Syllabus
Fall Semester 2009

University of Utah

Instructor: Kevin Hultine
Office: 502D ASB
Office Phone: 581-3545, email: hultine@biology.utah.edu
Office Hours: by appointment (except Wednesdays)

Susan Bush
Office: 502B ASB
Office Phone: 587-3405, email: sbush@biology.utah.edu
Office hours: by appointment

Kelley Burtch
Office: 510 ASB
Office Phone: 581-8917, email: kelleyburtch@hotmail.com

This is a 2-unit undergraduate class with a 3-hr lecture session. The laboratory focuses on dominant Utah ecosystems and explores plant distribution patterns in desert, mountain and riparian areas of the state. The class emphasizes field trip experiences and lab exercises to study plant water relations, stable isotope ecology, and physiological plant ecology as mechanisms that underlie plant distribution patterns. Three mandatory field trips are part of the class. Each field trip will have associated laboratory exercises that focus on describing or quantifying ecophysiological characteristics that relate to plant success in its given habitat. Note that one of the field trips is a 3-day trip to the University’s Entrada Field Station near Moab. This field trip will take place October 16-18 during fall break. Students will work in teams on field projects.

There will be three field trips for the course. The first two will be afternoon trips (2-6 pm) to Red Butte Canyon above the University of Utah campus (http://redbuttecanyon.net/) on Friday September 4th and Friday September 25th. The following items are recommended for these trips:

Hiking bookts or tennis shoes

Sunglasses

Sunscreen (recommended)

Long pants and long sleeve shirts (recommended)

Water

Snack

Field book and pen

Hat

There will also be a weekend field trip during fall break from Friday October 16th to Sunday October 18th to the University of Utah Entrada Field Station (http://entrada.utah.edu/) near Moab. This trip will require camping for two nights at the Field Station. The following items (along with the items listed above) will be necessary for this trip:

Tent

Sleeping bag and ground pad

Head lamp, or flashlight

Warm clothes

These items can all be rented from Campus Recreation if needed (http://web.utah.edu/campusrec/)

Other recommended items:

Camera

Binoculars

This course includes a WebCT site to be used for correspondence, grade tracking and assignment submission. All assignments must be submitted by the deadline via WebCT. Data and other lab information will also be posted on the WebCT site.

The University seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodation in this class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the instructor and to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD) to make arrangements for these accommodations.

There will be no exams and no dropped grades for this lab class. There are a total of 450 points possible for the lab: 400 for lab reports and 50 for participation and effort.

Red Butte Write-Up I: Plant water relations (100 pts)
Red Butte Write-Up II: Plant water balance and stand evapostranspiration (100 pts)
Entrada Write-Up I: Stable isotope ratios of terrestrial plants (100 pts)
Entrada Write-Up II: Tree growth, resource use, and resource gradients (100 pts)

90-100% = A

80-89% = B

70-79% = C

60-69% = D

<60% = E

The withdrawal policy is the same as the University policy described in the Class Schedule. Students may drop wthout penalty or permission up through September 2nd. In addition, students may withdraw without permission up through October 23rd, but will receive a "W" grade. Course withdrawal after this date is possible with permission of the instructor, but requires a significant medical or personal situation in order for the withdrawal to be approved.

Printable Syllabus