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Welcome to the Biol 953 webpage

What papers should all ecologists be very familiar with?  This graduate-level course will be focussed on student-led seminars of a wide range of writings that are considered really core to the advances ecology has made in the last 100 years. Each week we will discuss a major concept in ecology by considering the contribution of key primary papers to the development of that concept. Together, we will identify and explore the origins and development of a wide range of ecology’s fundamental concepts. For example, depending on student interest, we could address the concepts of ‘niche’, ‘diversity’, ‘competition/disturbance’, ‘physiological trade-offs’, ‘scale’ and ‘sustainability’ by reading and discussing such seminal papers as:

Niche:
�Ұ����ԲԱ����’s&�Բ�����;The Niche Relationships of the Californian Thrasher; and ��ܳٳ��󾱲Բ��Dz�’s&�Բ�����;Concluding Remarks

Diversity:
��ܳٳ��󾱲Բ��Dz�’s&�Բ�����;Homage to Santa Rosalia; or, Why are there so many kinds of animals?; and Ehrlich and Ravens’ Butterflies and Plants: A study in Coevolution

Competition/disturbance:
��DzԲԱ����’s&�Բ�����;The influence of interspecific competition and other factors on the distribution of the barnacle Chthamalus stellatus; and Lindeman’s The Trophic-Dynamic aspect of Ecology

Physiological trade-offs:
�Ҳ����Ծ����’s&�Բ�����;Resource capture, biomass allocation and growth in herbaceous plants; or Coley’s Resource availability and plant anti-herbivore defence

Scale:
���𱹾���’s&�Բ�����;The Problem of Pattern and Scale in Ecology; and Turner’s Landscape Ecology -  The effect of Pattern on Process

Ecological sustainability:
�Ჹ���徱��’s&�Բ�����;The Tragedy of the Commons; and Costanza’s The Value of the World's Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital

Additional or alternative papers that are central to the origin of other fundamental concepts in any aspect of ecology will be identified by participants as the course develops. The overall goal of the course is to chart the history, subsequent development, and future direction of a broad selection of the fundamental concepts in ecology by familiarizing participants with some of ecology’s most seminal papers.

Assessment: Students will choose an ecological concept that particularly interests them, and present a seminar and write an essay paper for group discussion and assessment.

Professor: Paul Grogan

Seminar Times: To be mutually determined by consultation with all registered students

Location: Room to be determined, Biosciences building

Links:

• Queen’s Biology Department: 
  Queen’s main page: 

Assessment:

30% Seminar
15% Participation in discussion
15% Typed questions for the seminars
40% Research Paper (20% initial draft; 20% final paper)

Pre-requisites: 

Instructor approval to determine level of interest and enthusiasm for learning about the core concepts in ecology.
Upper-level undergraduate courses in ecology, microbiology, physical geography, and geology would be helpful.

Calendar

Last Updated: 11th June 2012