| Topics to be Covered in Lecture | Readings to Prepare for Class |
| Overview and importance of insect ecology | Speight, Chapter 1 |
| Insects and climate | Speight, Chapter 2, Chap. 7 (x-y), Hughes, L. 2000. |
| Insect herbivores * Introduction to herbivory * Plant defenses and insect counteradaptation |
Speight, Chapter 3, Agrawal, A. A. 2000. |
| Resource niche and competition | Speight, Chapter 4 |
| Natural enemies and insect population dynamics * Predator-prey and host-parasite interactions * Insect demography * Insect defenses against enemies |
Speight, Chapter 5 |
| Evolutionary ecology * Mutualisms * Pollination * Multitrophic interactions * Life history strategies |
Speight, Chapter 6 |
| Insects in ecosystems * Carbon cycle and energy flow in ecosystems * Nutrient cycling and decomposition * Soil organisms and decomposition * Sampling insect populations |
Speight, Chapter 8 |
| Biodiversity * Measuring community structure * Factors affecting community structure |
Speight, Chapter 9 |
| Insect conservation | Speight, Chapter 10, J. Insect Conservation. 1999. |
| Insects and diseases | Speight, Chapter 11 |
Laboratory Schedule
| L1 | Aug. 26 | Reading and writing scientific literature |
| L2 | Sep. 02 | Influence of temperature on insect development and measuring microclimate variables important in insect ecology |
| L3 | Sep. 09 | Measuring plant herbivory |
| L4 | Sep. 16 | Discussion of L2 and L3 (microclimate presentation) |
| L5 | Sep. 23 | Presentation and discussion of plant-herbivore interaction theories |
| L6 | Sep. 30 | Midterm I |
| L7 | Oct. 07 | Marking techniques |
| L8 | Oct. 14 | Foraging behavior and functional responses |
| L9 | Oct. 19/21 | Sampling methods |
| L10 | Oct. 29 | Discussion of L7 and L8 (hand in assignment for L7). *Half of class will do Life tables/population dynamics (in computer lab) |
| L11 | Nov. 05 | Midterm II |
| L12 | Nov. 12 | Veteran's Day - no lab |
| L13 | Nov. 19 | Litter/soil arthropod communities *Half of class will do Life tables/population dynamics (in computer lab) |
| L14 | Nov. 25 | Student presentations - discuss L9 (hand in assignment) |
| L15 | Dec. 02 | Student presentations continued - discuss Life tables and L13 assignments (hand in assignments) |
| L16 | Dec. 09 | Midterm III |
Required readings to supplement laboratories:
| L1 | Losey, J.E., L.S. Rayor, and M.E. Carter. 1999. Transgenic pollen harms monarch larvae. Nature 399: 214. PDF Tschenn, J., J.E. Losey, L. Hansen Jesse, J.J. Obrycki, and R. Hufbauer. 2001. Effects of corn plants and corn pollen on Monarch butterfly (Lepidoptera: Danaidae) oviposition behavior. Environ. Entomol. 30: 495-500. PDF |
| L2 | Dent, D.R. 1997. Quantifying insect populations: estimates and parameters, pp. 57-109. In Dent, D.R. and M.P. Walton [eds.], Methods in Ecological and Agricultural Entomology. CAB International, New York. (section 4.4 only for this laboratory exercise). PDF Winston, P.W., and D.H. Bates. 1960. Saturated solutions for the control of humidity in biological research. Ecology 41: 232-237. PDF |
| L3 | McAuslane, H.J., and H.T. Alborn. 1998. Systemic induction of allelochemicals in glanded and glandless isogenic cotton by Spodoptera exigua feeding. J. Chem. Ecol. 24: 399-416. PDF O'Neal, M., Landis, D.A., and R. Isaacs. 2002. An inexpensive, accurate method for measuring leaf area and defoliation through digital image analysis. J. Econ. Entomol. 95: 1190-1194. PDF |
| L4 | None - discussion |
| L5 | Stamp, N.E. 2003. Out of the quagmire of plant defense hypotheses. Quart. Rev. Biol. 78: 23-55. PDF |
| L6 | None - midterm I |
| L7 | Hagler, J.R., and C.G. Jackson. 2001. Methods for marking insects: current techniques and future prospects. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 46: 511-543. PDF Henderson, P.A. 2003. Mark-recapture methods for population size estimation, pp. 48-59. In Practical Methods in Ecology, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK. (This is "Southwood and Henderson light". Read this instead of Southwood and Henderson). Southwood, T.R.E., and P.A. Henderson. 2000. Chapter 3 - Absolute population estimates using capture-recapture experiments in Ecological Methods. Chapman and Hall, New York (This is the classic reference but is tough going. Read only if you think you will need to do mark-recapture in your research). PDF |
| L8 | Stewart, C.D., S.K. Braman, and A.F. Pendley. 2002. Functional response of the azalea plant bug (Heteroptera: Miridae) and a green lacewing Chrysoperla rufilabris (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), two predators of azalea lace bug (Heteroptera: Miridae). Environ. Entomol. 31: 1184-1190. PDF |
| L9 | Henderson, P.A. 2003. Planning and preliminary considerations, pp. 1-14. In Practical Methods in Ecology, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK. Henderson, P.A. 2003. Sampling a unit of habitat – estimating absolute population number, pp. 23-47. In Practical Methods in Ecology, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK. Henderson, P.A. 2003. Comparing the magnitude of populations – trapping and other relative abundance methods, pp. 76-94. In Practical Methods in Ecology, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK. Southwood, T.R.E., and P.A. Henderson. 2000. Chapter 2 - The sampling programme and the measurement and description of dispersion in Ecological Methods. Chapman and Hall, New York. PDF (Not required reading but an excellent reference) Southwood, T.R.E., and P.A. Henderson. 2000. Chapter 7 - Relative methods of population measurement and the derivation of absolute estimates in Ecological Methods. Chapman and Hall, New York. PDF (Not required reading but an excellent reference) |
| L10 | None - discussion. *Half class will do life tables lab. Life tables *Dent, D.R. 1997. Quantifying insect populations: estimates and parameters, pp. 57-109. In Dent, D.R., and M.P. Walton [eds.], Methods in Ecological and Agricultural Entomology. CAB International, New York. (the rest of the chapter) PDF Southwood, T.R.E., and P.A. Henderson. 2000. Chapter 11 - The construction, description and analysis of age-specific life-tables in Ecological Methods. Chapman and Hall, New York. PDF |
| L11 | None - midterm II |
| L12 | None - Veteran's Day |
| L13 | *Second half of class will do life tables lab. Henderson, P.A. 2003. Alpha diversity, species richness, and quality scores, pp. 115-128. In Practical Methods in Ecology, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK. Coleman, D.C., and D.A. Crossley, Jr. 1996. Chapter 4 - Secondary Production: Activities of Heterotrophic Organisms -- The Soil Fauna. Pp. 51-108 in Fundamentals of Soil Ecology. Academic Press, San Diego. PDF Southwood, T.R.E., and P.A. Henderson. 2000. Chapter 13 - Species richness, diversity, and packing in Ecological Methods. Chapman and Hall, New York. PDF (Not required reading but an excellent reference) |
| L14 | None - student presentations |
| L15 | None - student presentations |
| L16 | None - midterm III |
Assignments and Methods by which the Student will be Evaluated and Grades Determined:
Lecture course (ENY 6203 - 3 credits)
The grade will consist of:
* Three midterm exams (20% each).
* A 10-minute oral PowerPoint presentation on an ecological topic that is not covered in detail in class (15%).
* A 300-word written abstract of the presentation with references (5%).
* An oral presentation on plant-herbivore interaction theories.
This will be a 10-minute oral PowerPoint presentation on one of the main theories proposed to explain
the pattern of plant-insect interactions observed in nature. The instructor will assign students to
groups and each group will be assigned one theory. The students in a group will read the primary
literature and meet to digest and discuss that theory. Each group will search the literature published
since the proposal of their assigned theory to determine whether the theory has been substantiated or
disproved. All students must help in preparing the presentation but one student may act as the presenter
for each group (20%).
Laboratory course (ENY 6203L - 1 credit)
* Assignments - 40%.
* Participation in lab discussions - 10%.
* One laboratory report written in the style of a scientific manuscript - 50%.
Each student will write a manuscript that includes abstract, introduction, materials and methods,
results, discussion and cited references for laboratory 3 (Measuring Plant Herbivory).
Grades will be based on the following scale:
Grading Scale:
| 93-100 | A |
| 90-92 | A- |
| 87-89 | B+ |
| 83-86 | B |
| 80-82 | B- |
| 77-79 | C+ |
| 73-76 | C |
| 70-72 | C- |
| 60-69 | D |
| <60 | E |
The following web page provides information on passing grades and grade points: http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/regulationgrades.html.
Policy Related to Class Attendance: Attendance is not mandatory; however, the student will miss important discussions that may arise during class. Such material may be asked on exams.
Policy Related to Assignments: Late assignments will lose 25% of their score per day, including weekend days. Thus, if the assignment is more than four days late, the grade for the assignment will be zero.
Policy Related to Make-Up Exams or Other Work: Arrangements for a makeup midterm exam (required because of attendance at a scientific meeting or other valid reason) must be made at least one week prior to the exam. If the student misses an exam due to a medical or family emergency (accompanied by a note from a medical professional), a makeup exam will be scheduled as soon as the student returns to class.
Class Demeanor Expected by Instructors: Be kind, considerate and respectful of others; clean up after yourself in the laboratory. Cell phones turned off please.
Critical Dates:
| September 16 | Microclimate presentation |
| September 23 | Oral presentation on plant-insect interaction theories |
| September 30 | Midterm exam I (in lab period) |
| October 2 | See instructor for approval of presentation topic |
| October 7 | First draft of herbivory lab report due (re-write due October 21) |
| October 28 | Hand in marking techniques lab assignment |
| November 4 | Midterm exam II (in lab period) |
| November 13 | Abstract and references for presentation due to instructor for editorial comments |
| November 25 | Abstract and references due to instructor for grading and distribution to classmates |
| November 25 | Class presentations - hand in sampling lab assignment |
| December 2 | Class presentations - hand in population dynamics and diversity lab assignments |
| December 10 | Last day of classes |
| December 10 | December 10 Midterm exam III (in lab period) |
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is a serious problem in academia today, especially with the ease of obtaining information from the
World Wide Web. Plagiarism is defined as representing the words or ideas of another person as one’s own,
without attribution to the source. All words and ideas must be attributed to a source unless they are
considered common knowledge (i.e., widely known by many people and found in many different sources). There are
many kinds of plagiarism, as you will read on the Guide to Plagiarism website referenced below.
Plagiarism is unethical, unacceptable in science, and prohibited by the UF Student Honor Code (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/honorcodes/honorcode.php). The consequences for plagiarism while at the University of Florida range from receiving a grade of zero for the plagiarized assignment or a failing grade for the course, to, for repeated offenses, expulsion from the university. Plagiarism after graduate training calls into question one’s scientific integrity and can lead to banning of publication in journals and the loss of jobs/careers.
In some countries, it is an acceptable practice to write in a manner that faculty members at the University of Florida consider to be plagiarism. Students studying in our university and with plans to publish their research in the English language need to know what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
Students who plagiarize will be caught and consequences will be applied. I check all written assignments using an anti-plagiarism software called Turnitin® (http://www.at.ufl.edu/~turnitin/about.html). Students who plagiarize will receive a grade of zero on the assignment. The second instance of plagiarism in the course will result in an automatic failing grade in the course.
For further information and examples of plagiarism, I strongly suggest that you please read the George Smathers’ Library Guide to Plagiarism at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/msl/services/tutorials/plagiarism/student_intro.html
Please understand that our purpose in bringing to your attention the matter of plagiarism is to help train you to be ethical scientists, not to impugn your character.
Additional General Information
The following information applies to all courses at the University of Florida.
“We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standard of honesty and integrity”.
Academic Honesty: As a result of completing the registration form at the University of Florida, every student has signed the following statement: "I understand that the University of Florida expects its students to be honest in all their academic work. I agree to adhere to this commitment to academic honesty and understand that my failure to comply with this commitment may result in disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the University."
Copyrighted Materials and Software Use: All students are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing copyrighted material and software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.
University Counseling Services: Resources are available on-campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic goals which interfere with their academic performance. These resources include:
1. University Counseling Center, 301 Peabody Hall, 392-1575, personal and career counseling;
2. Student Mental Health, Student Health Care Center, 392-1171, personal counseling;
3. Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS), Student Health Care Center, 392-1161, sexual counseling;
4. Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601, career development assistance and counseling.
Class Presentation:
The class presentation can cover any specific topic relating to insect ecology but should not be your own
current or past research. Grades will be assigned on a formal 10-minute PowerPoint presentation, an abstract,
and a handout of literature references that were consulted to research the presentation topic. The presentation
is worth 15% of the class grade and the abstract and references are worth 5%. Please confirm your choice of
topic on or before October 2.
Topic:
Your presentation will be a talk similar to what you may have seen/heard at a national, regional or state
entomology meeting. Use two or three of the papers as background information and rationale for the studies
that you are going to describe. Then describe select experiments from two of the papers in a research talk
format including title, introduction, materials and methods, results, and significance/conclusions/implications.
You will have 2 minutes, after your 10-minute presentation, for questions from the audience. Your presentation
will be graded using this scheme. Your topic should focus on specific examples, and not on general principles.
Some examples:
Good - Mating disruption to control codling moth in Washington plum orchards
Too general - Effect of climate change on arthropod-borne diseases
Good - Potential effect of climate change on incidence of malaria in Florida
Too general - Factors influencing insect diversity in North America
Good - Effect of habitat disturbance on insect diversity in Florida sand dunes
Reference List:
It will be necessary to consult recent primary literature (i.e., research articles in journals) to prepare
your presentation. A list of five correctly cited publications (in the style of Environmental Entomology¹) is
required.
Abstract:
An abstract is required and is limited to 300 words. "The abstract should: 1) state the principal objectives
and scope of the investigation, 2) describe the methodology employed, 3) summarize the results, and 4) state
the principal conclusions"².
The abstract and references are due on November 13 so that I can provide you detailed editorial comments. I
will not grade this first submission. I will return the abstracts and reference list to you by November 20 so
that you can make the changes and photocopy the materials to handout to your classmates on November 25 and
December 2. I will grade this second submission which is due on November 25 for everyone.
____________________
¹ Consult the Entomological Society of America Style Guide's References cited section at the following URL for the correct citation format: http://www.entsoc.org/Pubs/Publish/Style/index.htm
² Excerpted from R. A. Day. 1998. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. Oryx Press, Phoenix, AZ. Available for internet checkout at http://www.netlibrary.com/ebook_info.asp?product_id=7615
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