Biology 541:  Ecology of Fishes and Fisheries Biology 

Syllabus 

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General Course Information

Prerequisites

Biol 354, Ecology and the Environment.  You are required to have passed Biol 354 before taking this course. Please see page 92 of the General Catalog (2002-2003) if you have questions about prerequisites.  Although a course in ichthyology is recommended, it is not required to take Biology 541.

Class Meeting Times

Lecture: T, Th 1400-1450, LS 134
Lab: Th 1500-1740, LS 235

Office Hours

T, Th 1100-1200 and by appointment

If the scheduled office hours are not convenient for you, please arrange to confirm an appointment with me at another time. The best way to reach me is by e-mail, but feel free to arrange a time with me after class or phone me at my office.  Please recognize that I have other responsibilities besides Biol 541 and that these responsibilities often take me out of my office.  If you are having problems in class, please see me as soon as possible, do not  wait until mid-semester or immediately before exams to contact me.

Course Materials

Text Book (required): Wooton, R.J. 1998. Ecology of Teleost Fishes, 2nd edition.  Kluwer Academic Publishers

We will use many parts of this text but we will also incorporate other materials, especially in the section of the course on fisheries biology.  Papers for discussion during the lab section will be provided to you by electronic access at the course web site.

Lecture & Discussion Materials

Lecture outlines normally will be posted on the website before class so that you may use topical points and figures as a guide during lecture.  Note that these outlines are not the total lecture but are an aid in note-taking during lecture.  The presentations during lecture will not be posted on the web because I have concluded that note-taking skills are not fostered in this manner and because your attendance is encouraged.

Articles for discussion and other course materials will be posed on the course website as Adobe pdf files.  You can print these articles from the website or ask your teaching assistant for hard copies.

Students will be able to view, read, print, download, and/or save the information posted on the course web site. Given disk space limitations, class material older than 2 weeks may be removed from the web site, and cannot be provided on request. Material made available on the web is not intended to be a synthesis of material required for the exams.

Field Trips

There will be three field trips in this course that are required.  Note that one of these field trips will take place on a Saturday (Oct. 25) to coincide with a low-tide period.  You are responsible for attending all field trips and for getting yourself to each field trip location.

Course Web Site

Materials and other information in this course can be found at the course web site:

http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/classes/biology/bio541/anderson/
 

 Course Goals, Format, and Grading Standards

Course Objectives

The fundamental objectives of “Ecology of Fishes and Fisheries Biology” are to (1) provide students with a conceptual understanding of the diverse ecological relationships between fishes and the environments in which they reside, and (2) gain an appreciation for theoretical and applied problems in fisheries biology.  Lectures will focus on the ecology of individuals, populations, and communities in covering topics such as habitat associations, feeding, reproductive and social behavior, species interactions, population dynamics and regulation, and fisheries biology.

Format

The course will consist of lectures and laboratory periods.  Lectures will cover a variety of topics on the ecology of fishes and fisheries biology.  The lab section will include discussions of relevant papers from the primary literature, activities to illustrate concepts in the ecology of fishes and fisheries biology, and field trips.  Discussions will teach students how to think conceptually, critically review papers, and evaluate research.  Each student is expected to lead the discussion of one paper during the course.  This will amount to providing a brief (5 min.) synopsis of the paper and formulating a few questions and comments to offer to the class for discussion.  It is important that all students thoroughly read the assigned papers so that they can participate in the discussion fully (participation is part of the grade).  There will four field trips: (1)  sampling the intertidal zone, (2) beach seining of estuarine fishes, (2) a talk and tour of the Carlsbad white sea bass hatchery, and a tour of the facilities at the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Research papers will be required from each student. You will be responsible for one final written assignment at the end of the semester, which will be divided into three shorter assignments due at four-week intervals throughout the course of the quarter.  

The research for this paper will be done in groups of two students.  The research paper can be either on a topic concerning the ecology of fishes or fisheries biology, or you may  select a taxonomic family of fishes to give a more in-depth look at their biology and ecology.   You will use the scientific literature to evaluate your topic. 

For those students researching a family of fishes, the reason that I am having you select a family as opposed to individual species is that for many species the ecological information is simply not available, and we must then rely on ecological information about a closely related species as the next best source.  You will need to describe the distribution and range of a species within that family, noting factors that appear to limit the distribution, along with environmental tolerances, such as dissolved oxygen and temperature limitations of your species and adaptations to these factors.  This will be followed by an evaluation of feeding, reproductive, and social biology/ecology.  Finally, you will address population dynamics and the role the fish plays in community ecology and the trophic web.  You will hand in a final paper assembled from the three assignments. The total length of these papers will be at least 10 but not more than 15 pages of double-spaced text (does not include title page, references, or tables and figures).  Students will be expected to discuss their selection of a family of fish with the instructor and to obtain approval of the project.  Students will also present their papers orally (10 min) near the end of the semester.  

NOTE: Although you are working in teams on your research papers, EACH student must take the information gathered and write their own individual paper -- writing the paper IS NOT a group assignment!

Evaluation / Grading

Students will be graded based on performance from several areas, including lecture exams, leading and participating in discussion, a written research paper, oral presentation, and written exercises in summarizing papers or from field trips.  Exams may consist of a mixture of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions.  The three exams will be worth 50% of your final grade.  Eight quizzes will be given, and I will drop your two lowest scores from your quizzes, for a total of 60 possible points (10% of final grade).  Your performance in the lab section of the course will account for about 40% of your final grade.  The final score and grade will be based on your total accumulated points in class and lab (660 pts. maximum).  Grading for participation in discussion will consist of the frequency with which a student offers comments and demonstration of critical thinking about discussion papers.  Points for participation (scaled to 5% of your grade) will be judged subjectively by the instructor as (1) an important point or question demonstrating critical thinking (3 pts.), (2) adequate question or demonstration or basic concepts (2 pts.), and (3) showing knowledge of fundamentals of study or minor points (1 pt.).  

Exams will be 50-55 min. long, and take place in the lecture room (LS 134). Each exam will cover material presented since the previous exam, recognizing that your knowledge will build over the semester (100 pts each midterm exam). The final exam will cover material since the last midterm exam (100 pts) and also some material over the entire course (35 pts.)  It is your responsibility to be on time for tests and to contact the professor if there is a problem. 

Eight in-class quizzes typically will include 3-5 questions, take no longer than 5 minutes, and take place at any time during the class period.  No make-ups will be given for quizzes, but the two lowest quiz scores will be dropped, or one quiz score and a bonus assignment.  Thus, it will be to your advantage to do well on all of them to try to earn the maximum number of points.  Because these quizzes will involve what is going on with course material (context specific), it will be important for you to be in class each day.

Final grades will be based on percentage of points achieved from the total points offered in the course, allocated based on the percentages of the categories above:  

93 +% = A 
90-93% = A-
87-90% = B+
83-87% = B
80-83% = B-
77-80% = C+
73-77% = C
70-73% = C-
67-70% = D+
63-67% = D
60-63% = D-
 < 60% = F

I may adjust scores and percentages based on the class average and our judgment regarding class performance (i.e., I may curve the grade distribution if warranted, but not necessarily).  To ensure that you receive a particular grade, the above percentile ranges apply.  Please remember that long-standing University policy considers a grade of A to represent exemplary performance, indicative of "outstanding achievement; available only for the highest accomplishment," while a grade of B indicates a "praiseworthy performance; definitely above average." 

Policies for Missing Exams, Quizzes, and Labs

You are required to let the instructor know immediately no later than one day after the regular exam or assignment with a valid excuse to be accorded the privilege of taking a make-up if you miss any graded activity (except for in-class quizzes).  You must have a valid excuse and can provide written evidence from a doctor, student services, or other official that your absence was the result of a serious, unavoidable problem -- no exceptions. Please be certain that the professor has received your communication.  Missing an exam because your employer wants you to work is not adequate justification.

Other Information

Cheating has rarely been a problem in my experience, and warning you about the consequences may seem unnecessary. Nevertheless, to avoid any possibility of you not recognizing what the consequences are, this is our policy: If you are caught cheating on an exam or on an assignment, you will receive a zero on the exam or assignment at the very least.  You can also be given a grade of "F" and expelled from the course. In addition, the event will be reported to campus judicial authorities and may lead to additional actions from the University. Incidents of plagiarism are particularly serious, and I have the right to expel you from the course or determine any suitable punishment as I see fit.  Remember, your responses must be your own words. I strongly recommend that you review the site below to obtain a clear explanation of plagiarism, cheating, and similar inappropriate conduct.  If you are unsure of what constitutes plagiarism, see your instructor.

http://science.widener.edu/svb/essay/plagiar.html

Dropping

The last day to drop is September 22nd. After that date you must present documentation of a problem or issue (not a low grade) to the Undergraduate Advising Office of the Biology Department. Because this course is heavily impacted and several students would like to add this course, dropping the course will be difficult without the proper documentation and circumstances. 

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