| Biology 70 Ornithology Spring 2002 |
Kim Snipes
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| Lecture: MWF 11:00-11:50 am. MS 318 |
MS 326 x2545
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| Laboratory: Tues. 1:30-4:30 (approx.) MS 321 |
AC Box 61541
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ksnipes@austinc.edu
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Course WebPage: http://artemis.austinc.edu/acad/bio/ksnipes/ornith/egg.html. Our page can also be accessed via the AC webpage and working your way through to my page under the Biology Dept. On the page you will find this syllabus and anything else I find that relates to the course material.
Texts: 1) Proctor, Noble and Patrick J. Lynch. 1998.
Manual of Ornithology (paperback).
2) Any field guide to bird identification. The bookstore has
the Nat'l Geo. guide.
3) Ornithology Lecture Supplements
4) Ornithology Laboratory Manual
Office Hours: Wednesday 6:30-7:30 pm. (through March). Thursday 3:00-3:50pm. Individual appointments are also possible.
Grading: Your grade will be based on your total accumulated
points in the class. The breakdown of points will be as follows (515
total points):
| 3 exams at 50 points each | 150 pts. |
| 1 comprehensive final | 100 |
| 1 reserve reading presentation | 10 |
| 1 individual project (proposal, abstract, presentation and paper) | 80 |
| 3 lab quizzes at 10 pts. each | 30 |
| 7 lab reports (6 at 15 pts. each and 1 at 20 pts.) | 110 |
| 1 set embryology drawings | 5 |
| 3 identification quizzes at 5 pts. each | 15 |
| 3 bird censuses at 5 points each | 15 |
See the course schedule for the dates of these assignments. The lecture exams will contain material from lecture, reserve readings, lab, and identification lists (i.e., there will be a practical portion to each exam). You will have no more than 60 min. to complete each exam and 3 hours for the final. The written portion of each exam will be short essays centering on a hypothetical scenario. This course is very integrative in nature; so, the essays will favor concepts and their applications over fact retrieval. Facts have their place in ornithology, but I am much more interested in how you use them than in your ability to memorize them. Letter grades will be assigned based on the distribution of points at the end of the course. The probable cutoffs will be: for an A- 91%, for a B- 80%, for a C- 70%, and for a D- 60%. Your grade on all the assignments will be directly proportional to the effort you invest!
Attendance & Make-ups: If you should become ill or something serious comes up, phone me at the number above, and expect to take the exam/quiz or turn in the assignment at the earliest opportunity. It is your responsibility to contact me and to make up the material. If you know that you will be missing a class in advance, see me about completing the assignment early. All late work will be assessed a 5% penalty per day (including weekends).
Course Objectives: Unlike most of the courses in our department, this course will look at biology from the viewpoint of a particular class of organism. As I stated above, this course is integrative in nature -- we will be touching upon almost all aspects of biology. We will pay particular attention to the "hot topics" in ornithology, such as classification methods, avian evolution, and human influences, in order to give you an introduction to how modern science works. The individual project is also designed to give you exposure to scientific research. I hope that this course will give you an increased appreciation for the complexity of nature and for birds in particular.
Academic Integrity: Austin College sets high standards
of integrity for both its students and its faculty. The work that
you submit for this course shall be the product of your individual effort.
The answers on your exams, quizzes, reports, etc. shall be your own (cheating
is not allowed). All the ideas in your work that do not originate
from you are to have their sources noted in your assignment. This
does not preclude discussion of assignments with fellow students or faculty.
Please refer to your student handbook for further explanation of Austin
College's policy of academic integrity.
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