Students will learn research methods in ecosystem ecology, including field sampling techniques and big data analysis. Students will develop analytical, written, and oral communication skills through laboratory activities.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Graduate students will be asked to complete an additional writing and synthesis assignment.
Athena Title
Ecosystem Ecology Lab
Prerequisite
(ECOL 3500 and ECOL 3500L) or (ECOL 3505H and ECOL 3505L)
Corequisite
ECOL 4010/6010
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will write a testable scientific question and hypothesis.
Students will use field methods to quantify carbon pools and fluxes in forest and stream ecosystems.
Students will navigate calculations, data cleaning/organization, statistical analysis, and data visualization using RStudio (R markdown/tidyverse).
Students will interpret and explain the results of a scientific study, including putting findings in the context of previously published literature.
Students will collaborate to synthesize the results of individual data analysis efforts.
Topical Outline
Introduction to the lab
Basics of using R for data manipulation and analysis
Data collection in the field
Introduction to big ecological data
Developing hypotheses for testing with big data and small data
Data manipulation and analysis in R
Synthesis of findings in a written and oral presentation
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
