Instructors

Dr. Michelle Mack, Assistant Professor of Ecosystem Ecology

Department of Botany

Office: 510 Carr Hall

Email: mcmack@ufl.edu

Ms. Silvia Alvarez-Clare, Doctoral Candidate

SNRE and Department of Botany

Office: 517 Carr Hall

Email: silviacr @ufl.edu

Overview: Biologists and earth scientists working at many different scales use the methods of ecosystem ecology. In this course, you will gain hands-on experience with lab and field techniques that range from the traditional (e.g., meter stick) to “cutting edge” (e.g., stable isotopes). Topics that we cover will be partially determined by your interests and may include measurements of the following:

• Soil N cycling

• Soil P cycling

• Decomposition of litter and/or soil organic matter

• Plant mineral nutrition

• Nitrogen isotopes

• Carbon isotopes

• Nitrogen fixation

• Biomass and soil element stocks

• Soil respiration

This course is designed for graduate students who are working in ecology or the environmental sciences.

Course materials: For the most part, we will look to the primary literature for methods. We will select several papers on your project area to read as a group. In addition, there will be several general texts that will be on reserve in the lab (509 Carr Hall), including:

Sala, O. E., R. B. Jackson, H. A. Mooney, and R. W. Howarth, editors. 2000. Methods in Ecosystem Science. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY USA.

Pearcy, R. W., J. Ehleringer, H. A. Mooney and P. W. Rundel, editors. 1989. Plant physiological ecology: Field methods and instrumentation. Chapman & Hall, New York, NY USA

Lajtha, K. and R. H. Michener, editors. 1994. Stable isotopes in ecology and environmental science. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford England.

Fry, B. 2006. Stable isotope Ecology. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY USA.

Robertson, G. P., D. C. Coleman, C. S. Beldsoe and P. Sollins. 1999. Standard soil methods for long-term ecological research. Oxford University Press, New York, NY USA.

Klute, A. 1998. Soil Science Society of America, Methods of soil analysis. Volumes 1-3. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI USA.

Course assignments: Students will break up into teams of two and each team will lead a lab project on one of the above subjects. In consultation with Ms. Alvarez-Clare and Dr. Mack, you will design an experiment and carry it out with the assistance of the rest of the class. We will allocate approximately three class periods to each student project. You will be required to give an informal presentation to the class early in the semester, presenting your project plan. At the end of the semester, you will be required to create and present a poster on your findings. You will also be required to submit one “methods packet” at the end of the term. This will include a description of the methods that were used for your project, a short bibliography of classic and current references (similar to those that you might cite if you were writing up the project), and an annotated spreadsheet that shows the data collected and calculations used in the project. These latter files will be prepared according to archival instructions that will be specified in class.

Grades will be based on the following: 10 points for the initial presentation, 50 points for participation in lab activities, and 20 points for the final poster, and 20 points for the final methods packet. Letter grades will be assigned on a straight scale with 90-100% as an A, 80-89% as a B, etc.

Course calendar:

Aug. 29 First meeting, decide on future meeting time.

Weeks of Sept. 3 & 10 Teams meet with Dr. Mack and Ms. Alvarez-Clare to discuss project plan.

Week of Sept. 17 Informal presentation on project plans (20 min each), scheduling of projects.

Between Sept. 24 and Nov. 19, the course will meet once a week in either 509 or 512 Carr Hall, time to be determined.

Week of Nov. 26 Teams meet individually with Dr. Mack and Ms. Alvarez-Clare to discuss progress and results.

Week of Dec. 3 Poster session: short presentation of poster and discussion of results. Final methods packet due.