ECOL 414/514 – Summer I 2008--Plants of the Desert: Syllabus

Dr. Annita Harlan
spider@throneworld.com
Office, Koffler 422
(520) 621-1588
EEB Office Hrs. by appointment

Download this Syllabus as a Word document

Fouquieria photo: © 2003 Michael Charters via CalPhotos

About the Course...

The course Plants of the Desert will have a lecture or field trip each class meeting.  In addition, there are two highly recommended Saturday field trips:
(1) Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson Mt. Park June 16, 2007, 4:15 pm to ~8:30pm
(2) Mt. Lemmon Highway June 23, 2007, 8am to ~5pm. 

Items considered in the evaluation of your work will be:

1. Examinations
   I.   Basic Concepts (June 13, 2007)   Closed Book                (100 pts.)
   II.   Plant Identification, habitat/niche (July 5, 2007)             (100 pts.)
2. Plant Collection (due June 28,
   2007)                   
            
          (50 pts.)
3. Plant Talk (June 27, 28 or July 2,
   2007)                         
          (50 pts.)

Each student will be awarded a grade at the end of the session based on the number of points accumulated: 
90% = A;
80% = B;
70% = C;
60% = D;
below 59% = E. 
No curve is used.  No extra credit is available.  There is no slack for failed deadlines.  Make up exams may be impossible.

GOALS OF THE COURSE

1. To acquire a working knowledge of elementary botany.
2. To become familiar with an array of desert plants.
3. To become aware of deserts, especially the Sonoran Desert, their conditions and history.
4. To sharpen observational skill and analytical thinking.

Schedule for Plants of the Desert
ECOL 414/514 – Summer I, 2007

* field trips are optional, but highly recommended

CLASS MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES

Attendance is required.  Students are responsible for all
material and announcements in each class meeting.  If you miss or
are late, you must obtain notes from your classmates.  State or
religious holidays or Dean of Students absences are exceptions.

There may be assigned seats and roll-taking in order that the
instructor be better acquainted with the class.  In order that
everyone enjoy and learn from this class, it is important that
individuals remember to respect and show courtesy toward others and
toward the class itself.  Please be on time, avoid disturbances
during class such as talking while someone else is speaking, and offer
assistance when it is needed.  Turn off cell phones and
pagers before entering the classroom.  No electronic devices will
be allowed during examinations.  Be aware that the
University of Arizona as a whole expects its students to live by high
standards of morality and academic integrity.  Student
responsibilities are detailed at the UA Policies website:  ( http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/cai1.html#responsibility)

BOOKS FOR THE COURSE

Required:  K.D. Harrington and L.W. Durrell – How to Identify Plants
William G. McGinnies – Discovering the Desert
Articles and worksheets by various authors (class website; ask instructor for username and password)
Optional:  Anne Orth Eppel – A Field Guide to Arizona Plants

ABOUT THE PLANT TALK

Near the end of the session, time is scheduled for students to
give their course presentation.  This is an opportunity for each
person to make a 7-minute oral presentation with visual aids on a topic concerning desert plants chosen by you with the instructor’s aid. The time and date of your talk will be chosen on June 7, 2007.  The only way to change the time is to exchange times with another willing person and with the instructor’s permission.  If you do not give a talk, the only grade you can receive in the course is Incomplete.

Topics will involve one or more plants from the Sonoran, Mojave or Chihuahuan Deserts.  Bringing in examples of the plants or their parts makes a more satisfying presentation than just talking about them in the abstract.  Duplicate topics will not be allowed, nor will group presentations.  A short description of the presentation, as well as its title and at least two good references will be due on June 18, 2007.

Talks should be organized with a beginning, middle and end in
mind.  Because of the strict time limit, rehearsal beforehand is
needed.  If you are cooking, bring final product and examples of materials used to produce it.

Talks will be graded on content, accuracy of information
presented, organization, presence and quality of visuals and
demonstration materials used.
 
Avoid regarding this part of the course as an ordeal.  Most students find it fun, and an opportunity for your individual contribution to the class content.  You will also find it is good practice for the world of work where public speaking is commonplace.

SUGGESTIONS FOR TALKS:
-- If you come to the class with strong interest in a particular plant found, or grown in, the desert, consider using it in your talk, e.g. if you intend to teach recognition of desert plants to a school class, develop a plant list with possible illustrative material
--Desert plants as food, for fiber, for dyes, for medicines, for construction material, decoration, gardening, crafts, landscaping
--Growth of one or more desert plants (if you start from seeds, start this week)
--Role of desert plants in wildlife habitat or food
--Prehistoric, or historic uses of desert plants by humans
--Longevity or vulnerability of desert plants in the wild     
--Comparison between U.S.A. desert plants and those in other deserts of the world
--Diseases or predators on desert plants
--Check recent newspaper articles, and classroom clippings for ideas

ABOUT THE PLANT COLLECTION

The plant collection will help you acquire specific
information about desert plants of your choice.  It will consist
of 5 different pressed, dried desert plants organized into one notebook
with labels.  (I suggest a 3-hole binder with clear, not
matte-finish, plastic sleeves for the pressed plants.)  The
species you select should include at least 3 Arizona natives.  All
species should be arid-adapted.  Required and suggested notes to present with each plant:

--correct scientific and common names for family, genus and species  Required
--pressed, dried plant sample Required
--where, when and by whom collected  Required

-- drawings and sketches
-- photographs of the plant and its habitat
-- measurements of plant parts
-- personal observations of the plant’s life history
-- notes from readings or interviews about the origins, affiliations, uses or     cultivation requirements of the plant

The Plant Collection will be graded on:
craftsmanship (how well material is organized and prepared and
presented) 40%; accuracy 60%.  All collections will be due on June
28, 2007.  They will be returned July 2, 2007 and may be used
during Exam II.  Many students will find these collections useful
to keep, augment, and use in the future as a private reference
“herbarium.”

FOR THE ECOL 514 STUDENT

In addition to the Ecol 414 activities, Ecol 514 students will write a 3-5 pp. paper to expand the Plant Talk topic. This
paper, effectively composed, with references and in appropriate, typed
format, will be due the same day as your oral presentation.  However,
the instructor will need to see a first draft on June 25, 2007 in order
for critique and revision to take place. No points are associated with
this task. An acceptable final draft shows your graduate level
competence. You must make an appointment no later than June 14, 2007 to agree on your topic with the instructor.

FOR THE SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENT

Students with Disabilities:
If you anticipate issues related to the format or requirements of this course, please meet with me. 
I would like us to discuss ways to ensure your full participation in
the course.  If you determine that formal, disability-related
accommodations are necessary, it is very important that you be
registered with Disability Resources (621-3268; drc.arizona.edu) and
notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations.  We
can then plan how best to coordinate your accommodations.

References for Further Understanding

There are many truly wonderful books about the Sonoran Desert
and all its denizens.  The following are a sampling.  Some
you will only find in UA Library’s Special Collections or in
private libraries, but occasionally a regional press will reprint one
of the classics.

Baldwin, Bruce G. et al.  2002.  The Jepson Desert
Manual; Vascular Plants of Southeastern California.  University of
California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Benson, Lyman.  1982.  The Cacti of the United States & Canada.  Stanford University Press.

Benson, Lyman and Robert Darrow.  1981.  Trees and
Shrubs of Southwestern Deserts.  University of Arizona Press,
Tucson, AZ.

Bowden, Charles.  1986.  Blue Desert.  University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

Bowden, Charles.  1987.  Frog Mountain Blues.  University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

Bowers, Janice.  The Mountains Next Door.  University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

Broyles, Bill.  Our Sonoran Desert.  Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson, AZ.

Buchman, Stephen L. & Gary P. Nabhan.  1996.  The Forgotten Pollinators.  Island Press, Washington, D.C.

Duffield, Mary and W.D. Jones.  Plants for Dry Climates.  1981 and later editions.  H.P. Books, Tucson, AZ.

Felger, Richard and Mary Beck Moser.  1985.  People
of the Desert and the Sea.  University of Arizona Press, Tucson,
AZ.

Gibson, Arthur C. and Park S. Nobel.  1986.  The Cactus Primer.  Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

Hartmann, William K.  1989.  Desert Heart:  Chronicles of the Sonoran Desert.  Fisher Books.

Haury, Emil.  1978.  The Hohokam, Desert Farmers and
Craftsmen:  Excavations at Snaketown, 1964-65.  University of
Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

Hodgson, Wendy.  2001.  Foodplants of the Sonoran Desert.  University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

Hornaday, W.T.  1908.  Campfires on Desert and Lava.  Scribner’s and Sons, NY.

Humphrey, Robert R.  1974.  The Boojum and Its Home.  University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

Kearney, T.H. and Peebles, R.H.  1960.  Arizona
Flora.  Second edition.  University of California Press,
Berkeley, CA.

Krutch, Joseph Wood.  1985.  The Desert Year.  Viking Press.

Lazaroff, David W.  1993.  Sabino Canyon:  the
Life of a Southwestern Oasis.  University of Arizona Press,
Tucson, AZ.

Lowe, Charles H.  1964.  Arizona’s Natural
Environment.  University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, (from The
Vertebrates of Arizona.)

McGinnies, William G.  1981.  Discovering the
Desert:  Legacy of the Carnegie Desert Botanical Laboratory. 
University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

Nabhan, Gary P. 1986.  Gathering the Desert.  University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

Nabhan, Gary P.  1982.  The Desert Smells Like
Rain:  a Naturalist in Papago Indian Country.  North Point
Press, San Francisco, CA.

Phillips, Steven J. and Patricia, Wentworth Comus. 
2000.  A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert. 
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ.

Pumpelly, Raphael.  1918.  My Reminiscences v. I and II.  Henry Holt and Co., NY.

Shreve, Forrest and Ira L. Wiggins.  1964. 
Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert.  Stanford University,
Stanford, CA.

Spellenberg, Richard.  2003.  Sonoran Desert
Wildflowers. A Falcon Guide.  The Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, CT.

Turner, Raymond, Janice Bowers, Tony Burgess. 
1995.  Sonoran Desert Plants:  an Ecological atlas. 
University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

Turner, Raymond, Robert H. Webb, Janice E. Bowers, James
Rodney Hastings.  2003.  The Changing Mile Revisited. 
University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

Van Dyke, John C.  1976.  The Desert.  Arizona
Historical Society, Tucson, AZ.  Original publication 1904.

Wilder, Joseph C. ed. 1997.  Dry Borders:  Binational Sonoran Desert Reserves. 
Journal of the Southwest, V. 39, no. 3 & 4.  Southwest Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.

Abronia photo © 2003 Charles E. Jones via CalPhotos