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Revision 1 closed January 5, 2009, replaced by current version.
Delivery mode: Individualized study with home labs, and four days of in-person field and laboratory work held in Athabasca.
Credits: 3 - Science.
Prerequisite: BIOL 204 and BIOL 205, or BIOL 207. Alternatively six credits from a recognized university and approval by the course professor.
Centre: Centre for Science.
BIOL 345 is not available for challenge.
Course website
Ecology, as a branch of biology, is the study of the interactions of organisms with their environments. This course covers experimentation and models, relationships between organisms and their abiotic environments, population ecology and various symbiotic relationships, community ecology, ecosystem energetics and biogeochemical cycles, as well as aquatic and terrestrial biomes.
The course consists of the following 30 units.
Section I: What is Ecology?
Section II: The Organism and Its Environment
Section III: Populations
Section IV: Communities
Section V: Ecosystems
Section VI: Comparative Ecosystem Ecology
To receive credit for BIOL 345, you must obtain a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent) as well as 50 percent on the examination, 50 percent on the lab report, and an average of 50 percent on the three assignments. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
Assignment 1 (Chapters 1-9 plus Home Lab 1) | 10% |
Assignment 2 (Chapters 17-27 plus Home Labs 2-3) | 15% |
Assignment 3 (Chapters 28-30 and 10-16 plus Home Lab 4) | 15% |
Lab Report (following 4-day Field Ecology Workshop) | 20% |
Final Exam (Chapters 1-30 plus Home Labs 1-4) | 40% |
Total | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Smith, R. L. 1996. Ecology and field biology, 5th edition.
New York: HarperCollins College Publishers.
Smith, R. L. 1996. Study guide to accompany Ecology
and field biology, 5th edition. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin/Cummings.
Ambrose, H. W., III, and K.P. Ambrose. 1995.
A handbook of biological investigation,
5th edition. Knoxville, TN: Hunter Textbooks.
The course materials also include a student manual, laboratory and field manual, and an assignment manual.
Assignment 3 includes an essay that will require library materials, which can be borrowed from Athabasca University Library. The first three home labs require some materials that you must supply. These materials, if not owned by you already, should cost less than $30. The assignments and examination must be completed within your registration period (normally six months). However, the Field Ecology Workshop can be done up to 14 months after your initial registration. The Field Ecology Workshop (FEW) is compulsary. It consists of four days of field and laboratory work. It will be held in the summer, usually at Athabasca University's headquarters in Athabasca, Alberta.
For up-to-date information regarding the Field Ecology Workshop dates, see lab schedule or contact the science lab coordinator, (780)675-6276.