WIS 6405 Biodiversity: Ecological Patterns and Processes

Instructor Dr. Morgan Ernest
Office Location Building 150
Email (preferred) skmorgane@ufl.edu


Times and Locations

Tuesday, Period 7 (1:55-2:45), NPB 1200 (Physics Building)

Thursday, Period 6-7 (12:50-2:45), NZH 219

Course Objectives

Biodiversity emerges from a combination of ecological and evolutionary processes operating across many scales of space and time. This course examines the concept of biodiversity and the processes that generate important patterns of biodiversity in ecology.

  • Define the dimensions of biodiversity through discussion and reading the primary literature
  • Use the literature to assess current gaps in our scientific understanding of biodiversity
  • Design and write an introduction communicating a gap in knowledge in the field of biodiversity

General Course Structure and Expectations

This course is designed to provide advanced training for graduate students in a specialized area of ecology. This course is a mixture of lecture, class discussion of primary literature, hands-on experience through class activities, and a major project. While there is some lecturing, class participation, intellectual engagement with topics, and discussion participation are the main ways students will learn in this class. Tuesdays and the first hour of Thursdays are devoted to lecture and class discussions. You are expected to come prepared to discuss the assigned papers. The second hour on Thursdays are devoted to either class activities or working on group projects.

Course Grading

50% (100 points) will be based on a class project and presentation, broken down as follows (given as percentage of course grade, not project grade)

  • 10% (20 pts): Participation on Canvas Research Interest Discussion
  • 10% (20 pts): Group Topic Assignment
  • 30% (60 pts) Group Paper

50% will be based on class participation in discussion and class activities (100 pts)

  • 21% (3 pts/class, 14 classes) Participation in “Share the Confusion” Canvas Discussions
  • 21% (3 pts/class, 14 classes) Participation in Group Discussions, either during synchronous discussions or through submitted written (or recorded) answers to discussion questions.
  • 8% (4 pts/R activity, 2 activities) R coding activities

A written alternative to class participation is available for who have need of the flexibility or the different communication style to express themselves effectively - just contact me to let me know you would prefer this option

Course Policies

Attendance Policy: Life is complicated and sometimes unpredictable. Especially in 2020. Grading (see below) is structured so that students may have up to 2 excused absences without impacts on grades. Excused absences must be consistent with university policies in the Graduate Catalog (http://gradcatalog.ufl.edu/content.php?catoid=10&navoid=2020#attendance) and require appropriate documentation. Additional information can be found here: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx . Additional missed discussions can be made up by providing written answers to the questions assigned for the readings for the day(s) missed.

Class Conduct: Because this course is discussion-based, an effective learning environment is critically dependent on all students feeling safe and supported in the classroom so that everyone feels comfortable engaging in discussion. I will do my best to foster an open and positive environment for all students but to achieve this I need students to engage in discussions in a constructive and positive manner and listen to other points of view with an open-mind. It is okay to disagree with me or your classmates, and discussions on differing points of view are enthusiastically encouraged, but must be done with empathy for the other people in the classroom. Sometimes we make mistakes during discussion because we did not think sufficiently about our word choice and that is okay. When this happens, students are expected to apologize sincerely to the affected person.

Text and Required Supplies

  • There is not a required or recommended text book for this class
  • Readings for this class come from journal articles available electronically through UF journal subscriptions. Links to papers are made available through the course website (skmorgane.github.io/biodiversity-course).
  • University VPN: Because many of us are off campus, you will need the university VPN to access papers. Instructions for how to download and install the VPN
  • Laptops: On specific days (noted on the course schedule) laptops or tablets will be required to participate in literature search and basic computational activities. If you do not have a laptop or tablet, please let the instructor know and access to one can be arranged.
  • Software: We will be using R (a freely available statistical programming environment) to learn about quantitative approaches to studying biodiversity patterns. R is required. It is also recommending that students install RStudio – a freely available integrated programming environment – which makes working with R more user friendly. A good resource for walking you through how to download both of these can be found here

UF Policies

University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities

The goal of the course is to create an environment where all students have an equivalent learning environment. If you need accommodations so that your opportunity to learn the material is equivalent to others, please do not hesitate to let me know. Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students Office (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/). The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. You must submit this documentation prior to submitting assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations.

University Policy on Academic Misconduct

Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code at http://www.dso.ufl.edu/students.php.

Netiquette and Communication Courtesy

All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and chats. All in-person and electronic communications related to this course are covered by the course’s code of conduct statement.

Getting Help

Other resources are available at http://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-help for:

  • Counseling and Wellness resources: U Matter, We Care is a UF resource for students in distress. If you or are friend are in mental, emotional, psychological distress for any reason, they are here to help. umatter@ufl.edu or 352 392-1575. Counseling and Wellness Center (http://www.counseling.ufl.edu/cwc, and 392-1575). Sexual Assault Recovery Services (Student Health Care Center, 392-1161)

  • E-learning technical support: 352-392-4357 (select option 2) or e-mail to Learning-support@ufl.edu. https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml.
  • Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601. Career assistance and counseling. https://www.crc.ufl.edu/.
  • Library Support, http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/ask. Various ways to receive assistance with respect to using the libraries or finding resources.
  • Teaching Center, Broward Hall, 392-2010 or 392-6420. General study skills and tutoring. https://teachingcenter.ufl.edu/.
  • Writing Studio, 302 Tigert Hall, 846-1138. Help brainstorming, formatting, and writing papers. https://writing.ufl.edu/writing-studio/.

Should you have any complaints with your experience in this course please visit Student Complaints Campus: https://www.dso.ufl.edu/documents/UF_Complaints_policy.pdf to submit a complaint.

Grading scale

  • A 93-100

  • A- 90-92

  • B+ 87-89

  • B 83-86

  • B- 80-82

  • C+ 77-79

  • C 73-76

  • C- 70-72

  • D+ 67-69

  • D 60-66

  • E <60

Course Schedule

The detailed course schedule is available on the course website.

Disclaimer: This syllabus represents the current plans and objectives. As we go through the semester, those plans may need to change to enhance the class learning opportunity or to accomodate natural disasters like hurricanes (yes, this happened twice one semester). Such changes, communicated clearly, are not unusual and should be expected.