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Syllabus and Course Policies

BIO 399: Community Ecology of Coastal Maine
Summer 2002
Washington College
Chestertown, MD 21620

General Information

Course description:
The course will focus on the communities (groups of interacting plant and animal species in a given area) of coastal Maine, as represented by the communities within Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, ME. The course will begin with the geological history of Mount Desert Island and a consideration of the oceanographic features of the surrounding waters that, in conjunction with geology and climate, have lead to the wide diversity of communities found in the region. The students will visit and characterize (through species identification) many of the diverse forest, freshwater and marine communities represented on the island. We will also consider how variations in abiotic factors, such as soil type, ground slope, and exposure to wind, moisture and salt can shape communities.

Prerequisite: BIO 112.

Instructor: Prof. Martin A. Connaughton
Phone: 410-778-7727
e-mail: martin.connaughton@washcoll.edu

Class itinerary: The course will run for two weeks, from May 20 – June 1, 2002. Each morning there will be a lecture, followed by a field trip to a community within the park. While in the park the class will identify plant and animal species with the help of field guides and will collect data on abiotic factors at the site. In the evening, the class will meet to collate data from the trip and to discuss the community that was visited.

Textbooks:
Required:

1. Peterson’s Field Guides: Ecology of Eastern Forests, J.C. Kricher & G. Morrison

2. Marine Life of the North Atlantic, A.J. Martinez

A number of other field guides will be purchased by the college and made available for the use of the students in the field and after return to the lab.

Required for class:

• A sturdy set of broken-in hiking boots and the will to use them.

• A sizable pack (back-pack or fanny-pack).

• Knee-high rubber boots for freshwater, marine, and bog habitats.

A word about the weather:
May and early June in northern Maine are like early March in Maryland (or colder). We will likely be hiking in weather ranging from warm to COLD, so proper cool-weather hiking clothing is a must (jeans are not great for hiking).

Goals:

1. To familiarize the students with the concept of a community, illustrate how species in a community interact, and observe how community structure is shaped by local environmental conditions (abiotic factors).

2. To familiarize the students with some of the forest, fresh water and marine communities typical of coastal Maine.

Objectives:

1. To describe geological history of the formation of Mount Desert Island and the surrounding coastal Maine region.

2. To describe the oceanographic characteristics of the waters of coastal Maine.

3. To examine the community structure (species make-up) of forest, fresh water and marine habitats in the park.

4. To examine the interaction between species/communities and abiotic factors/environmental conditions.

5. To observe the adaptations of species that allow them to compete successfully under given environmental conditions.

6. To examine the following forest communities: highland (high wind) forest, northern hardwood forest, boreal forest, boreal bog, a lake-side succession forest, ocean-side forest.

7. To examine the following fresh water communities: a succeeding glacial tarn, a highland stream, a lowland stream, an open water pond.

8. To examine the following marine communities: sandy beach, rocky intertidal (vertical zonation), tide pools, muddy intertidal, eel grass bed.

Grading Information

Your course grade will be determined from 2 exams, abstracts, one full data report, a written journal, and participation. Exams will be based on lecture notes and notes taken while in the field (examples of concepts discussed in lecture). Abstracts, 250 words each, will be prepared for each field experience (except for the one for which you will prepare a full lab report). Each student will be responsible for preparing one full lab report. The student responsible for a given field trip will be help set up and lead data collection, will be responsible for collecting the data and producing the data report, and will be responsible for leading evening review discussion on that field trip. The field journal will include field notes, data, as well as drawings and observations of the sites visited. The journal should include your personal observations of each trip and serve as a diary of the class. The journal will be collected, graded and returned. The participation includes your involvement at every level in the course; collecting data and discussing examples of lecture concepts in the field, running data collection at the site for which you are responsible, and group discussions of data in the evenings.

Grade Breakdown

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