Prerequesite: A course in systematics/taxonomy or ecology is helpful but not needed

 Schedule: Lecture 9:55 - 10:45 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, & Friday, 346 Birge; lecture schedule

 Instructor: Ken Sytsma, 250 Birge Hall, 262-4490 office hour: after class or by appointment; kjsytsma@wisc.edu

 T.A.: Bryan Drew, 256 Birge, 262-4422, office hour: Wednesday 11-12 noon or by appointment; bdrew@wisc.edu

 Textbook: Lomolino, M.V., Riddle, B.R., Brown, J.H. Biogeography, 3rd ed. 2006. Sinauer Associates

 Exams: Fri., Feb. 23 (in class); Mon., Mar. 26 (in class); Mon., May 14 (12:25 p.m.) - no cummulative final

 Office Hours:

I will be available to answer questions and help you after lecture on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, or by appointment. Bryan's office hour will be by appointment or on Wedneday from 11 to noon. You can always reach us by email.

 Grading:

There will be three exams during the semester with no cummulative final. The exams will be multiple choice, short answer and may include a one-page essay. They will cover lecture, lab/greenhouse tours, and reading materials.

The other major source of your grade (worth one exam) will be from your term paper or project (the latter for more advanced students - please talk to us if you are interested). It is too early to give details about the term paper or project and more information will be presented later. The term paper or project will be due Friday, April 27.

 Handouts:

Lecture handouts will be available as a course packet at Printex Graphics, 627 State St. (next to Starbucks). These will include (1) lecture outlines that should be helpful as I will include plant names to facilitate spelling, (2) accessory tables, pictures, and figures that we will go over, and (3) literature references (both classical and recent). Additional handouts will be provided throughout the semester.

 

 Readings:

The text covers most of the topics on which I will be lecturing, so most of the readings will come from the text. It is fairly well written and understandable even if you do not have a strong natural history course background. Readings from other sources will be available electronically, via the course webpage or MyUW. Additional references on reserve in the Biology Library (Birge Hall) that will allow you to pursue a topic in more detail (e.g., for term papers) are also listed in the class handouts.

 Labs, Greenhouse Tours, and FieldTrips:

About three times during the semester, you will take a self-guided "Greenhouse Tour" (including virtual tour) that will allow you to actually see examples of what we are talking about. An optional half to full day field trip to a southern mesic forest and dry prairie in southern Wisconsin will be given on Saturday, April 28. We will see plants that will have been discussed at length during class.

 Taking Notes:

Concentrate on the major points of the lecture. Do not get swamped in the details that are just used for illustration.

I will hand out a review sheet about 10 days before each exam period that lists the terms, concepts, etc. with which you should be becoming familiar. Lecture pdfs will also become available via the course webpage about 10 days prior to the exams.

Many (most) of the plants discussed will not be familiar to you, but that is not the problem you might think it to be. You do not need to have taken many botany courses to be successful in this class.