BISC 830: Community Ecology and Macroecology
Instructors: Elizabeth Elle (eelle[at]sfu.ca) and Nick Dulvy (nick_dulvy[at]sfu.ca)
Course Content
An introduction to the kinds of interactions that occur in ecological communities (both pairwise, like competition and predation, and the more complicated interaction networks of real communities) and the large-scale patterns that occur over geographic scales (community assembly, species diversity patterns, and macroecology). We are aiming at graduate students early in their careers, with the goal of providing a firm grounding in the concepts of community and macroecology. This course is seen as a complement to BISC 838 (Population Ecology), though with a fairly different format.Course format: lectures by EE and ND, and discussion of related papers the week after lecture. The readings will consist of a historical/foundation paper assigned by instructors and recent papers (within 5 years) chosen by the 2-3 discussion leaders (this means you!) for that week. Papers chosen by the discussant along with 3-5 insightful questions must be circulated to the class by email, by end of day on Tuesdays. For each class with a reading, students will prepare a short (500 word) summary in the style of The Economist (an educated but general audience), highlighting the major concepts in one of the recent papers (not the classic). Finally, students will write a short (10 pages double spaced max) review paper similar to a TREE Review or Opinion, on a topic of their choice (topic approved by instructors).
Information on Assignments is HERE.
We will meet Fridays from 9:30 - 12:30 in AQ4115.
Course email list: bisc-830[at]sfu.ca
Schedule and Classic Readings (Contemporary Readings to be chosen by students)
Readings are listed on the week we will discuss them.September 12 or 13 (TBA): Course intro, format, expectations, writing (EE + ND) ppt
Interaction Types and Interaction Strength (EE) ppt
Discussion of format of Economist articles. Read at least one (preferably both) of the articles posted on the assignments page, and skim, at least, the associated paper from a scientific journal.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
September 20:
Discussion of format of two TREE papers, one Review and one Opinion.
Trebilco,
R., Baum, J. K., Salomon, A. K. and Dulvy, N.K. 2013 Ecosystem ecology:
size-based constraints on the pyramids of life. Trends In Ecology &
Evolution. 28: 423–431 pdf
Lecture: Competition: mechanisms, models, evidence (EE) ppt
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
September 27: write-up due
Classic paper on Competition: Connell, J. H. 1961. The influence of interspecific competition and other factors on the distribution of the barnacle Chthamalus stellatus. Ecology 42: 710-723. PDF
Lecture: Predation: predator-prey dynamics, food webs (EE) ppt
Also: how to do peer review (EE + ND)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
October 4: write-up due
Classic on Predation: Brooks, J. L. and S. I. Dodson.
1965. Predation, body size, and composition of plankton. Science 150:
28-35 PDF
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
October 11: write up due. PLUS come prepared to discuss your TREE topic with ND and EE
Classic on trophic cascades: Estes, J. A., and J. F. Palmisano. 1974. Sea otters - their role in structuring nearshore communities. Science 185:1058-1060. PDF
You will do peer review of your write-ups while ND and EE discuss topics with individuals. If you wish you can revise your writeup and submit after thanksgiving, Tuesday 9 AM
Lecture: Mutualisms and Indirect Effects (EE) ppt
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Classic on mutualism: Davidson, D. W., R. S. Inouye, J. H. Brown. 1984. Granivory in a desert ecosystem: experimental evidence for indirect facilitation of ants by rodents. Ecology 65: 1780-1786. PDF
Lecture: Community Assembly and Disassembly (EE) ppt
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
October 25: No Discussion. BRING OUTLINE OF TREE PAPER FOR DISCUSSION. EE away.
Lecture: Macroecology (ND)
Lecture: Diversity: Measures and Gradients (ND)
Optional background reading on this lecture topic: from Magurran, AE. 2004. Measuring Biological Diversity. Blackwell. PDF
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 November: write-up due (only one modern paper). ND away. No lecture; discussions of papers and your TREE outline.
CLASS STARTS 10:30
Classic on macroecology: Brown, J. H., and B. A. Maurer. 1989. Macroecology: The Division of Food and Space Among Species on Continents. Science 243:1145-1150. PDF
OPTIONAL: Lawton, J. H. 1999. Are there general laws in ecology? Oikos 84: 177-192. PDF
Classic on assembly: Simberloff, D. S. and E. O.
Wilson. 1969. Experimental zoogeography of islands: the colonization of
empty
islands. Ecology 50: 278-296.
OPTIONAL intro to "Ecological Assembly Rules: Perspectives, advances, retreats: by Keddy and Weiher. PDF
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
8 November BRING TOPIC SENTENCES, REFERENCE LIST FOR TREE PAPERS, DISCUSSION IN CLASS
NO readings or discussion of papers
Lecture: Diversity: Neutrality and Beyond (ND)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
November 15: no write-up or readings, continue working on reviews, time for peer feedback if needed
CLASS BEGINS AT 10:30
Lecture: Life histories and metabolic theory of ecology (ND)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
November 22: write-up due
Classic on metabolic theory: Damuth, J. 1981. Population density and body size in mammals. Nature 290:699-700. PDF
Also: Summary/Feedback on course
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Deadlines:
29 November: TREE Papers Due BY NOON; assigned for peer review by 5 PM
5 December: Peer review of papers returned to instructors by 5 PM; AE recommendations within ~ 24 hours
13 December: Revised TREE paper due to both instructors by 5 PM
NOTE: these paper deadlines have to be firm or we will not be able to assign grades!! Plan your writing time accordingly