapopulations and conservation, determinants of marine species diversity, ballast water and invasive species, iron limitation of primary productivity, positive interactions, dispersal and recruitment in hydrothermal vent communities, coral bleaching, and other specialized topics.

PREREQUISITES: ESCI 321, ESCI 325.

COURSE WEB SITE:

I will use the course web site for posting the syllabus, lectures, answers to exam questions, reading assignments, and course announcements.  http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~shulld/es497CTME

CLASS DISCUSSIONS:

After the first class, course format will be discussion.  Each week, two students will lead a discussion on the assigned reading material.  Leaders will be graded on their performance.  Each week, students will be graded on their participation.  It is expected that students will have read the assigned papers and will come to class prepared for discussion. 

EVALUATION GUIDELINES:

Discussion Leadership 20%
Discussion Participation 20%
Final Paper 40%
Oral Presentation 10%
Weekly quizzes 10%

APPROXIMATE GRADING SCALE:

 93-100  A  90-92  A-  88-89  B+  83-87  B  80-82  B-   78-79  C+
 73-77    C  69-72  C-   67-68  D+    61-66  D  57-60  D-  0-56    F

Check your grades for this course using blackboard

COMPONENTS OF STUDENT EVALUATION

Discussion Leadership: Each student will lead class discussions.  Leaders will be graded on preparedness, understanding of the subject matter, and the quality of the class discussion.

Discussion Participation: Students will be graded every week on participation in discussion by the following criteria:

Four Points: Demonstrated understanding of all material, positive contribution to discussion
Three Points: Demonstrated understanding of most material in discussion, added to discussion
Two Points: Participated in discussion
One Point: Arrived on time, present in class
No Points: Absent (or late without excuse)

Final Paper: The research paper will be primarily evaluated on originality, depth of research, and clarity of presentation.  The goal of this assignment is to foster deeper, original, and independent thinking on the subject of marine ecology.  Papers that simply review a subject without contribution of unique ideas will not be sufficient.  Students are advised to meet with the instructor for assistance in defining the scope and theme of the paper. 

Oral Presentation: Oral presentations will be given the final day of class.  Presentations will be seven minutes in length followed by a two-minute question and answer period.  Oral reports will be graded on originality, organization, clarity and overall quality.  Specific detailed grading criteria and specific oral presentation requirements will be distributed in class.

 Weekly quizzes: Each class will begin with a quiz over the reading material.