Field Biology: 303-27500

This course aims to introduce students to the terrestrial ecosystems in the Ithaca area, and the basic sampling designs and census methods used in wildlife and habitat research. This is a small, experientially-based course, and I hope it will be a collaborative experience. Your contributions are important and valuable. Each lab is structured to provide experience with particular species and techniques, but the context will be shaped by our immediate interactions with the natural environment and each other.

Please note that the Tuesday standard “lecture” and “lab” times are merged for a continuous lab. Bring a bag lunch; we will eat in the field. I also recommend always bringing water.

The labs for this course involve easy to moderate hiking and moving across uneven natural terrain. Please wear appropriate clothing, particularly shoes! Lyme disease is now in Ithaca, so I strongly recommend wearing pants in the field no matter how warm it is (and do a tick-check when you get home). Labs are held outside regardless of weather; watch the forecast and plan accordingly. Students with any physical condition that may affect their participation in lab should discuss this with me at the start of the term and we will work out an accommodation. If you have any known medical condition that may arise in the field (for example, bee allergies), please let me know at the start of term. Expect the unexpected!

Attendance is extremely important. Students are expected to participate in all classes with the exception of health emergencies, religious holidays, court appearances, or college-authorized extracurricular events. If one of these cases arises, it is the student’s responsibility to contact me before the class. Lab practicals cannot be made up unless they have been missed for one of these legitimate reasons and I know about it beforehand. Attendance at the Arnot Weekend trip is mandatory. Because Tuesday labs are often off-campus, you must be prompt or we may leave without you. Each unexcused absence from a lab will reduce your total course grade by 5%.

Cell phones are to be turned off during lecture periods. However, they can be useful during labs for keeping in touch with other members of the class in the field. During labs, they are to be used only for class-related purposes.

Assignments will be marked down 5% from the total points possible for every day they are late (weekend days included). The final project will not be accepted late.

Scientific fraud: Integrity in scientific research is essential. Scientific fraud (fabrication or falsifying data) is a serious ethical misconduct. In the professional world, it ends one’s career. It is also a breach of the Academic Honesty Policy, and will absolutely not be tolerated.

Plagiarism: As is stated in the Student Handbook “Academic honesty is a cornerstone of the mission of the College. Unless it is otherwise stipulated, students may submit for evaluation only that work that is their own and that is submitted originally for a specific course.” Please make yourself familiar with plagiarism as it is defined in the Student Handbook. Note that using someone else’s ideas in your writing, either copied or paraphrased without appropriate citation, is plagiarism.

Grading:

Field Notebook Midterm 20

Field Notebook Final 20

Lab Practical 1 60

Lab Practical 2 60

Lab Assignments

Diversity 20

Succession 20

Quadrats 20

Cameras 20

Population 30

Landscapes 20

Project

Proposal Idea 5

Proposal 20

Intro/Method draft 20

Final 80

Presentation 20

Participation 15

Total 450

Grading scale:

Careful observation and the note-keeping habit are important skills. Every time you go into the field, you should make an entry in the notebook. I strongly suggest that these notes include notes on what species you have seen, under what circumstances, and how you identify them. These are your class notes; they are supposed to be useful!

Four times over the course of the term (twice before midterm, twice after), you are expected to go out at dawn or dusk on your own time for at least one hour of observation in a natural setting. You may choose to sit in one place, or go for a walk. Record your observations in your notebook. The goal is to hone your skill in observation and recording, as well as increase your awareness of wildlife during their more active hours.

All fieldbook entries should begin with Date and Time (24 hr), Location, and Weather (temperature, wind, sun). Complete sentences are not necessary (these are field notes!) but they should be legible (to me as well as to you) and interpretable.

You will complete a small independent research project as the final for this course. The project must be field-oriented research. You will develop a research question, design and implement an appropriate sampling design, and interpret the results. I do not expect you to be able to gather sample sizes large enough to have statistical power, but you should have data that is of the right kind to address the question at hand. You will write up your results in the format of a scientific paper, including an introduction with background information drawn from the primary literature. You will present your findings to your classmates at the end of the term (the format, whether oral presentation or poster, and open to the campus community or not, will be determined by the class.)

Leann Kanda l kanda@ithaca.edu	(CNS 159)
(office) 274-3986	(cell) 379-1165 (AIM) dockanda
Office Hours:	Wednesday 1 – 3, Thursday 12 – 2, or by appointment. I am also often in at other times. I keep an open-door policy, feel free to stop in. Email is also generally a good way to reach me.
Times:	Tuesday lab 10:50 – 3:50, CNS 202
	Thursday lecture 10:50 - 12:05, CNS 119

Percentage	Grade
93-100%	A
90-92%	A-
87-89%	B+
83-86%	B
80-82%	B-
77-79%	C+
73-76%	C
70-72%	C-
67-69%	D+
63-66%	D
60-62%	D-
59 or below	F