BIOGEOGRAPHY
(SGEO 309)
Wednesdays, 8:05-10:35 a.m.
Room G310

Instructor:

Dr. Edward Saiff, Biology Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ 07430 Phone:  201-684-7723 email:  esaiff@ramapo.edu

Text:   Biogeography(2nd edition) by James Brown & Mark Lomolino (Sinauer, 1998)

Grading:

• attendance & class participation (25%)
• midterm paper (topic assigned by instructor) (25%)  * DUE 10/27 *
• term paper (topic selected by student & approved by instructor (25%)
• final exam (25%)
  
  

Structure:

The subject matter of the course involves three fundamental biological processes: evolution, extinction and dispersal. With these as background the course will be taught as a graduate seminar with in-class discussion of the concepts in the book and questions supplied by the instructor.

Assignment for First Class:

Read the beginning of the text up through chapter 3 (p.60). Start with the Table of Contents (so that you know where the book is going). Also, read the Preface.  The first two chapters provide important introductions to the general conceptual framework and history of biogeography, but the real meat of the assignment is Chapter 3. You should study this well and come to class prepared to explain all aspects of the physical setting of the earth that are presented in the chapter.  If you do not fully understand these basic aspects of seasonality, soil formation, etc., you should individually pursue the relevant background material in introductory textbooks on earth science.

Reading Assignments and Schedule:

DATE	TOPIC	CHAPTER(S) AND PAGES
Sept. 8	Introduction
Sept. 15	Science and History of Biogeography, Physical Settings	1-3 vii-xii, 1-60
Sept. 22	Distribution of Single Species and Communities	4-5 61-133
Sept. 29	Earth History and Pleistocene Dynamics	6-7 135-219
Oct. 6	Speciation and Extinction	8 223-259
Oct. 13	Dispersal, Endemism, Provincialism and Disjunction	9-10 261-323
Oct. 20	History of Lineages, Reconstructing Biogeographic History	11-12 325-365
Oct. 27	Island Biogeography; Patterns in Species Richness   (MID-TERM PAPER DUE)	13 369-405
Nov. 3	Island Biogeography; Patterns in Community Assembly	14 407-447
Nov. 10	NO CLASS
Nov. 17	Species Diversity in Continental and Marine Habitats	15 449-486
Nov. 24	Continental Patterns and Processes	16 487-530
Dec. 1	Status of Biodiversity (TERM PAPER DUE)	17 533-571
Dec. 8	Applied Biogeography; Future of Biogeography	18-19 573-624
Dec. 22	Final Exam

Last revised: August 2004

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