Principles of Ecology (Biology 229)
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Instructor: Paul Weihe , Biology Department
118 Vermeer Science Center
phone: x5204 e-mail: weihep@central.edu

Course Materials

Syllabus

Lab information

Research Project

Announcements

Exam I: Friday Oct. 1. Consider reviewing a couple old exams to see my style of test: Old Exam I and Old Exam II

Links of Interest
The Wetland Science Institute (USGS) has a Website for state "functional assessment procedures." Recall our discussions of "how do ecosystems work; how do we know if/how well they work?" This is an effort by the US Government to answer these questions and establish "vital signs" for "healthy" wetland ecosystems. The assessment document most useful for what we see locally is the Kansas Wooded Riverine Wetlands . Check it out, and see what's involved in this attempt to determine the function of a wetland ecosystem.

The Ultimate Tree Ring pages

Please visit the following WWW pages to complete a "Biomes Survey" (since we can't visit all these places in person...). Note the differences in opinion among ecologists on some specifics of names and exact locations for biomes.

  • Ecoregions of the US (by R. G. Bailey, US Forest Service)
  • Ecosystem units (according to the US Fish & Wildlife Service). Our local FWS region (R-3) has its own site.
  • Of course, the Nature Conservancy (a non-profit conservation/preservation organization) has its own vegetation classification system , with 4100 categories at its lowest level, the Association. Check out the photo of Dolly Sodds at the site, and ask me to tell about it...you'll get a "bang" out of it, I promise!
  • Midwest Oak Savannah Conferences have been organized by various State/Federal government agencies in cooperation with the Nature Conservancy and others. Is this our biome?

On a local note, the Carlson Field Station is a place we will be visiting regularly.


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This page last updated Oct 2004 by Paul Weihe.
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