Fundamentals of Ecosystem Ecology (BIOS532)
Fall 2015
Time:Tuesday/Thursday, 8:10 - 9:30 AM
Location:FOR 106
Instructor:
Cory Cleveland
Science Complex (CHCB) 423
243-6018
Office Hours: T 9:30 – 11:00 and by appointment
Course Description & Learning Outcomes
In this course students will consider the defining principles of ecosystem ecology. Ecosystem ecology is somewhat unique in that it considers the flow of both energy and materials through living (e.g., plants, animals, microbes, humans) and non-living (e.g., lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere) components of environments. As such, the course includes material ranging from biophysical and chemical to biological. Using the framework developed by G. Evelyn Hutchinson in his book, The Ecological Theater and the Evolutionary Play, we will begin by examining the “abiotic stage” (e.g., ecosystem water and energy balance, climate, geology and soils) on which the major ecological players perform some truly incredible roles (e.g., primary production, decomposition, nutrient cycling and nutrient use). We will consider a number of fundamental concepts in the field (e.g., succession, disturbance, ecological stoichiometry), then turn our attention to the major element cycles (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus), what drives them, how element fluxes vary in space and time, and what that means for the planet, and we will consider some strategies for managing and sustaining ecosystems. Along the way, we will use some specific case studies from the primary literature to help synthesize the information we are covering.
The overall goal of this course is help students develop an understanding the relationships between ecosystem structure and the way they function. Through the semester, I hope to weave logical connections between ideas, and to demonstrate how complex processes can be understood from basic principles. Approximately 2/3 of the course will be lecture-based, with the remaining 1/3 consisting of group discussion of concepts and primary literature. Everyone will take exams, and take-home problem sets may be assigned periodically to provide some experience in ecosystems scientific analysis. Participation in class discussions will also be a significant part of the course grade, and will be assessed, in part, via quizzes covering the assigned readings. In addition, students will be responsible for completing a short independent project (ecological synthesis or meta-analysis) that addresses an ecosystems-related question in an ecosystem of interest. Finally, all students will be responsible for preparing and delivering presentations summarizing the information from their independent projects in an Ecosystem Ecology Symposium held at the end of the semester.
Grading
Grades will be calculated as follows:
Midterm 1: 20%
Midterm 2: 20%
Final Exam:20%
Participation/Homework:10%
Independent Project:20%
Oral Presentation:10%
Tentative Class Schedule (Fall 2015)
Class# / Date / Topic / Textbook Reading / Suggested Reading1 / 9/1 / Ecosystem Ecology and the Ecosystem Concept / Ch 1 / Gorham (1991)
2 / 9/3 / The State Factor Approach to Ecosystems – Hawaii as a case study / Amundson and Jenny (1997); Vitousek et al. (1997) / Odum (1969); Chadwick et al. (1999)
3 / 9/8 / The Atmosphere and Climate / Ch 2
4 / 9/10 / The Atmosphere, Climate and Ecosystems / Ch 2 / Meir et al. (2006)
5 / 9/15 / Geology & Soils / Ch 2 & 3
6 / 9/17 / Energy & Water / Ch 4
7 / 9/22 / C Cycle 1 / Ch5 / Chapin et al. (2006)
8 / 9/24 / C Cycle 2 / Ch 6 / Meyer & Edwards (1990)
9 / 9/29 / C Cycle 3 / Ch 5/6 / Falkowski et al. (2000)
10 / 10/1 / Terrestrial C Cycle Case Study: The C cycle at multiple scales / Clark et al. (2001); Cleveland et al. (2015)
11 / 10/6 / Terrestrial C Cycle: Decomposition and Soil Respiration / Ch 7 / Raich & Schlesinger (1992)
Couteaux et al. (1995)
12 / 10/8 / Midterm 1
13 / 10/13 / Nutrient Use / Ch 8
14 / 10/15 / Nutrient Use / Ch 8; VitousekHowarth (1991) / Walker & Syers (1976)
15 / 10/20 / Nutrient Cycling / Ch 9 / Elser et al. (2007)
16 / 10/22 / Nutrient Cycling / Ch 9 / Mulholland et al. (2008)
17 / 10/27 / Trophic Dynamics / Ch 10 / Hairston et al. (1960); Allison et al. (2008)
18 / 10/29 / Ecosystem Dynamics & Succession
Final Project Outlines DUE! / Ch 12; VitousekReiners (1975) / Chapin et al. (1994)
19 / 11/3 / Ecosystem Dynamics and Succession: Case Study / Chapin et al. (1994), Vitousek and Farrington (1997) / Vitousek et al. (1979); Davidson et al. (2007)
20 / 11/5 / Midterm 2
21 / 11/10 / Species Effects on Ecosystems / Ch 11 / Maron et al. (2010); Vitousek et al. (1987)
22 / 11/12 / Biodiversity Case Studies / Chapin et al. (1997); Chapin et al. (2000) / Tilman (1996); Tilman & Downing (1994)
23 / 11/17 / Global Climate Change: Case Study / Clark (2004); Zhao & Running (2010)
24 / 11/19 / Global Biogeochemical Cycles / Ch 14 / Galloway et al. (2008); Falkowski et al. (2008)
25 / 11/24 / Global Biogeochemical Cycles / Ch 14
26 / 11/26 / Thanksgiving Break – No Class
27[1] / 12/1 / Ecosystems Symposium / Presentations
28 / 12/3 / Ecosystems Symposium / Presentations
29 / 12/8 / Ecosystems Symposium / Presentations
30 / 12/10 / Ecosystems Symposium / Presentations
Reading
Textbook: Chapin, FS, Matson, PA, Vitousek, PM. 2011. Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology. Springer, New York.
(Ch) refer to chapters in the textbook.
Reading: Journal Articles (Available for download on Moodle)
Aber, J. 1998. Nitrogen saturation in temperate forests- Hypotheses revisited. BioScience 48.
Aber, J. D., K. J. Nadelhoffer, P. Steudler, and J. M. Melillo. 1989. Nitrogen saturation in northern forest ecosystems. BioScience 39:378-386.
Amundson, R. and H. Jenny. 1997. On a state factor model of ecosystems. BioScience 47:536-543.
Chadwick, O., L. Derry, P. M. Vitousek, B. Huebert, and L. Hedin. 1999. Changing sources of nutrients during four million years of ecosystem development. Nature 397:491-497.
Chapin, F. S. et al. 2006. Reconciling carbon-cycle concepts, terminology and methods. Ecosystems 9:1041-1050.
Chapin, F. S., L. R. Walker, C. L. Fastie, and L. C. Sharman. 1994. Mechanisms Of Primary Succession Following Deglaciation At Glacier Bay, Alaska. Ecological Monographs 64:149-175.
Chapin, F. S. et al. 1997. Biotic control over the functioning of ecosystems. Science 277:500-503.
Chapin, F. S. et al. 2000. Consequences of changing biodiversity. Nature 405:234-242.
Clark, D. A., S. Brown, D. W. Kicklighter, J. Q. Chambers, J. R. Thomlinson, and J. Ni. 2001b. Measuring net primary production in forests: concepts and field methods. Ecological Applications 11:356-370.
Cleveland, C.C., P. Taylor, K.D. Chadwick, K. Dahlin, C.E. Doughty, Y. Malhi, W.K. Smith, B.W. Sullivan, W.R. Wieder and A.R. Townsend. 2015. A comparison of plot-based, satellite and Earth system model estimates of tropical NPP. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 29, doi:10.1002/2014GB005022.
Couteaux, M.-M., P. Bottner, and B. Berg. 1995. Litter decomposition, climate and litter quality. TREE 10:63-66.
Davidson, E. A. et al. 2007. Recuperation of nitrogen cycling in Amazonian forests following agricultural abandonment. Nature 447:995-999.
Elser J., Bracken M.E.S., Cleland E.E., Gruner D.S., Harpole W.S., Hillebrand H. et al. (2007). Global analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of primary producers in freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Ecol. Lett., 10, 1135-1142.
Falkowski, P. et al. 2008. The microbial engines that drive earth's biogeochemical cycles. Science 320: 1034-1039.
Galloway, J. et al. 2008. Tranformations of the nitrogen cycle: Recent trends, questions and potential solutions. Science 320:889-892.
Gorham, E. (1991) Biogeochemistry: Its origins and development. Biogeochemistry 13:199-239.
Lindeman, R.L. (1942) The trophic-dynamic aspects of ecology. Ecology 23:399-418.
Maron, J., M. Marler, J. Klironomos, C. Cleveland. 2010. Soil pathogens contribute to the positive plant diversity-productivity relationship. Ecology Letters doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01547.x
Odum, E. P. 1969. The strategy of ecosystem development. Science 164:262-269.
Raich, J. W. and W. H. Schlesinger. 1992. The global carbon dioxide flux in soil respiration and its relationship to vegetation and climate. Tellus Series B Chemical and Physical Meteorology 44:81-99.
Running, S., R. R. Nemani, F. A. Heinsch, M. Zhao, M. Reeves, and H. Hashimoto. 2004. A continuous satellite-derived measure of global terrestrial primary production. BioScience 54:547-560.
Tilman, D. 1996. Biodiversity: population versus ecosystem stability. Ecology 77:350-363.
Tilman, D. and J. A. Downing. 1994. Biodiversity and stability in grasslands. Nature 367:363-365.
Vitousek, P. and W. Reiners. 1975. Ecosystem succession and nutrient retention: A hypothesis. BioScience 25:376-381.
Vitousek, P. M., O. A. Chadwick, T. E. Crews, J. H. Fownes, D. M. Hendricks, and D. Herbert. 1997. Soil and ecosystem development across the Hawaiian Islands. GSA Today 7:1-8.
Vitousek. P.M. et al. (1987) Biological invasion by Myrica faya alters ecosystem development in Hawaii. Science 238:802-804.
Vitousek, P. M. and H. Farrington. 1997. Nutrient limitation and soil development: Experimental test of a biogeochemical theory. Biogeochemistry 37:63-75.
Vitousek, P., J. R. Gosz, C. C. Grier, J. M. Melillo, W. A. Reiners, and R. L. Todd. 1979. Nitrate losses from disturbed ecosystems. Science 204:469-474.
Vitousek, P. M. and R. W. Howarth. 1991. Nitrogen limitation on land and sea: How can it occur. Biogeochemistry 13:87-115.
Walker, T. W. and J. K. Syers. 1976. The fate of phosporus during pedogenesis. Geoderma 15:1-19.
Zhao, M. and S.W. Running. (2010) Drought-induced reduction in global terrestrial net primary production from 2000 through 2009. Science 329:940-943.
Some other important and potentially useful references:
Aber, J.D. and J. M. Melillo (1991) Terrestrial Ecosystems.Saunders College Publishing, Philadelphia, PA.
Likens, G.E. and F.H. Bormann (1995) Biogeochemistry of a Forested Ecosystem. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Sala, O.E., R.B. Jackson, H.A. Mooney and R.W. Howarth. (2000) Methods in Ecosystem Science.Springer, New York.
Schlesinger, W.H., Bernhardt, E.S. (2013) Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change. Academic Press, San Diego, CA
Vitousek, P.M. (2004) Nutrient Cycling and Limitation. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Waring, R.H. and S.W. Running. (1998) Forest Ecosystems: Analysis at Multiple Scales. Academic Press, New York.
Wetzel, R.G. (2001). Limnology, 3rd Edition: Lake and River Ecosystems. Academic Press, New York.
[1]L 27 - 30 are reserved for student presentations of student-developed ecosystems research projects.