Winona State University
BIOL 415/527 – Ecology of Large Rivers

Class Meeting Schedule
Lecture: MW 10:00-11:00; Lab: T or Th 8:00-12:00
Pasteur Hall 225 or various Mississippi River habitats

Instructor
Neal D. Mundahl

Office and Office Hours
Pasteur Hall 250- MWF 8-9, 11-12, WF 1-3

Telephone
(507) 457-5695 or text message (507) 581-0287

E-mail

nmundahl@winona.edu

Text Books

"Stream Ecology: Structure and Function of Running Waters"

by J.D. Allan, M.M. Castillo, and K.A. Capps

"Immortal River: The Upper Mississippi in Ancient and Modern Times"

by C.R. Fremling

Evaluation
Three lecture exams of equal value - 300 points total
Five lab exercises of equal value - 100 points total
One lab paper - 100 points

Additional requirement for graduate students only:
Students enrolled for graduate credit will be required to do one of the following (100 points):

1) research and write a review paper on some aspect of large river ecology of mutual interest to the student and instructor; or

2) direct a class project surveying stream habitat, analyze the data collected, and write a summary report. 

Please see the instructor for additional details.

Grading

A percentage of the points earned out of the total possible points will be calculated for each student.

To be certain of earning the grade of your choice, you should strive for the following percentages:

A - 90%, B - 80%, C- 70%, D - 60%.

Lecture schedule and required readings

Abiotic Conditions
Introduction – Chapter 1 (Fremling 1, 2)
Hydrology and streamflow – Chapter 2
Fluvial geomorphology – Chapter 3 (Fremling 13, 14)

Chemical and physical environment – Chapters 4 & 5

*** Monday, 26 September - Exam #1

Biotic Conditions

Primary producers – Chapter 6 
Organic matter, microbes, and energy – Chapters 7 & 8

Lotic communities – Chapter 11 (Fremling 18, 19)

Trophic relationships and species interactions – Chapters 9 & 10

*** Monday, 31 October - Exam #2

Functional Processes
Nutrient dynamics – Chapters 12 & 13

Stream metabolism – Chapter 14

River management – Chapter 15 (Fremling 22, 24)

*** Wednesday, 7 December, 8:00 AM - Exam #3

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