http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/landscape_ecology
RNGE 527, 2-3 cr.

Tues. and Thurs. 2:00-3:15 PM in CNR 203
Spring 2008

Instructors:
Steve Bunting, Dept. of Rangeland Ecology and Management, CNR 205C, 885-7103, sbunting@uidaho.edu

Penny Morgan, Dept. of Forest Resources, CNR 203E,
885-7507, pmorgan@uidaho.edu

Course description:
Through reading and discussion we will explore the ecological relationships of biotic communities in heterogeneous environments, the implications of pattern over time and space, and the importance of the landscape scale to ecosystem diversity and function in forests and rangelands.  We will also address management and conservation issues at the landscape scale.

For 2 credits, the class will meet on Thursdays and some Tuesdays (see schedule). We will discuss landscape ecology concepts and applications in forests and rangeland ecosystems. Extensive reading in the literature and text is required. Students must actively participate in discussions. Each student will organize and lead discussion on an assigned topic. As well, there is ½-day required field trip focused on landscape ecology of the Palouse prairie. Each student will write critiques of two assigned articles (choose from the available papers and due dates). 

For 3 credits, the class will meet both Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the semester (see schedule). In addition to the above course content and requirements, we will focus on landscape analysis, including measures of landscape pattern and their interpretation. Each student will work on a team to analyze landscapes in the Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area, an area of diverse issues, ownership, vegetation, and topography. Each team will complete four related parts of an assignment to characterize landscapes and describe ecological implications of current patterns and changes through time. For the parts III & IV of the assignment, each team will design the ecological question and analysis, and then present them to the class and summarize their findings in a paper. There is an additional one all-day Saturday class field trip required. 

Learning outcomes:
At the end of the course, students taking the class for 2 credits will be able to:

1. Define and properly use the concepts of scale, spatial pattern, hierarchy, landscape, landscape diversity, and fragmentation, and understand and apply underlying theories.

2. Discuss the relationships of landscape ecology to plant ecology, animal ecology, population ecology, aquatic ecology, landscape architecture and geography,

3. Address current issues such as linkages and corridors, fragmentation, disturbance susceptibility, and ecosystem management from a landscape perspective, and be able to identify the utility of addressing these issues at the landscape scale, and

4. Demonstrate familiarity with and ability to synthesize and critique current literature in landscape ecology and related fields. 

Students taking the course for 3 credits will also be able to 

5. Analyze and interpret landscape pattern relevant to conservation and management issues, and communicate both orally and in writing the ecological and management implications of landscape pattern and change for a particular landscape.

Readings:
We will read selected articles from journals, books, and other published literature. Most of these will be available through electronic subscriptions through the UI library. The required text, Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice by M.G. Turner, R.H. Gardner, and R.V. O’Neill  (2001, Springer-Verlag) is available at the UI Bookstore.

Prerequisites:
We expect you to understand principles of plant and animal ecology, including ecological interactions at the individual, species, population, community and ecosystem levels. If you have had an undergraduate ecology course (junior or senior-level) or one at the graduate level, that is sufficient. If not, we advise you to review a basic ecology text, such as Terrestrial Plant Ecology by Barbour, Burk, Pitts, Gilliam and Schwarz, 1999, 3^rd Edition published by Benjamin Cummings, Menlo Park, CA. 

Those taking the course for 3 credits must be fairly familiar with ARCGIS9. If you are not, contact Eva Strand (evas@uidaho.edu) soon so that you can complete the tutorials (Introduction to ARCGIS and Spatial Analyst) before Jan. 22. You must be comfortable with organizing and analyzing ecological data and maps with ARCGIS9 to complete the landscape analyses.

The grades for each student will be assigned based on the points they earn out of the total available. To earn an "A" for the course, students must earn 90-99% of the total points, 80-89% for a "B", 70-79% for a "C", etc. The points available are as follows:

Participating in discussions in class and on the field trip:

We expect you to actively participate by asking questions, making comments and otherwise contributing to the discussion. This will be a subjective grade based upon the instructors' perception of both the quality and quantity of participation throughout the semester. Attendance is important as it affects how often you can participate.

Effectively leading 1 class discussion:

Each student prepare and lead a discussion. The discussion MUST NOT be a lecture. You will be graded upon your preparation for the discussion (e.g. use of questions to focus reading and relevance of the readings, pre-planning discussion with instructor) (25%), and organization and facilitation of the discussion, including amount and quality of discussion generated and the degree to which introduction, discussion and conclusions are focused on the  main points you want other students to learn (75%). For each discussion topic, we have developed a list of the main points to be addressed (follow the link from each topic on the schedule). You must meet with one of the course instructors at least 2 weeks prior to the class session to discuss the approach and content of the discussion session you will be leading, and you are welcome to meet with them more than once. Both the discussion questions and the readings you select for your discussion session are due to the course instructors at least 10 DAYS prior to your scheduled discussion session. 

Analyzing and interpreting a landscape (This assignment has four parts; see schedule for due dates, and assignment for more details). Written reports must be concise and well-written. Summarize your approach and interpret your findings. Present your quantitative analysis results in figures and tables, and include a list of literature cited.

Part I. Interpreting Landscape Metrics: Characterize the landscape composition and pattern for three watersheds and describe the ecological significance of the differences among them.

Part II. Implications of Landscape Change: Analyze and discuss the ecological implications of landscape change during the Euro-American period. 

Part III. Landscape Analysis and Interpretation:
Work with your team to choose an ecological question of interest to you, to design analysis to address that question and to interpret the results.

Part IV. Presentation and reporting of Part III. Give an oral presentation to the entire class about the landscape analysis your team conducted, and also write a report. Both the presentation and the report must be clear, concise and well-organized. Use tables, graphics and quantitative data analysis to support your interpretation of ecological and management significance. Discuss the limitations of your analysis.

Completing critiques of research papers

We will assign research papers to critique based upon questions provided. You must identify strengths and limitations of the research methods and the interpretations provided by the authors, and compare and contrast the papers to others. For written assignments, part of the grade will be based upon the organization, clarity, grammar, and spelling of your typed (double-spaced) 1000-2000 word essay (excluding figures, tables, and literature cited); the remainder of the grade will be based upon content.

Comments and questions

For each of 5 discussion sessions (not including the one you are leading), you must submit at least 3 comments or questions that you plan to ask during the discussion. These must be typewritten on a single page and submitted at the beginning of the discussion. We are looking for thoughtful, constructive comments or questions that will contribute to the class discussion. They should be based upon the readings and your experience.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism:

In this class,  summarize, paraphrase, quote and cite sources to avoid plagiarism in your writing. Consistent with the plagiarism policy of the Department of Forest Resources, plagiarism will not be tolerated. In this and other ways you must avoid academic dishonesty and must follow the UI student code of conduct.

Disability Support Services

Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify the instructor during the first week of class of any accommodation(s) needed for the course. Late notification may mean that requested accommodations might not be available. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Support Services, Idaho Commons Building, Rm. 333, Phone: (208) 885-6307, E-mail: dss@uidaho.edu. For more information go to: http://www.access.uidaho.edu

Student evaluations:

You will have two opportunities to provide feedback on this course. Mid-way through the semester, we will ask you to answer two brief questions: What is going well in this course? What needs to be improved? As well, please fill out the course evaluation at the end of the semester. These are available online. For more information, visit http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/studentevals/. Every year, we have changed the course based on student input. We highly value your ideas and suggestions.