Course Description
Students will complete assignments to illustrate principles and techniques presented in Ecology of Natural Resources.
Athena Title
Ecology Natural Resources Lab
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ECOL 3500L, ECOL 3505L
Prerequisite
(BIOL 1104 and BIOL 1104L) or (BIOL 1108 and BIOL 1108L)
Corequisite
FANR 3200W
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
At the end of the semester, students should be able to: A. Describe and quantify biotic and abiotic factors in terrestrial and aquatic environments. 1. Understand basic ecological concepts, sampling, and description -Utilize habitat classifications -Identify important environmental factors -Sample and quantify structure and species composition -Delineate communities and community similarity 2. Understand types of species and community interactions -Identify predation, mutualism, parasitism, etc. 3. Understand concepts and metrics of biodiversity - Define levels of diversity (population, species, genetic) - Quantify species diversity, richness, evenness, etc. B. Describe and quantify how ecosystems change with time and disturbance. 1. Understand succession (terra and aqua) -Identify general patterns of succession -Recognize specific seral stages and identify climax and sub-climax communities of regional importance -Explain how succession can be influenced to achieve objectives C. Describe and quantify ecosystem fluxes of energy and nutrients. 1. Understand systems approach to ecology - Quantify states and rates of carbon and nutrients - Develop systems modeling framework
Topical Outline
Habitats of Georgia Terrestrial Habitat Analysis Piedmont Forests (structure and composition) Piedmont Landscape (Gradient Analysis) Wildlife Habitat Suitability Population Dynamics Species Interactions Community dynamics Pond Ecology Stream Ecology Succession Ecosystem Fluxes