Zoogeography
Course Info
Winter Term 2 – 2021
Welcome
to Zoogeography! This course is best suited for 3rd and 4th year
students with a basic background and interests in ecology, evolution
and geography. We will cover topics on the history of biogeography,
climate and climate change, species distributions, speciation and
extinction, evolutionary lineages and island biogeography, to name a
few key areas. Classes are a combination of lecture and in-class
discussion based on assigned readings. You are expected to be familiar with reading and critiquing
scientific literature relevant to course material and to conduct literature searches for your assignments.
Instructor: Jill Jankowski
Office hours: Post on Piazza, or by online appointment
Office: Online
Email: jankowsk@biodiversity.ubc.ca
Teaching Assistant: Mannfred Boehm
Office hours: Post questions on Piazza
Office: Online
Email: mannfred.boehm@botany.ubc.ca
Marking Breakdown:
Canvas assignments 25%
Mid-term Exam
20%
Term Paper
30%
Final Exam
25%
Exams: There are two exams in
the course: a mid-term and a final exam. The general format for both
exams is short answer and essay. The midterm exam is scheduled during
class, on the Friday before Winter break. The final exam will be during
the finals weeks and the time and place will be announced as soon as it
is known.
Policy on Missed Exams:
Exams can be made up only if I am notified before the exam is given. If
you cannot take the exam at the scheduled time, you can arrange to take
the exam beforehand. In the case of unforeseeable circumstances, marks
may be adjusted to make up for a missed exam.
Discussion Groups and Paper Assignments:NOTE
THAT WE WILL BE MIGRATING THE COURSE OVER TO CANVAS - BY JAN 20TH
(ASSIGNMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE POSTED IN CANVAS). On Friday's,
we will typically have tutorials and discussion groups, rather than
lecture. (We're still finalizing the Discussion/Tutorial schedule and
assignments).
Assigned Readings & Assignments: There will be ~5 paper assignments with discussion groups to provide
in-depth coverage of major topics in the course. For these discussions, we will provide a brief
summary of the paper at the beginning of class, followed by a
discussion among students in groups of four-five. You should come
to class having read the paper and with at least three of your own
questions to facilitate discussion within your groups. Following
discussion you will submit answers to a series of questions that we
provide for you. These assignments will constitute the 25% Journal
Assignment mark for the course.
Tutorials & Workshops:
For ~4 of our Friday sessions, we will be doing exercises using R.
These activities (with assignments) are structured to give you with a
working knowledge of R and also to help you with components of your
Term Paper Assignment.
Term Paper Assignment: For your
term paper, you will choose an animal species, genus or family, and
describe the natural distribution, habitat use and phylogeny of its
groups (e.g., subspecies, species or genera). You will also summarize
the current understanding of events and processes that have resulted in
their distribution (i.e., the hypothesized phylogeographic history).
We will spend lectures during the first part of the term on fundamental
concepts in biogeography, which you can use to develop your paper. This
assignment, including the outline and final draft, will be
30% of the mark for the course.
Required Texts: There is no
required textbook for Zoogeography. An excellent option for a textbook
is Biogeography by Mark Lomolino, Brett Riddle and James Brown. There
are two copies of this textbook reserved at Woodward Library. Many of
the themes in lecture will overlap with material in this book.
Literature Search: Students
will become familiar with primary literature in this course. References
for case studies and examples used in lecture are listed at the end of
each section. Accessing and searching literature databases will also be
an important component of your term paper. Web of Science and Google
Scholar are two reliable search engines that you can use, but there are
many others out there.
Plagiarism: There is zero
tolerance for plagiarism in any form. Writing will be a major component
of work in this course, through your assignments and term paper. It is
critical that you generate your own ideas and give proper credit for
the ideas of others. Please refer to the following UBC
website for information regarding plagiarism and academic integrity:
http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/resource-guides/avoiding-plagiarism/