Instructor: John Pickering Institute of Ecology University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602-2602

Room: 538 Biological Sciences Building Email: pick@discoverlife.org Phone: 706-542-1115

The course syllabus is a general plan for the course. Because of weather and other factors, the instructor may need to announce deviations to the class during the course.

Course objectives:
The course will integrate field sampling, processing specimens in the laboratory, and training in photography, mapping, identification, library, and computer methods. Students will learn how to develop and implement standard research protocols to study and monitor biodiversity over large geographic areas using community-based research methods. Each student will be expected to develop a web-based identificaton guide and research protocol to study a target group of organisms. With the help of their classmates and potential community volunteers, they will test their guide and protocol and produce on-line distribution maps for their species.

Background:
Understanding and managing the impact of invasive species, fire, climate change, and other large-scale environmental factors on biological systems is a mammoth task, well beyond the scope of individual investigators. Currently we have a very poor understanding of how shifting weather patterns and other large-scale environmental changes might affect the diversity and complexity of species interactions within and between ecological communities. Of the millions of species on Earth, how can we predict which will become more abundant over the next century, and which less? Which species will expand their geographic ranges, and which will contract?

To answer these and other questions, the National Park Service is starting a large-scale, community-based research project (see http://www.discoverlife.org/pa/or/polistes/pr/2007nps). This project will use state-of-the-art technology to enable scientists, students, and volunteers to collect high-quality data at a continental scale. ECOL 4110/6110 will teach students how to develop ecological research protocols that use this technology. It will focus on studying the distribution and natural history of insects and plants in the piedmont. Graduate students, or undergraduates with expertise in other taxa, are welcome to work with other groups, so long as they can study them within the logistic constraints of the course.

Topical Outline:
As a student in ECOL 4110/6110, you will develop and test a research protocol that will enable community-based research teams to collect high-quality data on the natural history, geographic distribution, abundance, and/or ecological interactions of your target group of organisms. After visiting several field sites in the piedmont, learning about some of our local habitats and species, and gaining experience sampling and mapping ants, caterpillars, goldenrods, ferns, and vines, you will select (or be assigned) a study group of about 20-40 species.

Project 1: After collecting, photographing, and learning how to identify your species, you will be taught how to build a web-based, illustrated, interactive identification guide. You will test your guide on your classmates and volunteers. Once refined, your guide should enable them to identify your species accurately from each other.

Project 2: You will develop a research protocol that, in conjunction with your identification guide, will enable your classmates, after you train them, to collect high-quality, standardized data on your group. You will be taught how to put this protocol on the web. Your protocol should include (1) background information on your group, (2) a scientific justification of why community-based research teams should study your group, (3) a set of hypotheses that could be tested by studying your group by itself and in comparison with other groups, (4) detailed methods that enable your classmates (and potential community-based research teams) to follow your research protocol, (5) procedures to maintain high data integrity by checking and correcting errors, and (6) references to the primary scientific literature and other sources.

Project 3: You will be taught how to develop interactive maps to your species. You will be expected to map the distribution of your group at 10 sites in the piedmont. In this endeavor, you are encouraged to cooperate with your classmates and share information across projects.

Course Schedule:
Our goal is to put as much time in the field as weather and light permit in the first half of the semester. In the second half, we will focus on processing samples and learning how to get your research projects onto the web. Once you start your independent research projects, you may work outside of scheduled class hours. You will be credited for such lab/field hours and be excused from lab towards the end of the semester. You should attend all lectures (15 hours) and spend a total of 90 hours in the field/lab.

On Wednesdays, we will meet in the Entomology Conference Room, 412a Biological Sciences Building, at 2:30PM. We will have a 30 minute organizational meeting. This will give you an overview of the week's objectives and cover logistics. We will then either go to the field or lab (538 Biological Sciences Building). After field/lab work on Wednesdays, we will reassemble in Room 412a to go over what we learned and plan Friday's activities. When lectures are scheduled, they will be in Room 412a.

On Fridays, we will meet either in Room 538 or on the Biological Sciences Building's northeast loading dock, depending on the schedule and the weather. On the first day of class we will meet in Room 412a.

Grading policy and attendance:
Grades for the course will be calculated based on 200 points as follows:

• Attendance: 105 points -- 1 point for each hour of required attendance: 15 for lectures; 90 for lab and field work
  
• Project 1: 30 points -- Identification guide
  
• Project 2: 30 points -- Research protocol
  
• Project 3: 25 points -- Distribution maps
  
• Presentation: 10 points
  

Required Material:
Besides books and library material, the course will provide all required material. However, because the course has limited access to microscopes, digital camers, and other equipment, we will encourage students to use their own laptops, digital cameras, and other resources if they can.

Safety:
Field work involves risks that are not present in the classroom. Please make safety your utmost concern. Use common sense and do not take risks. Try to work with another individual when you are outside. Let others know where you are going, when you expect to return, and what they should do if you are late. If you spot a potential danger, such as poison ivy, a wasp nest, a poisonous snake, barbed-wire, or thorny-branch, make your classmates aware of it. Please tell the instructor if you have allergies, particualrly to bee stings, and bring your medicines. Avoid tickborne diseases, such as Lyme disease, by always checking yourselves for ticks after returning from the field. Drive safely; don't speed. Wear bright colors during hunting season. Even if you are a good swimmer, do not attempt to cross flooded streams. Don't accept candy from strangers... The list goes on. Use your head.

Academic honesty:
All academic work must meet the standards contained in "A Culture of Honesty." Students are responsible for informing themselves about those standards before performing any academic work. The link to more detailed information about academic honesty can be found at: http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/acadhon.htm. This class is largely based on the honor system, including all web-based research and databasing completed by each student. You alone are responsible for learning all of the material and completing the assignments by the given due date.