Course Description

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.

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Athena Title

Ecosystem Ecology Lab

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Prerequisite

(ECOL 3500 and ECOL 3500L) or (ECOL 3505H and ECOL 3505L)

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Corequisite

ECOL 4010/6010

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Semester Course Offered

Offered spring

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Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

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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.

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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

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Institutional Competencies

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.

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