SEE-U 2000: Curriculum

The curriculum for the SEE-U program is divided into 4 major sections: Biomes, Biotic Processes, Abiotic Processes and Contemporary Issues. Within each section topics are broken down into modules. There are 16 modules in the program, each will take at least a day to cover and four will take two days. During the five weeks of the SEE-U program students will work through approximately 20 experiments and explorations. In addition, each student will design and carry out an independent research project. Students will also participate in online discussion on the ethics of conservation, and hear and participate in lectures from scientists from around the world. Students will become adept at manipulating archived, online data and become involved in cutting edge research. Biomes Biotic Processes Abiotic Processes Contemporary Issues # Areas of Emphasis Upon completion of the SEE-U program, students will be able to answer the following questions: How do biomes differ from each other and what primarily structures each major biome? How has evolution produced the natural history of currently existing species and why do these traits influence all other levels of the ecological hierarchy? What are the natural constraints that control population size and what happens when they are disrupted? What structures biological communities? How do community members interact? How can we use community diversity to answer other ecological questions? How does each level of an ecological hierarchy (individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, and planet) influence one another? How do the main abiotic environmental factors create biomes and how are they altered by both natural and human activities? How do biomes interact? How have humans affected the environment at each of several geographic scales and how can these effects be mitigated? # Course Objectives Upon completion of the SEE-U program, students will have acquired understanding of the following key concepts: Keen understanding of the scientific method and its theoretical underpinnings. Grasp of how all levels of the ecological hierarchy interact, and why it is essential that these interactions not be disrupted. Insight into how biomes interact on a global scale and how humans both fit into and control many of them. Appreciation of how natural selection and evolution influence and interact with ecology. Knowledge of how population growth occurs, why and when exponential growth occurs in nature, and how intraspecific interactions determine higher- level ecological processes. Understanding of the key factors that determine biological community structure, how important members of a community interact, the roles that each play, and why it is valuable to have a community with a great diversity of species. Comprehension of how and why chemicals cycle on both a local and regional scale and how these cycles contribute to defining ecosystems. Insight into how natural and anthropogenic environmental disturbances are both similar and different, in the geological past as well as in the present. Familiarity with human efforts to reduce current environmental impacts and an understanding of the origin of these impacts. An understanding of the role of species diversity in the functioning of an ecosystem and the importance of conserving that diversity. # Key Skills Upon completion of the SEE-U program students will have acquired these important skills and abilities: Keen understanding of the scientific method and how to use it to design experiments. Dexterity with using Global Positioning System (GPS) Units and how to post-process data as well as familiarity with other techniques of georeferencing data. In-depth understanding of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), including how to format, input, retrieve, and visually display data in a GIS format. Ability to integrate data from many disparate sources and place it in the correct theoretical context. Competency at independently garnering data from nature as well as from sources available on the world wide web. Capacity to differentiate between information that is relevant to a question and data that are interesting but irrelevant. Facility with simple statistical methods and knowledge of when each test should be used. Ability to conduct simple statistical methods and knowledge of when each test should be used. Familiarity with many different ecological field and laboratory techniques. Dexterity at applying similar techniques to a variety of questions. Mastery at searching the web for data and text relevant to ecology. Ability to present cogent, engaging oral and written scientific research reports to other scientists. Skill at manipulation a variety of computer models and a thorough understanding of their assumptions, flaws, benefits, and limitations.
BIOMES
Introduction to Global Biomes The Local Biome (2 days)
BIOTIC PROCESSES
Natural Selection and Evolution: The Ecology of Individuals Growth and Competition: Population and Metapopulation Dynamics (2 days) Community Ecology: An Introduction to the Players and How to Measure Communities Producers: The Basis of Ecosystems Consumers: Herbivory, Predation, and Parasitism Decomposers: The End and The Beginning
ABIOTIC PROCESSES
Light and Temperature Geology and Soils Chemical and Hydrological Cycles Disturbances: Geological and Contemporary (2 days)
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
Habitat Fragmentation and Deforestation Exotic Species Introduction Pollution, Global Warming, and Ozone Hole Conservation Biology: Mediation, Restoration, Preservation (2 days)