BIOL 207

Syllabus – BIOL 207 2011 syllabus (note: this syllabus is old. A new updated syllabus is in your dropbox folder!)

Directions for book critique –> ecology-critical-book-review

Directions for article commentary –> For extra credit points, read and comment on any article posted from February 2010  onwards  in the categories of environment, agriculture, ecology, and/or climate change on the main page (www.greenresistance.wordpress.com). You are welcome to comment on all articles on the website, but you only get potential credit for commenting on environmentally-related, recent articles.

For your practice tests and study aids and your chapter quizzes – go to: http://www.whfreeman.com/ricklefs/, click on ‘The Economy of Nature – 6th edition,’ and then click on Q&A Self Tests, register as a student, include my email(rania.masri@balamand.edu.lb) as your instructor’s email, and begin doing each of the chapter quizzes after we finish that chapter in the class. The online quizzes are due 2 days after the class introduces the chapter.

• advice from BIOL 207 fall 2009 students to BIOL 207 ecology spring 2010 students – Advice from Ecology Students in the Fall 2009 semester

Lectures: from the book, ‘The Economy of Nature – 6th edition.’ I suggest bringing these slides to class, and taking careful notes. Do not depend solely on these presentations. You should read the chapter, take notes during class, and use the slides as your guide.

* Homework assignments are not included in these presentations. It is your responsibility to attend class and take note of the homework assignments.

* These lectures are from earlier presentations. There may be some changes.

Chapter 1:ch01 (Chapter 1 – ch01-part 1) ch01-complete

Chapter 2:ch02

Chapter 3: ch03

Chapter 4: chapter 4 or this version – eco-chapter 4

–> Willis et al paper (optional to read) -> willis et al

–> for more information on trade winds, see this simple presentation –> more info on trade winds

–> still curious about trade winds? optional paper – check this history of trade winds and hadley cell – 2persson_hadley

Optional Readings on Climate Change and Public Health

• Climate Change, Health, and Development Goals (The Lancet. 2004). cc, health and development goals
• Executive Summary – The Health Benefits of Tackling Climate Change (The Lancet. 2009) health-and-climate-change
• [excellent] Climate Change and Human Health: Present and Future Risks (The Lancet. 2006) cc and human health – prsnt and future
• Health Professionals must act to tackle climate change (The Lancet. 2009). health professionals and cc
• Aligning climate change and public health options (The Lancet. 2009). aligning cc and ph options
• The Lancet Commissions: Managing the health effects of climate change (The Lancet. 2009). Note: only skim through this document. No need to read it in depth. lancet- managing health effects of cc

• Global climate change: implications for international public health policy (World Health Organization. 2010)
• Read only chapter 7 in this document. impact of cc on arab countries

• Adapting to Climate Change: Public Health. (An Initiative of the Climate Policy Program at RFF. 2009) -( an optional read; available upon request)
• the presentation on climate change and public health –> climate change public health for ecology

Chapter 5:ch05

– supporting material for chapter 5: another view of biomes and see more images of traditional biomes and more images herehere and

* anthropogenic biomes (not in the textbook but you are responsible for this information and analysis):

– Read this text: (http://www.eoearth.org/article/Anthropogenic_biomes)

– Anthropogenic ppt ->anthromes_v1

Climate change, public health, and biomes –> cc and biomes and public health

Chapter 6 –>ch06 or this eon6e_ch06

– Excellent article on Evolution —  Evolution Is Change in the Inherited Traits of a Population through Successive Generations

chapter 7 and 8

ch10

ch14+

==============

ch22

WaterFootprint-Presentation

ch23

ch26-expanded

ch27 2

iman’s presentation on rabbits: Columbia basin pygmy rabbit – by iman

end of semester material for Fall 2011/2012

==================================================================

===

Chapter 7 –> chapter 7 only

Homework: Answer these three questions thoughtfully and carefully and, of course, in correct English

(1) How do I personally contribute to climate change? (examine your lifestyle — from your diet to your consumption to your home). Note: To answer this question, you should examine your ‘footprint.’ What is an ecological footprint. As explained by the Happy Planet Index, “[t]he ecological footprint of an individual is a measure of the amount of land required to provide for all their resource requirements plus the amount of vegetated land required to sequester (absorb) all their CO2 emissions and the CO2 emissions embodied in the products they consume. This figure is expressed in units of ‘global hectares’. The advantage of this approach is that it is possible to estimate the total amount of productive hectares available on the planet. Dividing this by the world’s total population, we can calculate a global per capita figure on the basis that everyone is entitled to the same amount of the planet’s natural resources.”

So, to answer question (1), go to one  The Global Footprint Network website (http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/), and read the information they have, and then you can go to one of the following sites:  The Ecological Footprint Quiz (here), or The Global Footprint Network (and assume we live in Turkey), or go to the website of the World Wildlife Fund and spend 5 minutes calculating the information (here) – but keep in mind that that calculation is designed for folks living in the UK so some of the questions won’t apply to you. There are other sites, of course. The links I provided are a selection of those sites.  One other avenue you may use is an excel sheet to calculate your footprint with more accuracy and detail. Go here: http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=ecological+footprint+xls&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

(2) What will I actually change in my behavior?

(3) Assuming I have ultimate power in the world, what new world would I create? What is my vision for a healthier world — healthier from an environmental perspective, recognizing that the environment cannot be separated from the economy and from our philosophies.

Deadline: PDHP class: 2nd of May. BIOL class: 5th of May

—

Chapter 8: chapter 8- or this shorter ppt – new chapter 8-

—

Note: We are using a new book for the following chapter(s). Please see the  FHS library (PDHP students) or the bookstore (BIOL students) for the chapters

Chapter 9: chapter 9 – new book – eco

Chapter 10: chapter 10

— The vote is in. Most of you do not like the new book. So we will revert back to the old book.

PDHP students – please answer this survey today

Chapter 22 – in the old book – ch22

Readings: Livestock and environment – (1) Livestock a major threat to environment. FAO 2006 report. (2) Comments on that report continue. Read this article

— Attention BIOL 207 Students —

Exam 1 grades will consist of three quizzes for Chapters 3 – 5 (+ anthropogenic biomes) on the following dates: May 12 (Chapter 3), May 19 (Chapter 4), and May 21 (Chapter 5 + anthropogenic biomes).

Exam 2 will be on May 14 (chapters 6, 7, 8 from the old book; chapters 9 and 10 from the new book).

—

• Here’s an excellent article on research done on lizards in the Bahamas. Please read it.

Next chapter: Chapter 23.

powerpoint for 23 -> ch23

please note that you are responsible for the information on acid rain noted in chapter 23 and that was mistakenly omitted from the slides.

[If you’re having difficulty with Chapter 23, this is an excellent site to review.]

Next Chapter: chapter 26 ch26 [note that the first half of the slides are review from chapters 9 and 10 in the new book]

–>  reading to accompany that chapter: Instant Expert: Endangered Species and be familiar with the IUCN red list (http://www.iucnredlist.org/)

===

next chapter is 27 and then additional material

• Reading material for Chapter 27: From Genocide to Ecocide (from genocide to ecocide) and this link – View of Easter Island Disaster All Wrong, Researchers Say

====

Since all the students asked for more information on the link between ecology and human health, we will be spending time with Rachel Carson’s classic book – Silent Spring. Copies of the select chapters will be in the respective places (library at FHS, and bookstore at Main Campus).

Please also spend some time with these updated articles:

• Sir David Attenborough: ‘Wildlife disaster heralds silent summer’. (UK) Times Online. April 25, 2010
• What’s Behind the Honeybee Decline? Perhaps Not What You’ve Heard. New York Times.  April 28, 2010.
• Strengthening the link between pollution and cancer. Miller-McCune. May 6, 2010.
• Study links urogenital birth defects with DDT. The Medical News. October 24, 2009.
• Respiratory symptoms in children and exposure to pesticides [in Lebanon]. European Respiratory Journal. 2003; 22:507-512.
• Symptoms and acute pesticide intoxication among agricultural workers in Lebanon. J Med Liban. 2004. April-June.