Ornithology 484

3. A field guide to North American birds. You are required to purchase (not borrow! we want you to mark it up, used is ok) a field identification guide to the birds of North America (not just Western birds). We recommend one of the following:

NatGeoGuide SibleyGuide Birds of North America, Revised and Updated

a) Golden Field Guide: Birds of North America by Robbins, et al; 2001. St. Martin’s Press. This excellent guide has range maps and vocalizations next to the fine illustrations, and includes many good behavior tips. Comes in hard back and soft cover. One of the oldest guides around, recently updated.

b) The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, 2000. Knopf. This guide is an excellent identification guide with very good illustrations of multiple plumages of each species. Sidebars provide useful comparisons of difficult species and a few behavioral tips to aid in identification. One drawback is that it is very skimpy on natural history. For further reading, consider buying the companion volume, The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior which is more of a lay-person’s text to ornithology than a field guide. The binding is not very durable.

c) National Geographic’s Birds of North America. A great book and one of the classic bird books for North America. Not as many plates and plumage variations depicted as in the Sibley guide, but a little more text on where the birds are found, and what they are likely to be doing in those places (which is good). The illustrations are not all done by the same person, so there is a little less consistency in the way that birds are presented. The new version (5^th Ed.) has some nice new features such as indexing and cover flaps.

These field guides are widely available in bookstores locally, at the Audubon store 300 E. University Blvd, #120 (corner of University & 5th Ave.), or online through amazon.com or other online resources. Other field guides may be acceptable—please check with me.

4. Binoculars. These are indispensable for watching birds. They will serve you well throughout your life-time, so buy the best you can afford. If you simply cannot afford anything, please come and see me—we’ll work something out. The quality of your birding experience is strongly influenced by the quality of your binoculars. If you plan on buying binoculars, please read the binocular-buying tips.

5. OPTIONAL: You might also consider checking out Amazon or eBay for a copy of Oliver Luther Austin’s Families of Birds. It’s a little Golden Guide that gives an excellent overview of bird families. You can often find it for under a dollar at used bookstores. It was required 30 years ago when I took this course, but is now long out of print.

Labs & field trips:

All labs are required. You must obtain permission in advance from your TA’s for any absences from labs. Expect to be in lab for the full 2:50 min. A large percentage of your lab grade will come from your participation, so simply showing up will not be enough.

We will go on two or three field trips during regularly-scheduled lab times, and three field trips on weekends. You are required to attend at least two of the three weekend trips. The first will be to a local site such as Sabino Canyon. In March or April we will likely take a trip to Desemboque, Sonora. We encourage all students to participate in the Mexico trip. However, please note that everyone crossing the border to Mexico must have a valid passport. Any student not having a valid passport who wishes to go on this trip should immediately begin the process to obtain one. Foreign students should ensure that their visas are up to date.

We will camp on both the trip to Mexico as well as the trip to the Chiricahua mountains in April or May. On both occasions, we will leave the UA on Friday. If you need a letter excusing your absence from a Friday pm class, please see me. If there is a class you absolutely cannot miss ever on Friday pm, we can arrange alternative activities to take the place of one of the weekend trips. We will provide more details on arrangements as the trips approach, but be prepared to borrow a sleeping bag if you don’t have one.

Assignments:

1) Independent project: This is a writing emphasis course. Good writing is critical to being an effective scientist, or indeed, to succeed in virtually any career. The independent project is an exercise in the process of doing scientific research: from formulation of a research question, collecting data appropriate to answering that question, analyzing and synthesizing your data and results, writing up your findings in standard scientific format, and presenting the results of your project orally to the class. We will provide a lot of guidance through this (sometimes difficult!) process during the semester. What you learn doing your independent project may well be the most important part of this course for your future. Accordingly, devoting considerable effort to it will pay off in the long run.

The independent project will involve original research. There are two main approaches to collecting data for such a project. The first is to answer a question using data gleaned from published primary literature sources. The second is collecting new field data yourself. Independent projects involving any kind of manipulation of birds requires that you obtain written permission from the UA Animal Care and Use Committee.

2) Notebooks: Learning to take good notes in the field is a valuable skill for any field biologist. You should buy a lined, field notebook. Bring the notebook on all out-of-doors class activities, even those on campus. Always make a new entry for notes taken on a new day, time, or location. Include the date, location (be as specific as possible), and relevant details of weather and who your companions are. You should also make natural history notes in your field notebook including notes on plants and plant phenology, insects, herps, geology & terrain, etc. A certain amount of fixing-up after your field session is acceptable, but you should not re-write field notes—the idea is to capture the moment and learn to record relevant details as you see them at the time. You should include bird lists for each trip, and we encourage sketches, diagrams, maps, identification tips, etc. A portion of the time in the field should be spent drawing at least one bird that you observe; more about this in class. You will also use your field notebook for all of the outdoor “additional activities” discussed below. We will collect your field notebook at least twice during the semester, and the notebook will constitute part of your grade.

3) Journal Reading: Again, this is a writing emphasis course. Therefore you will read a variety of articles in at least 3 different journals (e.g. Auk, Ibis, Science, Nature, J. Field Ornithology, J. Animal Behavior). You will read a total of 6 articles. They will include at least one article in each of the following categories:

· field behavior of a species or group of species

· anatomy or physiology of a species or group of species

· laboratory experiment involving a single species

· ecological issue regarding one or more species (e.g. habitat destruction, weather changes, disease, competition from an invasive species, loss of a food resource)

You will be given a format for the papers, and a list of due dates. Late papers will not be accepted. You may do up to two additional articles for enrichment points.

4) Additional activities: Because one of our goals is to develop a life-long interest in birds, we ask that you participate in at least four additional bird-related activities outside of class time this semester. Here is a list of suggested activities. The list distinguishes between outdoor and indoor activities. We require you to complete at least one indoor activity, and at least two outdoor activities during the semester. You should take field notes in your notebooks during any of the outdoor activities and clearly label them as such—this is something we’ll be looking for when we grade your notebooks.

5) Expect a few additional short assignments, exercises, and pop quizzes at unpredictable times during the semester.

Exams:

There will be two mid-term exams and one final. The 2^nd mid-term will primarily focus on material presented since the first exam, but will include some synthesis of material presented since the beginning of the course. The final will be cumulative, but topics presented in the last third of the course will be given greater emphasis. Exams will include both short and long answer questions. You will be expected to write at least one essay-type question in every exam.

Grades:

Lecture grades	total points
Exam 1	100
Exam 2	100
Final Exam	200
Readings (minimum of 5) 100 Notebook (including outdoor additional activities)	100
Class participation	50
Quizzes, other assignments (including indoor additional activities)	100

Project grades
Intermediate steps	50
Final written paper	100
Oral presentation	50

Lab Grades
Exam 1	50
Exam 2	50
Participation in labs & field trips	100
Class exercises	100
Quizzes	50

Grand total (approximate)	1300

A: 90-100%, B: 80-89%, C: 70-79%, D: 60-69%

The rules:

No cell phone use is allowed during any class activity INCLUDING FIELD TRIPS. This includes instant messaging.
Cheating, plagiarism, and disruptive or offensive behavior will not be taken lightly. UA policy states that prohibited activities on campus include (but are not limited to):

· “All forms of student academic dishonesty, including but not limited to, cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

· Engaging in harassment or repeated unwanted contact, including, but not limited to, stalking.

Engaging in discriminatory activities, whether unlawful or whether prohibited by university policy, on the basis of age, ethnicity, gender, disability, color, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status.”

Any violation of these or other rules will be dealt with through official channels and could lead to a failing grade or worse.

Many students are not entirely clear where the boundary between paraphrasing and plagiarism lies. Please consult the library’s web page about plagiarism

Special needs:

Students with special needs should meet with instructors within the first two weeks of the semester to make arrangements for accommodating their requirements.

The schedule:

Please bear in mind that the schedule is subject to change. We will notify you in class and post any changes immediately on the online version of this syllabus.

Course Agreement

I have read the syllabus for ECOL 484/584 with Dr. Duek. I agree to the rules, will do my best to attend every class and lab, on time, and to participate in discussions and activities.

It is my responsibility:

· to ask questions,

· to inform Dr. Duek or my lab TA when I need to be absent from class, and

· to contact classmates to obtain information about days I miss.

Signed ______________________________________________________

PRINT YOUR NAME HERE:___________________________________________

Date ______________________________________

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