Plant Communities of New England
ENVS 105Z
Winter 2024
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01
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Students will become familiar with diverse plant communities of various New England ecosystems. Fundamentals of plant structure, physiology, reproduction, ecology, and evolution will be applied to studies of key native species. We will also explore community interactions, the role and impact of disturbance, invasive species and strategies in conservation. The course will provide students with foundational information traditionally associated with introductory botany courses. Specific New England plant communities and species will be cited as exemplars, with an emphasis on terrestrial angiosperms. Species and communities will generally be from four New England ecosystems of interest: Northern Mountains, Temperate Deciduous Forest (of S. New England), Atlantic Pine Barrens region (Outer Cape Cod), and natural and managed early succession habitats throughout. While this is a lecture course and there is no formal lab, you will still have some field and lab activities to provide hands-on observation and application of information. In addition to individual work, there is one group project and group activities during class.
Over break, students will plant seeds and observe and record their germination. Seeds, directions, and access to an online journal will be provided by the instructor before the end of fall term. Students must procure a magnifying glass or hand lens for this work and for additional work throughout the class (capable of 10x). |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
NSM ENVS |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Winter Weed Finder, Dorcas S. Miller and Ellen Amendolara, Nature Study Guild Publishers, 1989; Winter Tree Finder, May Theilgaard Watts and Tom Watts, Nature Study Guild Publishers, 1970. Other readings to be provided including open source Botany textbook chapters and various articles (mostly scientific).
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Examinations and Assignments:
Short multiple-choice online quizzes; projects include a seed journal and glossary, winter plant identification, conservation group project/presentation, and a short paper.
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course is scheduled to be held online. In-person courses may be moved online due to the pandemic. All Winter Session students should expect some readings and assignments to be due during winter break, prior to the beginning of Winter Session class meetings. The syllabus can be found at this link: https://www.wesleyan.edu/wintersession/pdfs/1240/Miller-ENVS105Z-syl.pdf
Additional syllabi for Winter Session courses will be posted to https://www.wesleyan.edu/wintersession/courses.html as soon as they are available.
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| Instructor(s): Miller,Kathleen (Kate) Times: .MTWRF. 09:30AM-01:30PM; Location: ONLINE; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: -1 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 2 | FR: 2 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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