Biology 5984 - Isotopes in Ecosystem Ecology
                     Course Structure
 

I. Textbook:

No manditory textbook
Others recommended for the course include:
 
For information on helpful textbooks see Textbooks

II. Class Notes::

Class notes will be available on the course homepage as MS
Word (Office 97) files that may be downloaded from the web site
constructed for class materials.  NOTE:It is important to have these notes
in hand during lecture.  You will need to have the appropriate username and
password (available from the instructor) to access the notes.

These notes and other general  information about the course can be obtained from

http://www.biol.vt.edu/department/research/faculty/valett/isotopes/
 

III. Grading: Basis for Scores

Course grades will be derived from two areas:

A) Class notebook (20%): Class notes and literature reviews/discussion will be
      summarized in a class notebook that will be turned in and graded during class exam.

B) Class Participation (10%): This will include in-class responses to questions
      and the student's willingness to help teach fellow students

C) Examinations (45%): Two exams will be given during
      the course of the semester.  The first (Oct 9th) is an in-class exam that will cover
      lecture content to that point.  The final exam entails the production of
      a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG, see NSF)
      proposal with focus on how stable isotopes may be used by the student
      in the context of their own research. The final exam will be due at 10AM on
      December 13th (scheduled time of final exam), but may be turned in earlier.

D) Recitation (25%): Participation in discussions and ability to display a working
        knowledge of the literature.

IV. Syllabus:        see Syllabus

    Section I:   Fundamentals of Stable Isotopes: Physics and chemistry  
    Section II:  Ecosystem Ecology - Energetics and material cycling
    Section III: Isotopes, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem ecology
 

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