This semester, this course is for doctoral students in the entomology department who need to gain some fundamental ecology background as a requirement of the department. The course level is the same as that of introductory ecology courses (e.g., ENT3003).

The first meeting of the course will be in the instructor’s office on 9/16. The meeting time listed on the course catalogue (Friday 56) is not necessarily the official meeting time of the course. We will decide the official meeting time at the first meeting. Students who are required to take this course must communicate to the instructor in advance if they cannot attend the first meeting. We will decide the official meeting time at the first meeting to accommodate every student’s schedule.

Due to the nature of this course, students who are required to take this course must have had read the entire textbook already, but students should be prepared (e.g., read assigned chapters) before coming to each class meeting. The class is in discussion and/or conversational format. Students will not be able to stay in the course passively (e.g., by just listening to what other people say).

The grading of this course is based on participation and exam grades. There will be three or more exams. The format of the exams will vary (written and oral). Missing one meeting will be 10% penalty on the total course grade. For example, if you miss three meetings, the maximum possible grade is 70%.

If assignments and quizzes are given, they will be a part of participation grade.