Biology 228, Ecology and Evolution

For the Spring 2005 semester, I am coordinating Biology 228 (including teaching both the lecture and the laboratory section).

Click here to go to main course webpage

Lab time: Mondays, 6:10-10:00 p.m.

Office hours: Wednesdays, 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Schedule for labs (note changes in red):

Date	Topic	Pages in lab manual
30 Jan.	Introduction to research in ecology and evolution	none
6 Feb.	1. Community analysis 1 (map, sampling)	3–4, 7–9
21 Feb. (Monday)	2. Community analysis 2 (map, calculations)	5–6, 10–13
27 Feb.	3. Population growth       Simulation 1 (introduction to Excel)       Simulation 2 (exponential/logistic growth)	14–18 72–73
4 or 5 Mar. (weekend)	4. Field trip to Inwood Hill Park (on weekend)	31–37
13 Mar.	5. Descriptive statistics       Simulation 3 (sampling, confidence intervals)	67–68 68–69
20 Mar.	LAB EXAM 1
27 Mar.	6. Inferential statistics (t-test)	26–28, 70–71
3 Apr.	7. Population genetics       Simulation 4 (selection and drift)	51, 55–56 56
10 Apr.	8. Allometry and regression analysis (bones)	78–79
24 Apr. (no class)	9. AMNH field trip (go on your own, but complete before systematics lab)	58–59
1 May	10. Systematics	60–66
6 or 7 May (weekend)	11. Field trip to Van Cortlandt Park (on weekend)	31–34, 38
15 May	LAB FINAL

 

 

 

Overview of labs:

First lab period: Introduction to research in ecology and evolution

Learn about research opportunities in ecology and evolution: presentations by faculty members.

Lab 1: Community analysis 1 (map, sampling)

Learn to read topographic maps and conduct random sampling by quadrats.

Lab 2: Community analysis 2 (map, calculations)

Calculate basic indices of plant or animal community composition (with data for tree species), and understand zoning regulations.

Lab 3: Population growth

Become familiar with spreadsheet programs.  Run simulations of exponential and logistic growth.

Lab 4: Field trip to Inwood Hill Park

See natural plant communities (in Manhattan!) and their association with human-caused and natural disturbances, geological factors, and climatic factors.

Lab 5: Descriptive statistics

Learn to calculate and interpret descriptive statistics, including confidence intervals.

LAB EXAM 1 (material from Labs 1-5)

Lab 6: Inferential statistics (t-test)

Learn to calculate and interpret inferential statistics (hypothesis testing).

Lab 7: Allometry and regression analysis (bones)

Learn about relationships among two continuous variables (e.g., correlation and regression); introduction to patterns of isometry and allometry and their graphical expectations in arithmetic and logarithmic space; collect and analyze data on bones.

Lab 8: Population genetics

Review gene, locus, allele, genotype, and phenotype. Learn concept of genetic drift; conduct simulations to understand the role of population size, initial allele frequencies, and natural selection (relative fitness coefficients) in the context of genetic drift and neutral evolution.

Lab 9: Self-guided field trip at American Museum of Natural History

Understand the use of systematic theory and cladistic (phylogenetic) methodology to elucidate the evolutionary relationships among organisms (and classify them); learn major events in vertebrate evolution.

Lab 10: Systematics

Conduct sample phylogenetic analyses.

Lab 11: Field trip to Van Cortlandt Park

See and learn to identify local trees and birds in the Bronx. Discuss pollination and dispersal syndromes in plants. Observe and discuss wetlands. 

LAB FINAL EXAM (material from Labs 6-11)

Lab outlines and expectations for lab reports

No lab reports are due for the field trips to Van Cortlandt Park or Inwood Hill Park.  In addition to these outlines and the pages assigned in the lab manual, additional handouts/worksheets will be given out in most labs.

Download lab outlines (note changes for Lab 6)

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All photographs by RPA