• Schedule
  • BIO366
  • BIOL366
  • BIO534
  • BIOL534
  • BIO602
  • SEEL Meetings

Borrett Teaching Statement (updated 1/3/2010)

Dr. Borrett's teaching schedule:

Spring 2012

  • Biol366 Ecology Laboratory

Past Courses

• Ecology. UNCW Bio366; Sp08, Sp09, Sp10

• Ecology Laboraotry. UNCW Biol366; Sp08, Sp09, Su10, Sp11, Su11, Sp12

• Bringing Home the Biosphere. UNCW Bio495; Sp08.

• Fundamentals of Ecological Modelling. UNCW BIO534 & BIOL534; F07, F08, F10, F11

• Ecological Thought: Past to Present. UNCW BIO602; F09; Sp11.

• Workshop: Introduction to Ecological Network Analysis (March 2011 at Northern Arizona University)

• R Tutorial (with Matt Lau). UNCW Su2011

• Short Course: Systems Ecology and Ecological Network Analysis. UNCW Su 2011

• 2006. Stanford University. Fundamentals of Ecological Modeling. Undergraduate and graduate course. Co-instructor: K.R. Arrigo. Stanford, CA.

• 2003. Institute of Ecology. Ecological Thought: Past to Present. Required course for ecology graduate students. Co-instructors: B.C. Patten, S.J. Whipple. Athens, GA. syllabus

• 2003. Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. Ecosystem Complexity in the Marine Environment – Seeking an Answer to the Question: What is Biocomplexity? Three week short course for undergraduate and graduate students. Co-instructors: P.G. Verity, M.E. Frischer, B.C. Patten, S.J. Whipple. Skidaway, GA.

• Guest Lecturer and Teaching Assistant. 2002. Institute of Ecology. Theory of Systems Ecology. Graduate course. Professor: B.C. Patten. Athens, GA.

 

 

bio366

Spring 2010

Teaching Philosophy;

Bloom's Taxonomy of Intellectual Behavior (1, 2)
Exams Ecological Careers State of Nation's Ecosystems
    Interesting Ecology Videos

Schedule

#
Date
Topic
Readings/Assignments Due
I. Introduction
1

6-Jan
Ch 1, Syllabus
II. Individuals and their Physical-Chemical Environment
2
 11
Ch 2
3
 13
18-Jan
MLK Day (Parade on Castle Street, 9 am, more info)
4
 20
Ch 6
5
 25
Ch 7
6
 27
Ch 8
7
 1-Feb review notes, prepare questions
8
 3
III. Populations and Interactions
9
 8 Population Properties Ch 9
10
 10 Population Growth Ch 10, life table example
11
 15 Population Regulation; Intraspecific Competition Ch 11
12
 17 Interspecific Competition (part 1) (part 2) Ch 13
13
 22

Predation

  
14
 24 Parasitism, Mutualisms, Symbioses Ch 15
15
 1-March Finish Mutualisms, Review Population Equation Summary
16
 3 EXAM II (mc answer key)  
8 Spring Break
10 Spring Break
IV. Communities
17
 15 Community Attributes, Structure, and Biodiversity Ch 16
18
 17 Factors Influencing Community Structure Ch 17
19 22 Community Dynamics and Succession Ch 18
V. Ecosystems
20
 24 Energetics and Organization Ch 20
21
 29 Energetics and Organization

Ch 20
22
 31 EXAM III (answer key)
23
 5-Apr. Decomposition and Nutrient Cycling Ch 21
24
 7 Biogeochemcial Cycling :: Carbon and Climate Change; Carbon Foot Print Calculators: 1, 2 Ch 22 (22.1-22.7); Beedlow et al. 2004
25
 12 Biogeochemical Cycling :: Other Macro Nutrients Ch 22 (22.8-22.13)
VI. Large Scale Ecology
26
 14 Biomes Ricklefs 2007, Ch 5
27
 19 Large Scale Biodiversity and Species Invasions Ch 26; Vitousek et al. 1996
28 21

Summary: 10+ Fundamental Principles of Ecology

  
29 26 Review Review Notes
VII. Final Exam
30
 3-May EXAM IV, 3-6 pm  
8-May Commencement

Interesting Ecology Videos

Conserving the Canopy http://www.ted.com/talks/nalini_nadkani_on_conserving_the_canopy.html

Venus Fly Trap:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4101741181268340357&ei=zi1eS8_OM8P-lQfw44WWDg&q=venus+fly+trap&hl=en#docid=6195769274854386079

Mate selection in Birds of Paradise (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gAxbxxmYZ8)

 

 

BIOL 366 :: Ecology Laboratory :: Spring 2012

Laboratory Report

Requirements: Long Form; Short Form

Grading Rubric

Websites that convert Word to PDF

http://www.doc2pdf.net/

http://www.pdfonline.com/convert-pdf/

Schedule

Description of the laboratories and their assignment directions are in the class laboratory manual.

#
Week
Topic
Reading/Assignments
0  

Microsoft Excel Proficiency

Due January 29 (midnight)

SkillPort Assignment:(1) Getting Started with Excel 2007;(2) Excel 2007 Formulas and Functions; (3) Excel 2007 Charts, Pictures, Themes, and Styles.
  Jan 16 Martin Luther King Holiday
1
 Jan. 23
Questions due in Class
2
Jan. 30

Sampling Sedentary Organisms

Excel Template :: Lecture Notes

 Lab Report (Short Form) due Lab 3
3
Feb 6

Population Dispersion and Association

Excel Analysis Template

Early 2004, Ch 2 Fire in the Cathedral

Lab Report (Short Form) due Lab 4
4 Feb. 13 Library Laboratory Pechenik, Chapter 2
5

Feb. 20

Forest Ecology I: Hypothesis development and sampling design

map (google)

Pechenik, Chapter 9

Hypotheses & Sampling Design due in class

Draft Laboratory Report due Lab 8

Revised Laboratory Report due Lab 11
6
Feb 27
 Forest Ecology II: Sampling  
7
Mar. 5

Forest Ecology III: Data Analysis

 

Pechenik, Chapters 4 & 5

Examples: Forest Data, Forest Analysis1, data in Excel format
Spring Break
8 Mar. 19 Mark Recapture Lab Report (Short Form) due Lab 9
9
Mar. 26

Wetland Communities

Lab Report (Short Form) due Lab 10

@Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve
Easter Break
10 Apr. 9 Island Biogeography Questions due in class
11 Apr. 16 Indirect Popluation Measures  
12 Apr. 23 Laboratory Exam

Related Links

Land of the Long Leaf Pines Exhibit @ Cape Fear Museum of Science and History

BIO 534 :: Advanced Ecology :: Fundamentals of Ecological Modeling :: Fall 2011

Schedule

#
Date
Topic
Reading
 Homework (due date)
Introduction
1
Aug. 24
A1: Mangel 2006 Math Warm Up (Due Aug. 29) :: (solutions, Rscript1, Rscript2)
2
29
Models and Science (notes)

A2: Model ID Assignment (Due Sept 7)

paper1, paper2, paper3, paper 4
3
31
Art of Modelling (notes)

 
Sept.5
Labor Day
4
7

System Conceptualization (notes)

 A3: Conceptualization (due Sept 12)
Quantitative Models
5
12
Single State Variables Models: Bathtubs and Populations(notes)
Gotelli Ch1
  
6
14

Intraspecific Competition: Logistic Growth (notes)
Gotelli Ch2

A4: Problem Set (due Sept 26)
7
19
 TBD    
8
21
 Case Study: Dr. Long    
9
26
 Generalized Control Functions (notes)

notes; Bolker Ch3

  
10
28
 ...continued    
11

Oct 3

Structured Population Models

(notes, Life Tables Example)

 Gotelli Ch3  
12
5
 Exam 1    
 
10
 Fall Break
13
12
 Populations in Space Stevens Ch4  
14
17
 Interspecific Competition

Gotelli Ch4

  
15
19
 Predation Gotelli Ch 5  
16
24
 Three State Varables: Chains & Webs (ppt)    
17
26
 review/catch up    
Model Evaluation
18
31

Environmental Forcing, Parameterization, and Calibration

(notes)

  
19
Nov. 2
 Discussion: Confronting Models with Data (research highlights) Fussman et al. 2000: Shertzer et al. 2002  
20
7
 Model Evaluation  
Case Studies
21
9
 Inductive Process Modelling
 
22
14
 Network Models (notes)    
23
16
 exam review; vote on papers    
24
21
 Exam 2    
 
23
 Thanksgiving
25
28
 TBD    
26
30
 TBD    
27

Dec. 5

TBD    
28
7
 Summary & Conclusions    
 
     
 
9
 Finals Week Starts    
 
     

 

BIOL 534 :: Advanced Ecology Laboratory:: Fundamentals of Ecological Modeling

Fall 2011

Schedule

Date Topic Resources Due Date Solutions
Aug 24

Lab 1: Getting Started with R: Intro

M. Lau's notes

Bolker's website

CRAN; Emacs; Tinn-R; Information about other text editors for R is here

    
31 Lab 1: Getting Started with R: Practical Programming Exercises end of lab (Solutions)

Sept. 7

 Lab 2: Conceptual Modelling      
14 Lab 3: Exponential Growth: Discrete vs. Continuous Time

Shiflet & Shiflet 2006 Module 5: simulation techniques

deSolve Vignette

 Oct. 1 (Solutions)
21 ...continued      
28 Lab 4: Density Dependence: Logistic   Oct. 5 (Solution)
Oct. 5 Lab 5: Chaos Otto&Day-chaos; Oct. 12 (Solution)
12 ...continued      
19 Lab 6 Resource-Consumer Models   Nov. 2 (Solution)
26

...continued

      
Nov. 2 Lab 7: Three State Variable Models: Chains and Webs Beisner et al. 2003 Nov. 9 (Solution)
9 ...continued      

16

 Connecting Models and Data

EggData, RossSeaData

DMB9

 no write up due  
30 work on projects      
Dec 7 Project Presentations (1)      
Dec 14

Project Presentaiotns (2)

(final exam period 3- 6 pm)

     
         

 

 

 

bio602

Spring 2011 Schedule

Date
Topic
Readings
Exercises

13 Jan
No class
18
Introductions

Syllabus
sign up for topics

20
Scientific Origins
25
Ecological Stoichiometry

A. Kormondy (Physical & Chemical Environment - Liebig, Blackman, Shelford)

B. Reiners 1986
27

C. Elser et al. 2000

D. Hillebrand, Helmut; Gamfeldt, Lars; Jonsson, Per R; Matthiesen, Bert. 2009. Consumer diversity indirectly changes prey nutrient content. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 380:33-41 (link)
Feb 1
Biosphere and Gaia

A. Lovelock and Margulis 1974

B. Charlson et al. 1987
3
Ex. 1 Due
8
Density Dependence

A. Kormondy (Populations - Malthus, Verhulst, Birch, Nicholson, Hairston et al.)

B. Caley et al. 1996 OR Murdoch et al. 1994
Exercise 2: Propositional Logic
10
C. Filin, I, Holt, RD, andl Barfield, M. 2008. The Relation of Density Regulation to Habitat Specialization, Evolution of a Species’ Range, and the Dynamics of Biological Invasions.

A link to the paper is:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/589459
15
Host-Parasite Interactions

A. Kormondy (Populations: Burkholder, Gause, Connell, Wheeler)

B. May 1983
17
C. TBD
Ex. 2 Due
22
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Fcn

A. Hutchinson 1959

B. Hooper et al. 2005
24
C. TBD
Mar 1
Community Assembly

A. Kormondy (Community - Clements, Braun-Blanquet and Furrer, Ramensky, Gleason)

B. Leibold et al. 2004
3
C. TBD
8
Niche vs. Neutral Theory

A. Hutchinson 1957

B. Hubbell 2005

Exercise 3. 10 Fundamental Principles

 
10

C. Leibold and McPeek 2006

D. TBD

15
 Spring Break    
17
 Spring Break    
22
Ecosystem Energetics

A. Kormondy (ecosystems - Evans, Transeau, Juday, Lindeman, Clarke, Odum)

B. Polis and Hurd 1996
24
29
Topic A to be selected
31
April 5
Topic B to be selected
7
12
Topic C to be selected
14
19
Fundamental Processes pt 1
21
Easter Break
26
 Fundamental Processes pt 2 Scheiner and Willig 2008  
28
Summary and Discussion
Reflection Paper Due
14-May
Commencement

Topic Proposals

1. Spatial Ecology

2. Soil Biodiversity

3. Restoration Ecology

4. Microbial Biodiversity

5. Metabolic Ecology

6. Keystone Species

 

 

 

Under Construction