Bio 767: Foundations
of Ecology
Instructors: Dave Anderson and Miles Silman
Contact: da@wfu.edu,
silmanmr@wfu.edu;
http://www.wfu.edu/~silmanmr/foundations
Lectures: Twice weekly, to be determined
at first meeting (T-Th 3-4).
Required
text: Real, Leslie A. and
James H. Brown (eds.). 1991. Foundations of Ecology:
Classic papers with commentaries. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Course
Description:
In Foundations of Ecology we trace the development of ecology as a discipline,
and the roots of modern ecological thought. Class consists of students reading,
presenting, and discussing seminal papers in ecology. Focus is on theory, case
studies, and experiments.
Date |
Day |
Papers
Discussed |
Leader |
4-Sep |
R |
Mangle
and Hillborn ch. 2 |
Miles
and Dave |
9-Sep |
T |
Forbes
1887, Cowles 1899 |
Emily
and Jenny |
11-Sep |
R |
Clements
1936 , Gleason 1926 |
Kathleen
and Sarah |
16-Sep |
T |
Tansley 1935 |
Emily |
18-Sep |
R |
Grinnell
1917, Nicholson and Bailey 1935 |
Jenny
(Grinnell), Max |
23-Sep |
T |
Preston
1962 (Hubbell?) |
|
25-Sep |
R |
Volterra 1926, Hutchinson 1957, May 1974 |
|
30-Sep |
T |
Cole
1954 |
|
2-Oct |
R |
Cole
1954 [Skellam 1951] |
|
7-Oct |
T |
MacArthur
and Pianka 1966 |
|
9-Oct |
R |
Hutchinson
1959; Simberloff (handout) |
|
14-Oct |
T |
Hairston,
Smith, and Slobodkin 1960 (Trophic Cascades) |
|
16-Oct |
R |
Erlich and Raven 1964 |
|
21-Oct |
T |
Harper
1967 |
|
23-Oct |
R |
Von
Post 1916, Davis 1969 |
|
28-Oct |
T |
Leslie
1945 |
|
30-Oct |
R |
Birch
1948, Holling 1959 |
|
4-Nov |
T |
Bray
and Curtis 1957 (Ordination Handout), Odum 1969 |
|
6-Nov |
R |
Davidson
and Andrewartha 1948, Teal 1962 |
|
11-Nov |
T |
Watt
1947, MacArthur 1958 |
|
13-Nov |
R |
Brooks
and Dodson 1965, Kettlewell 1955 |
|
18-Nov |
T |
Park
1948, Connell 1961 |
|
20-Nov |
R |
Huffaker 1958, Paine 1966 |
|
25-Nov |
T |
Thanksgiving
Break |
|
27-Nov |
R |
Thanksgiving
Break |
|
2-Dec |
T |
Simberloff and Wilson 1969 |
|
4-Dec |
R |
Likens
et al. 1970, Porter and Gates 1969 |
|
Written
Assignments
Papers: One mid-term (due Oct. 27) and
one final paper (due Dec. 12).
Literature Search: Before every class meeting,
presenters should use the Science Citation Index to (1) look at the impact of the
papers we are reading that day, and (2) make an endnote file to share with the
class highlighting recent important work that stems from those papers.
Foundations of Ecology: Essay
Assignment 1
Your
first essay is to be based upon a paper of your choice from the last two years
of the journals Ecological Monographs and Ecology.
First,
you should summarize the paper in no more than 1-1/2 pages. Next, one or
more of the classic papers we have read so far in the semester provide
historical context for the topics of these papers. In the second part of
the assignment, you will discuss thoroughly (but concisely) the links between
the classic papers that are most directly related to the contemporary paper you
choose to read. You should discuss not only how the contemporary paper has
built upon the ideas presented in the classic papers, but also the ways in
which the contemporary paper improves upon or points out flaws, misconceptions
or oversights of the classic papers. This part of the assignment should be
3-1/2 to 5-1/2 pages long.