ZOOLOGY 548: ECOLOGY OF RIVERS AND STREAMS

Lecture: Tuesday-Thursday 11:00-12:15, 342 Noland Hall

Lab: Thursday 1:00-4:00, 119 Noland Hall

Spring 2008

Instructor and contact information:

Emily Stanley*                                                                           *Office hours by appointment

218 Limnology Laboratory

ehstanley@wisc.edu

Course web site: http://limnology.wisc.edu/courses/zoo548/

Noah Lottig*

127 Limnology Laboratory

nrlottig@wisc.edu

Goals for a Zoology Major:

The Zoology major should have a capacity for critical thinking and conceptual skills that allow understanding of biological complexity and the inter-relationship of humans and natural systems.  Students should appreciate the diversity of life, having a basic understanding of genetic, cellular, physiological, ecological and evolutionary principles and a solid foundation in related disciplines of chemistry, physics, and mathematics.  Students should understand how scientific information is obtained and evaluated and understand its application to societal issues.

Goals of this course:

By the end of the class, you should:

-have an understanding of physical, chemical, and biological processes of streams and rivers and field and laboratory methods commonly used by stream ecologists

-acquire skills to conduct, and analyze scientific methods and data relevant to stream and river ecology

Students taking this course:

            -Junior or senior-level undergraduates and graduate students

-All students must have taken Introductory Chemistry (CHEM 103, 104 or equivalent), Limnology (ZOO 315 or equivalent) or have specific permission from Emily Stanley to enroll.  General Ecology (ZOO 460 or equivalent) is strongly recommended.

Laboratory:

Laboratory exercises are designed to complement lectures and provide hands-on application of concepts, calculations, and methods used in stream and river ecology.  Because of normal winter weather, exercises at the beginning of the semester will focus on data analysis and laboratory-based methods.  Later in the semester, field methods will be emphasized during trips to local streams. 

Field trips:

There are four scheduled field trips.  Two will occur during the normal class-lab period, and the other two are required weekend field trips. These will be all-day excursions to streams in and around Dane County.  Tentatively, we will depart at 9:00 and return no later than 5:00 p.m.  If you have a pre-existing commitment and are unable to participate in one or both of these trips, please notify me by email no later than February 7^th.

Text and Readings:

There is no required text for this class.  The following texts are highly relevant and have been put on reserve at the Biology Library in Birge Hall:

Allan, J.D. and M.M. Castillo2007. Stream ecology: structure and function of running waters. 2^nd edition. Springer, Dordrecht.

Gordon, N.D., T.A. McMahon, B.L. Finlayson, C.J. Gippel, and R.J. Nathan. 2004. Stream hydrology: an introduction for ecologists. 2^nd edition. J. Wiley and Sons, Chichester.

Hauer, F.R. and G.A. Lamberti. 2006. Methods in stream ecology. 2^nd edition. Academic Press, San Diego.

Selective reading materials may be assigned during the semester; these materials will either be made available as pdf files through the class web page or passed out in class.  Lab materials will posted on the Laboratory Schedule section of the syllabus. 

Exams, Assignments, AND GRADING:

The grading philosophy in this course is to provide multiple opportunities to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the materials instead of putting lots of emphasis on a few tests.  Operationally, this translates into multiple tests, each of which covers 5-6 lectures, laboratory exercises, 1-2 in-class exercises, and occasional opportunities for supplemental credit.

Required assignments and their percent contribution to the final grade are:

-Exams (60% total; 10%, 15%, 15%, 20%)

-Laboratory exercises (30%)

-In-class exercises (5%)

-General participation (5%)

Schedule

**Please Note** This schedule is subject to change.  Changes will be announced in class and via email.

Laboratory Schedule

Laboratory exercises, assignments, and point values/assignment are described in the laboratory exercises.   All assignments will be due on the following Thursday, except for Exercise 6, 7, and 8, which can be handed in on the following Tuesday.