Schedule for Fall 2002
Behavioral Ecology

Aug 27, 29 Alberts (Dispersal)
Sep 3, 5  Nowicki (Communication)
Sep 10, 12  Van Schaik **This week, lecture begins at 3:45pm. Meet in Bio 107 on Tues, return to Bio 140 on Thursday.**
Sep 17  Discussion for behavioral ecology:  Alberts, Nowicki, Van Schaik
Sep 20  Guest lecture: Theresa Pope, Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University
 

Population Ecology

Sep 24, 26  Rausher
Oct 1, 3   Oguge
Oct 8    Guest lecture, Nick Haddad, Department of Zoology, NC State University.
Oct 10  Discussion for population ecology:  Rausher, Oguge
Oct 15, 17   Fall break  -   No Class

Community Ecology

Oct 22, 24  Clark
Oct 29, 31  Livingstone
Nov 5  Guest Lecture:  Nick Oguge, Duke Biology
Nov 7  Guest Lecture:  Stuart Pimm, NSOE, "Modern extintctions: how many, how fast, and where?"
Nov 12, 14  Urban
Nov 19   Discussion for community ecology.  Clark, Livingston, Urban
Nov 21   Guest lecture by Larry Crowder, NSOE and Duke University Marine Lab
 

Course Description:

UPE 301 Population, Community, and Behavioral Ecology will deal with how organisms interact within populations and among species. The course will deal with current concepts of population growth and its limits, stability of population numbers, interactions among species - including competition, predation, and behavioral adaptations to these processes, determinants and maintenance of species diversity, community structure, distribution, and disturbance.

Goals:
(1) Bring UPE students and faculty together in an educational context, and
(2) Provide exposure to the breadth of ecological disciplines represented in the Program.

Format:
The class meets twice weekly in 75-minute sessions, Tuesday and Thursday from 2:15 to 3:30 in room 140 of the BioSci Bldg.  The course is taught in 3 blocks each fall semester, one for behavioral ecology, one for population ecology, and one for community ecology.

Each participating faculty member gives two lectures over the course of one week.  The first lecture will generally be an overview of one area of that person's discipline (coordinated with the other two lecturers in the block), and the second will generally be their own work.  Each block will have reading assignments that the students will be expected to do.  After all faculty in the block have lectured, one class session will be devoted to a general discussion of the material covered.

Assignments:
In addition to reading assignments for each block, each faculty member will assign either a problem set or 1-2 short essay questions based on their lectures.  The students will thus do one assignment for each week of regular faculty lectures (not for guest lecturers), and will turn them into the appropriate faculty member for grading.