Schedule*: Mondays and Wednesdays 8:00am -
12:15pm
Thursday 8:00am - 6:15pm
Location: Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Conference Room
Objectives: To gain an overview of the diverse aquatic ecosystems found in the State of Florida. From each field trip we will identify the prominent plants, fishes and invertebrates that occur, and investigate the community composition. Students will be expected to identify common organisms, and compare the dominant primary producers, secondary and tertiary consumers across systems. Lectures will augment field collections.
Textbooks: Aquatic Plant Identification Deck - available
at the bookstore - $13.00
"Ecosystems of Florida" Myers and Ewel (1990) $34.95
"Florida Freshwater Plants" Hoyer et al. (1996) - on reserve
"Handbook of Common Freshwater Fish in Florida Lakes"Hoyer and Canfield
(1994) - on reserve
Grading: Participation in field work - 30%
Exam 1 - 30%
Final Exam - 40%
90-100 -> A
88-89 --> B+
80-87 --> B
70-79 -> C
60-69 -> D
< 60 -> F
Checklist for each Field Trip:
___ old clothes and shoes (not sandals) for getting in the water, a change of dry clothes
___ sunscreen, insect repellent
___ plenty of water to drink/lunches (each person responsible for their own)
___ rain gear or parka
___ a notepad to write notes
To identify from each Field Trip:
___ general trophic state
___ predominant primary producers (plankton or macrophytes)
___ predominant primary consumers (usually invertebrates)
___ secondary and tertiary consumers (fishes)
___ presence and potential influence of exotic plants or animals