12/22/2024 3:26:53 AM	BIO 15 Course Outline as of Spring 2007	Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  BIO 15	Title:  FUTURE OF RAINFORESTS
Full Title:  The Future of Rainforests
Last Reviewed:9/11/2006

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	3.00	Lecture Scheduled	3.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	52.50
Minimum	3.00	Lab Scheduled	0		17.5 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	3.00			Contact Total	52.50
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly: 

Catalog Description:

A broad overview of the biodiversity and ecology of tropical rainforests, including their distribution, causes and effects of their destruction and the analysis of conservation strategies. Case studies from different countries are presented to examine the integration of conservation solutions with human well-being and the site-specific circumstances of history, culture, poverty, land use, politics and economics.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:

Recommended Preparation:
Eligibility for ENGL 1A or equivalent

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

The ecology and conservation of tropical rain forests. Case studies will bring into focus the unique solutions needed in different forests to protect biodiversity and sustain human well-being.

(Grade or P/NP)
Prerequisites:
Recommended:Eligibility for ENGL 1A or equivalent
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:	Fall 2001	Inactive:	Summer 2011
Area:	C H	Natural Sciences Global Perspective and Environmental Literacy
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	B2	Life Science		Spring 2007	Summer 2011
	E	Lifelong Learning and Self Development
	E	Lifelong Learning and Self Development		Fall 2001	Spring 2007
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	5B	Biological Sciences		Spring 2007	Summer 2011
CSU Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 2001	Inactive:	Summer 2011
UC Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 2001	Inactive:	Summer 2011
C-ID:

Certificate/Major Applicable: Major Applicable Course

COURSE CONTENT

Outcomes and Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

Upon completion students will be able to:

1.  Critically evaluate what they read, write and hear in scientific

   literature as well as popular media.

2.  Apply the scientific method to solving ecological problems.

3.  Analyze the basic principles and assumptions of ecology, including the

   cellular nature of life, correlation of structure and function,

   energy transformation, evolution, and characteristics of systems.

4.  Describe the tropical rainforest ecosystem.

5.  Explain the effect of climate on the distribution of biodiversity.

6.  Describe the complexity of plant-animal interconnections in tropical

   rainforests and compare this to other biomes.

7.  Discuss the social political and economic forces that threaten

   rainforests and propose amelioration.

8.  Compare the site-specific conservation solutions and assess their

   probable outcomes.

9.  Explain how rainforest destruction has local, regional and global

   implications.

10  Describe the effects on rainforests of distant human activities.

Topics and Scope

1.  Ecology as science

   a. Course introduction

   b. Scientific approaches to problems- scientific method

2.  Foundational principles

   a. Cellular nature of life

   b. Structure and function; physiological and anatomical adaptors

   c. Evolution: species adaptations, speciation, evolution of

      ecosystems.

   d. Characteristics of an ecosystem

3.  What are tropical rainforests?

   a.  Tropical moist forests and their climates

   b.  Forest formations

   c.  Growth cycle

4.  Plant life

   a.  Climbers and epiphytes

   b.  Trees

5.  Rainforest animals

   a.  Richness and diversity of animals

   b.  Modes of coexistence

   c.  Carrying capacity

6.  Interconnections between plants and animals

   a.  Animals as pollinators

   b.  Animals as dispersers

   c.  Food webs and keystone species

   d.  Co-evolution

7.  Tropical forests through time

   a.  Paleogeography

   b.  Paleoclimates

   c.  Pleistocene refugia

8.  Forest dynamics

   a.  Forest microclimates

   b.  Pioneer and climax species

   c.  Seed and seedling ecology

   d.  Species richness

9.  Nutrients and their cycles

   a.  Shifting agriculture

   b.  Nutrient pools and cycles

10. The tropical rainforest yesterday and today

   a.  Indigenous cultures

   b.  Colonial era

   c.  Post-Colonial era

11. Destruction of rainforests; rates of loss

   a.  Past rates

   b.  Present rates

   c.  Future prospects

12. Causes and processes of clearance

   a.  Fuel/wood gathering

   b.  Shifting cultivation

   c.  Land distribution and population

   d.  Resettlement

   e.  Commercial logging

   f.  Plantations and cash-cropping

   g.  Cattle ranching

   h.  Development projects

13. Impacts and costs of destruction

   a.  Loss of biodiversity

   b.  Loss of resources

   c.  Loss of environmental services

   d.  Local and regional climate change

   e.  Global climate change

14. Forest peoples

   a.  Tribal people and the rainforest

   b.  Decline and fall

   c.  Threats and pressures

15. Possible solutions

   a.  The need for action

   b.  Constraints

   c.  Protection and conservation

   d.  Restoration and reforestation

   e.  Sustainable use

   f.  Tropical timber trade

   g.  Debt for nature swaps

Assignments:

1.  Read text and other assigned readings, 30-40 pages per week.

2.  Homework: written responses to scientific journal articles and

   written analysis of websites that address rainforest issues

   relevant to the class.

3.  Preparation of group project to design a conservation plan for an

   assigned rainforest site.

4.  In class work: exercises, presentations, class discussions.

5.  4-14 Quizzes and 3-5 Exams.

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 20 - 40%
Written homework, Group conservation plan
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 0 - 0%
None
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 40 - 60%
Multiple choice, True/false, Matching items, Completion, Essay
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 0 - 20%
Class participation and attendance at field trips.

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

AN INTRODUCTION TO TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS, by T.C. Whitmore, 2nd Edition,

Oxford University Press, 1998.

TROPICAL RAINFORESTS, by Chris C. Park, Routledge Publishing, 1994.

THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE, by Edward O. Wilson, W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.,

1999

FOUNDATIONS OF TROPICAL FOREST BIOLOGY, edited by R.L.Chazdon and T.C.

Whitmore, University of Chicago Press, 2001

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