Biology of Birds (L376) –Summer Session I – 2012
Instructor: Associate Instructors:
Dr. James Hengeveld Stephen Friesen James Klatt
Jordan Hall A112 Goodbody Hall 130 Jordan Hall A012
855-5353 855-3976 856-2391
Email: jhengeve@indiana.edu sfriesen@indiana.edu jklatt@indiana.edu
Office Hours: by appointment by appointment by appointment
Class Website: http://www.indiana.edu/~ornith/
Class Times: TWR: 10:00 am -12:00 noon – Jordan Hall A105
Labs: Friday mornings 8:00 am - noon – Jordan Hall 122
-5/18 and 6/1
Field trips: Friday mornings 6:00 am - noon
(meet by 5:55 a.m. near Jordan Hall loading dock – NE corner of Jordan)
-5/11, 5/25, and 6/8
Texts: Gill, F.B. (2007) Ornithology, 3rd Ed. [W.H.Freeman & Co.]
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 6th Edition
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GRADING:
Lecture Exams: 250 pts
Mid-term Exam (100 pts)
Cumulative Final (150 pts)
Lecture Quizzes (unannounced) 30 pts
10 pts each (3 highest out of 5)
Taxonomy/Identification Quizzes: 130 pts
2 taxonomy quizzes (35 pts and 45 pts)
2 web quizzes (20 pts and 30 pts)
Bird song identification quiz: 20 pts
Current journal articles (total of 6): 60 pts
Leading discussion + summary/analysis of paper (45 pts)
Participation during other 5 discussions (15 pts)
Labs -- 3 Lab Data Sheets (20 pts each) 60 pts
Birds of Bloomington assignments 20 pts
2 assignments (10 pts each)
Field Trips -- Attendance / Participation (10 pts each) 30 pts
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Total possible points: 600 pts
Exams:
Two exams will be given. The first one will be during normal class time on Thursday, May 24 and will cover all lecture and lab material up to that point. The final exam will be on the last Thursday of the semester (June 14) and will start at 10:00 am. You will have two hours to complete the cumulative final. Since you will be expected to know all the material presented in the course for the final exam, it is recommended that you review your midterm immediately after it is returned to you so that you understand why you missed the material that you did.
Labs:
Purpose: We will spend time in the lab working hands-on with material designed to help you familiarize yourself with birds and their biology. Emphasis will be placed on learning morphological and physiological characteristics of birds and how these features relate to taxonomic classification. In addition, we will examine plumage characteristics, external morphologies, and specialized adaptations, and see how these features influence or are influenced by habitat, feeding habits, and predator-prey relationships.
Two labs on Friday mornings: 8:00-noon:
May 18th and June 1st
One lab will be conducted during the normal class time on May 10th
Lab partners: You will work in pairs. Lab partners are encouraged to help each other and work cooperatively. However, lab data sheets are to be completed by individual students independently.
Missed labs: Lab work can be made up if and only if you have a DOCUMENTED, excused absence. Due to constraints on laboratory space in Jordan Hall, we must “break down” the lab following the normally scheduled lab time. Because of this, scheduling missed work will have to be arranged with Stephen, James, or Jim. Please contact us immediately (via email or a phone message) about making up work. DO NOT WAIT for a week before asking for make-up work, or the requisite material may not be available to you.
Field trips:
Purpose: One of the goals of the class is to provide the opportunity for you to learn about some of the common breeding and migrant bird species of southern Indiana. We will go to various locations, maximizing the number of habitats that we visit, and hopefully increasing the total number of different species we can see (or hear). Emphasis will be on learning identification skills, and on observing behaviors. You will also be responsible for learning by vocalization a subset of the locally breeding birds, especially those found commonly on campus.
Field trips are scheduled for three Fridays throughout the semester. We will leave from Jordan Hall at 6:00 a.m. (meet by 5:55 a.m.) and return by noon. Arrangements can be made to be picked up at the IU Football Stadium or at Bryan Park. Wear comfortable walking shoes and appropriate clothing for outdoor activity. KEEP IN MIND THAT TEMPERATURES IN EARLY MORNING HOURS ARE NOT THE SAME AS AT MIDDAY – DRESS IN LAYERS! We might walk through grassy areas, in the woods, or along streams or lakes. You might want to wear long pants; insect spray is recommended. DO NOT wear sandals! Don't forget your binocular and field guide! Also, remember that field trips are not occasions for catching up on the latest gossip with a friend or for loud chatting with classmates. Talking/excessive noise can scare away birds before everyone (anyone?) has had an opportunity to observe them – please don't ruin the trips for yourselves and others. Loud talking and a general lack of participation will be grounds for losing the 10 points that are associated with each of the field trips.
Field Trip Dates: May 11th, May 25th, June 8th
**** IMPORTANT ****
Attendance: You MUST attend all field trips! The first excused absence (illness or emergency accompanied by appropriate documentation - personalized doctor's note or letter from the Dean) may be made up by attending an alternative field trip (i.e., in conjunction with Sassafras Audubon Society (SAS)). YOU MUST CLEAR THESE EXCUSES WITH US! [Sleeping through an alarm clock is NOT a valid excuse!] For unexcused absences or additional excused absences, you will be required to write up a brief summary of the substitute field trip, i.e., an annotated list of the bird species seen on the trip. If a SAS field trip is not scheduled during the time you need to make up a field trip, you will be required to pay for a guided field trip with an approved guide (you’ll need to discuss this option with Jim). Unexcused absences will result in the loss of the points associated with field trip attendance/participation. You will be given an INCOMPLETE in the course until ALL field trips are made up and you can NOT PASS the COURSE without attending a minimum of three field trips, regardless of your lecture grade. You may not substitute a class field trip with a SAS field trip without prior consultation with Jim.
Binoculars are available for you to sign out for the semester. You will not be able to take the final exam if you have not returned your binocular. A charge will be assessed to your Bursar’s account for a lost or damaged binocular ($130 / $170 for a Bushnell / Vortex binocular). You are encouraged to purchase your own binocular and we will be happy to discuss with you possible suppliers, as well as advantages and disadvantages of different types of binoculars.
Bird identification:
Birds of the Bloomington area: You will be given two assignments this semester that are designed to help you become more familiar with the birds of the Bloomington area, including the time of year at which various species might be expected in the area and what plumage these species might be expected to display when they are in our area. These assignments are also meant to help you become familiar with your field guide. All field guides, including the National Geographic 6th Ed., have a lot of information incorporated within them and it takes time and careful study to take advantage of this information.
On the web: Identification quizzes will be posted to the web. You will be given relevant information about where and when the photos were taken. The goal is for you to learn HOW to use your field guide (see above) to identify unfamiliar species. You may work with others on the quizzes, but you must turn in INDEPENDENTLY written answers! (Duplication or closely matched answers will result in a loss of points or a zero and is grounds for academic misconduct.) The quizzes might contain birds that are very difficult to ID. You will be awarded credit for indicating the process by which you arrived at an identification rather than for the correct identification per se. Credit will be given for indicating why a specific identification was made and for describing why similar species were eliminated from consideration.
Taxonomy quizzes: Quiz dates are listed on the syllabus (May 22nd and June 5th) and may not be made up without a valid & documented reason for missing class.
You will be expected to learn most of the Orders of birds and some selected Families. You will be given more information about the specifics in class. The goal is not to force you to do a lot of memorization per se, but instead to arrive at an appreciation of the diversity of species and their taxonomic affinities and to understand some of the unifying features of the different taxa.
Journal article assignments:
We will be reading and discussing six current journal articles to supplement the coverage of various topics in the second half of the summer session. Three class periods will be devoted to the discussion of these articles and two-thirds of the two-hour class (approximately 80 minutes, i.e., 40 minutes per article) will be used on these “discussion days” (see the lecture schedule). You will all be expected to read each article prior to coming to class so that you can participate in the discussion of the article. For each article, there will be 4 students responsible for leading the classroom discussion of the paper. Discussion leaders will meet twice with Stephen or James prior to the discussion class period to go over the paper and to outline a discussion. Discussion leaders must also write a summary and analysis of the journal article to be handed in on the day that you hold your discussion. You are expected to attend all of the classes during which there are discussions and you will be assessed points (total of 15 pts.) based on the quality of your participation in the discussions. Each of you will be given an opportunity to sign up for an article associated with a topic of interest (first-come, first-served).
Class website // Electronic distribution list:
Course materials, including announcements, study guides, handouts, and web quizzes, will be posted to the class website (http://www.indiana.edu/~ornith/). In addition, I will periodically send out email messages to the entire class, concerning class announcements.
Oncourse will be used for the posting of grades and for online office hours.
Grading Scale:
A+ = > 98% C+ = 77-79.99%
A = 93-98% C = 73-76.99%
A-
= 90-92.99% C- = 70-72.99%
B+ = 87-89.99% D+ = 67-69.99%
B = 83-86.99% D = 63-66.99%
B- = 80-82.99% D- = 60-62.99%
last updated: 5/8/12