BIOLOGY 314: Biology of West Indian Coral Reef Organisms

Winter Term 2008-2009

 

Course Description: A three-credit course.  This course covers the organisms inhabiting the coral reefs of the West Indies and will be taught on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas.  Field work is intensive, and skin diving and optional SCUBA techniques will be employed.  Limited collections will be made and a paper on a topic of special interest will be written.  An additional fee will be charged to cover expenses.

 

Time: This three-credit course will meet from 27 December 2008 until 6 January 2009.  The course will be held at the Bahamian Field Station from 28 December 2008 to 6 January 2009.

 

Instructors: This course will be team-taught by Dr. Kari Benson and Dr. James Anderson. 

On campus, Dr. Benson is available in Hobbs Room 218, phone 544-8364, email: benson@lynchburg.edu

 

Focus: Our focus is to learn about coral reef organisms primarily by examining these organisms in their natural habitats.  This field experience will be augmented by class discussion and lectures.

 

Goals and Objectives:  Students will identify the major taxonomic groupings of West Indian coral reef organisms as demonstrated by lists of the observed taxa and field quizzes.  Students will describe the ecology of a subset of these organisms and explain the oceanic processes influencing these ecosystems on a written exam.  Students will demonstrate their understanding of a particular system and the use of the scientific method in an oral presentation of a field study and a scientific paper.  This course supports goals 2.1 (a-c), 3.1 (a,c,e, and g), and 4.1 b of the Biology program.

 

Pre-requisites: BIOL 111, ENVS 101, or permission of the instructor.

 

Accommodation: The College will make reasonable accommodation for persons with documented disabilities.  Students should notify the Learning Resources Coordinator located in the Academic Advising Office and their instructors of any special needs.  Instructor must be notified at the beginning of the course.

 

Honor Code: Students are expected to adhere to the Lynchburg College honor code.  If you have any questions about Lynchburg College rules, please examine the catalog, the Hornet, or ask your instructors.  Failure to adhere to these rules can result in failure in the course.

 

Conduct: In addition to academic requirements for behavior, students of the Gerace Research Center are expected to behave appropriately.  Behavior that jeopardizes the health or well-being of the station or other students, or behavior that jeopardizes the relationship between the station and the community can result in automatic failure in the course and removal from the island.  Should this occur, the student will be responsible for funding and planning their flights home.

 

Physical Requirements: Due to the field nature of this course, it is expected that all enrolled students are able to swim (buoyancy vests are available for any individuals that wish to wear them).  Students are also expected to be well enough to convey their snorkeling gear from one site to another.  The faculty will provide instruction on snorkeling for those that are new to the sport on site.

 

Evaluation:  Students will be evaluated in a number of ways to maximize the learning opportunities and to enable students to succeed in a variety of academic settings.

 

Fish Quiz: (10%) Students will take a written exam in which they must identify the family and common name of fishes from photographs.

Creature Collection: (10%) Students will separately maintain a list of invertebrate organisms that they observe and subsequently identify.  This collection must include representatives from 12 of the 22 taxa of the indicated taxonomic groups on the identification list (to be provided on site).  Further, the list must include at least 75 different species.  Each creature description must include the common name, identifying features, habitat, date, and location of sighting.  Well-done collections or those including a large number of organisms may be eligible for extra credit.

Participation (10%): Students in this course have a wide range of academic backgrounds.  Because of this diversity, course participation to the best of everyone's ability is necessary to maximize the educational experience for all participants.  Part of the participation grade will reflect student preparation for class activities, including any outside readings, reference materials, field identification, etc.

Participation will include both class discussions and sharing field experiences.  I also expect students to work in research teams that have a mixture of participants with various academic backgrounds.

Field Journal (10%):  Each student will be required to submit a summary of their field experiences, due on arrival at Lynchburg following the trip.

Final Exam (20%):  Students will all take a written exam on the afternoon of 5 January 2009.  This exam will focus on the materials that we have discussed as a group.

Presentations (20%):  Students will present on several different topics.

(5%) Student groups will present their research projects (in progress) while at San Salvador.  The performance on this presentation will also incorporate each student's constructive criticism and attentiveness to other's presentations.  These presentations are intended to improve the design of experiments and force groups to think critically about their research projects.

(10%) The second formal presentation will be a group effort presenting the projects which students will complete during their last several days at the island.  This second presentation will be held at Lynchburg College on 30 January 2009.  These presentations may employ slides, computers, overheads, or chalkboards.   Presentations will be graded on organization, presentation style, clarity, thoroughness, and the quality of the information presented.

(5%) Students will also be asked to critique one another fairly and professionally during the last presentations.   These critiques will be evaluated to determine if students are thorough and thoughtful during their critiques of their peers.

Papers (20%):  Students will write a scientific paper on their group projects.  Although the projects are completed in groups, each student will independently prepare their own paper.  Instructions for creating scientific papers are available online: http://benson-k.web.lynchburg.edu/writing/writing.htm l

Papers are due at the time of the second formal presentations.  Students are expected to seek appropriate literature sources for their papers.  Students must include at least five references that are not from the web.

 

 

Grading Structure:

 

Number Grade

Letter Grade

97-100

A+

93-96

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-

<60

F