"In the past 24 hours the planet added 209,000 babies, lost 104,000 acres of rainforset, added 41,000 acres of desert, lost 215 million tons of topsoil, added 4 million tons of carbon to the atmosphere, and lost about 75 species.... And we get to do it again tomorrow."                     - D. Orr 1992

Course Goals: The primary goal of BIOL 134 is to introduce you to basic concepts of ecology and conservation biology.  The focus will be on California, and how the natural history, ecology and issues within our state relate to topics elsewhere in the US and abroad. The information contained in this course should also provide of some of the intellectual tools necessary to understand the worldwide environmental crisis we are living through, and perhaps some possible solutions.  I also expect to help you develop a deeper appreciation for the intricacy and beauty of natural systems.   Because BIOL 134 is also a General Education course, considerable attention will be placed on honing writing skills through the exams and the two papers.

Note that after second week you cannot drop or add the class without a serious and compelling reason

Textbook:  We will be using an abbreviated non-majors introductory biology textbook (CRS 101 published by McGraw Hill - available in bookstore) for the first 1/3 of the class. For the remainder of the class we will use an anthology of readings assembled by Dr. Peter Moyle, UCD.  This will be available to purchase in the bookstore and on the web from my web site. Keep in mind; in order to appreciate and study the field of conservation biology, a solid grounding in the ideas and terminology of evolution, natural selection and general ecology is necessary (ie read the books!!).
Papers: Two papers (2-3 pages or 400-600 words, double spaced, 12 pt font etc.) are required.  These will be based on two self-guided fieldtrips (see below) to be taken during the semester. The first submission of paper #1 will be graded as if it was a final draft.  The idea is to grade the paper and give you feedback to help you improve your writing.  You then will have a choice with the second submission; you can choose to not re-submit your essay and you will receive the same grade as on submission 1, OR you can substantially re-write the paper based on the provided comments and your own reflections on the comments and get a better grade.  The choice is yours..  This second version of the paper MUST be turned in with the original draft with the comments on it.  For paper # 2, only one version is required, but you may hand it in for helpful comments up till one week before the due date.  The papers will be graded according to the attached sheet titled “Evaluating and Grading Student Essays.”
Exams:  The exams (midterms and final) will be short essay format.  There will be a sheet with 50+ questions handed out one week before the exam.  The final will be comprehensive.  The exam will choose 10-15 of the questions directly from the handout.  Answers will be graded on completeness of the answer, clarity of thought and grammar.       

Grading is strictly based on the percentage of points you earn out of the total possible.  Grades will be assigned according to the following scale: >95%=A, 90-94%=A-,  85-89 %=B+, 80-84%=B, 75-79%=C+, 70-74%=C, 65-69=D+, 60-64=D, <60%=failure

Field Trips/Paper Assignments

                There will be two self-guided field trips required during the semester.  Detailed directions for each trip are available on my web site.  You NEED to download a copy of the appropriate field trip guide before going on the field trip.  You must do the field trips in order to write the papers.  See me if you have difficulties. 

A NOTE ABOUT PLAGARISM
Plagarism is when you take someone else's ideas and writings and pass them off as your own.  This is a form of lying, it is considered a gross breech of academic honesty and will be delt with severely (automatic failure).  Plagarism can take many forms.  It is not acceptable to take paragraphs,  sentences or even phrases from someone else's writing and put them into your paper as your own ideas!  YOU MUST PARAPHRASE THE IDEAS OR PHRASES.  Even when you do pharaphrase the ideas you still must cite where the information originated.  This usually takes the form of a citation like the following: (Marchetti and Moyle 2001) and the full reference must be given in the reference section at the end of the paper.  If you are confused about plagarism please come talk to me.  It is much better to be safe than sorry with this issue.