PLB 494B - ECOLOGICAL MODELING
Fall 2002 Schedule
Instructor Class Location Class Time Office Hours Dr. Jianguo Wu LSE 244 3:15 - 5:15 pm, T & Th Mon, 2-5:30 pm, or Ph:(480)965-1063 Office: LSE 709 by appointment Fax: (480) 965-6899 www.public.asu.edu/~jingle
PREREQUISITES:COURSE LEVEL AND CREDITS:
- BIO 320 and Calculus, or instructor's approval
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
- Upper-level undergraduate and graduate students
- Four (4) credits
COURSE HIGHLIGHTS:
- Lecture/lab course focusing on principles and methods of systems modeling and computer simulation in ecology and environmental science
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
- Systems thinking, fundamentals in biological and ecological modeling, computer simulation, STELLA, models of ecophysiological, behavioral, population, ecosystem, and landscape processes, hierarchical modeling, scaling
TEACHING/LEARNING METHODS:
- To introduce students to the basic concepts, principles, and methods of simulation modeling in ecology and environmental science
- To teach students a suite of techniques in systems thinking and computer simulation that can be used for studying processes and dynamics at physiological, behavioral, population, ecosystem, and landscape levels
- To provide an understanding of the usefulness and pitfalls of models as they are used to address ecological and environmental problems
REQUIRED AND SUGGESTED READINGS:
- The format of this course is a combination of lectures and hands-on practices. Lectures cover the fundamentals of simulation modeling, whereas lab sessions provide students a hands-on opportunity to learn the basic procedures and skills in systems modeling and computer simulation. Lectures are based on the textbook and selected journal articles and book chapters.
- Homework assignments: viewed as an essential part of the course, which include modeling exercises and critiques on modeling papers.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
- Hannon, B., and M. Ruth. 1997. Modeling Dynamic Biological Systems. Springer, New York.
- Selected papers on ecological modeling which will be listed on the class website.
GRADING:
- The highest standard of integrity and ethical conduct is a requirement of this course. Deviations, therefore, on any graded activity will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty will result in a grade of "E".
Grading is based on the following system:
% of Total Points Total Pts (%) Grade Mid-Term Exam 25 90 - 100 A Final Exam 45 80 - 89 B Homeworks (2) 20 70 - 79 C Student Presentation (1) 10 60 - 69 D <= 59 E (Fail)