Ornithology BI 347
Biology Department, Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH
Lecture Syllabus for Spring 2021
Dr. Jay Pitocchelli; Office Goulet 2316; ext. - 7397, e-mail -jpitocchATanselm.edu (remember to change the AT to @).
Course Home Page - See BI 347 Ornithology at http://biocourses2016.weebly.com/
Office Hours: By appointment
Lecture Text: Ornithology 4th edition - F. Gill and R. Prum
Assigned readings (Powerpoint file, docx pdf files in Canvas)
Literature references to birds: Shakespeare - The Tempest, King Lear, Jew of Malta; Byron - 47, The Darkness, Longfellow - Birds of Passage,
Music references to birds: Beatles - Blackbird, Bob Marley - 3 Little Birds, Hank Williams - I'm so lonesome I could cry, Rick Dees - Disco Duck, Carly Simon and James Taylor - Mockingbird
Various technical writing examples: Government reports (Lesser Prairie Chicken), Primary literature (Auk - authors' guidelines; Cowbird parasitism), Synthetic reviews (Geographic variation in birdsong)
Lab text field guide: National Geographic field guide to birds of North America
Important Web Sites
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Week
Date - Week of
Lecture Topics (Chapters in text)
Date for Labs
Labs
Writing Deadlines
1
1 FEB
Birds and Society: Birds in Religion (Catholicism) and Mythology (Native Americans), Culture, Music, Literature (Preface and lecture examples)
Birds as political symbols
State Symbols USA
National symbols1 - countries of the world
National symbol 2 - countries of the world
Introduction to Ornithology (Chapter 1)
4 FEB
Campus lab – Group 1A
2
8 FEB
History of Ornithology: contributions to Biology, international contributions from Ornithologists from all over the world (Chapter 2)
Science writing in Ornithology (continued in lab)
11 FEB
Campus lab – Group 1B
Wednesday – Group 1A submit Lab Report from previous week (submit via e-mail)
Wednesday - Choose topic for term paper (submit via e-mail)
3
15 FEB
17 FEB
Phylogeny, Systematics and Taxonomy, the effects of historical global events such as plate tectonics on the evolution of birds (Chapter 3)
Wednesday – submit Outline of term paper
18 FEB
Group 1A
Writing about birds - samples from literature (see Assigned Readings in lab powerpoint on Canvas)
Science writing in Ornithology - various samples from Assigned Readings
Wednesday – Group 1B submit Lab Report from previous week (submit via e-mail)
4
22 FEB
Feathers and Tracts (Chapter 4), Plumage and Coloration (Chapter 4)
25 FEB
Group 1B
Writing about birds - samples from literature (see Assigned Readings in lab powerpoint on Canvas)
Science writing in Ornithology - various samples from Assigned Readings
5
1 MAR
3 MAR
Flight (Chapter 5)
Wednesday – submit 25% of term paper
4 MAR
Orders and families of birds
Group 1A: 1:30-3:00 pm
Group 1B: 3:00-4:20 pm
6
8 MAR
Anatomy and Physiology (Chapter 6, 7), Vocalizations (Chapter 8)
11 MAR
Campus lab – Group 1A
6
10 MAR
Exam 1 Review
7
15 MAR
Cycles (Chapter 9),
18 MAR
Campus lab – Group 1B
17 MAR Wednesday Group 1A submit Lab Report from previous week (submit via e-mail)
7
17 MAR
Exam 1
8
22 MAR
24 MAR
Migration (Various examples of short/long distance migrants, importance of stopover sites, international hotspots, examples and importance of international treaties - see readings) and Orientation (Chapter 10)
Wednesday – submit 50% of term paper
25 MAR
Campus lab – Group 1A
24 MAR Wednesday - Group 1B submit Lab Report from previous week (submit via e-mail)
Wednesday - submit 50% of completed term paper (submit via e-mail)
9
29 MAR
Migration continued
No labs - Easter Break
9
31 MAR
Exam 2 - Wednesday
10
5 APR
Social Behavior (Chapter 11)
8 APR
Campus lab – Group 1B
7 APR Group 1A submit Lab Report from previous week (submit via e-mail)
11
12 APR
Social Behavior (Chapter 11) continued
11
14 APR
Wednesday – submit 75% of term paper
15 APR
Campus lab – Group 1A
14 APR Wednesday - Group 1B submit Lab Report from previous week (submit via e-mail)
Wednesday - submit 75% of completed term paper (submit via e-mail)
12
19 APR
Mates (Chapter 12),
12
21 APR
Mates continued
22 APR
Campus lab – Group 1B
21 APR Wednesday - Group 1A submit Lab Report from previous week (submit via e-mail)
13
26 APR
Breeding Systems (Chapter 13)
29 APR
Group 1A Practical Field Exam
28 APR Wednesday - Group 1B submit Lab Report from previous week (submit via e-mail)
14
3 MAY
Bird Sex (Chapter 14), Nests and Incubation (Chapter 15), Parents and their Offspring (Chapter 16)
Conservation (Chapter 21)
International Societies of Ornitholgy (professionaland amateur) and Bird Conservation
International Ornithological Societies 1
International Ornithological Societies 2
Final Exam Review
6 MAY
Group 1B Practical Field Exam
5 MAY Wednesday - Group 1A submit Lab Report from previous week (submit via e-mail)
15
10 MAY
6:00 PM Final Exam
Submit 100% of term paper
10 MAY - submit 100% of completed term paper for final grading (submit via e-mail)
10 MAY – Group 1B submit Lab Report from previous week (submit via e-mail)
Student |
Lab Groups |
Term Paper Topic |
Banach, Katherine Janet |
1A |
Papua New Guinea |
Basraa, Tanya Kaur |
1A |
India |
Crue, Jason Eric |
1A |
Russia |
Devine, Katherine Louise |
1A |
Peru |
Genovese, Gina Marie |
1A |
Greece |
Guerette, Lia Antonina |
1B |
Nicaragua |
Havey, Larissa June |
1B |
Iceland |
Monaghan, Bridget |
1B |
Egypt |
Ortiz, Isabelle Valerie |
1B |
Ecuador |
Sweeney, Morgan Delaney |
1B |
Italy |
Global Engagement
Student Learning Goals and Objectives for Global Engagement
Global engagement means active interest in a world where all peoples, being rooted locally, share the responsibilities of belonging to a common humanity. As members of the human family, students should respect the inherent dignity of all peoples and their universal human rights. Courses should provide students with an understanding of global structures, processes, and conditions. Students should be able to identify commonalities and diversity in an interconnected world; they should have the capacity to be responsible and effective participants in global society; and they should appreciate their relationship with the greater world. Students in BI 347 will achieve these goals through various exercises in this course. A primary exercise will be an independent research project on a country of their choice. This term paper includes a description of the type of government, government agencies responsible for environmental regulation and wildlife management, refuges and national park systems, economic versus environmental issues, bird species of concern and conservation issues, conservation organizations within each country, special examples of birds as political, cultural or religious symbols. The remaining goals will be achieved through lecture and text materials including examples such as: the role of plate tectonics on the ancestry and evolution of birds from dinosaurs or the formation of volcanic island archipelagoes (e.g., Galapagos Islands); migratory species with wintering and breeding ranges in different countries, migratory pathways and importance of stopovers in different countries; birds as indicators of the health of ecosystems throughout the world; effects of climate change on birds breeding in different parts of the world; ornithology is science dependent on international contributions from ornithologists from all over the world including scientists, citizen/amateur scientists and indigenous peoples; appreciating a relationship with the greater world through the laboratory experience of identifying migratory species from Central and South America, etc.
Topics that have already been taken
Countries taken and are not eligible |
Australia |
Austria |
Brazil |
Canada |
Colombia |
Costa Rica |
Japan |
New Zealand |
Uganda |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
Student Learning Outcomes for Global Engagement
Students who have completed their Global Engagement requirement should be able to:
Understand the world as an interrelated and interdependent whole
Recognize global systems, institutions, processes or other sources of global unity and fragmentation
Demonstrate knowledge of major global issues such as human migration, trade, global poverty and inequality, environmental degradation, and human rights
Recognize and comprehend the diversity of societies, peoples, and cultures
Interpret aspects of other societies, countries, and cultures with empathy and sophistication
Disclaimer
All lecture and laboratory exercises and their dates are subject to change. Advance notification will be given in case of any changes.
Trademark and Disclaimers
Copyright © 2001 Jay Pitocchelli. All rights reserved. The contents of this page are the intellectual property of Dr. Jay Pitocchelli for distribution to students enrolled in Ornithology BI 347 at Saint Anselm College. These pages may not be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or published in any electronic or machine-readable form in whole or in part without prior written approval of Jay Pitocchelli. Students enrolled in Ornithology BI 347 at Saint Anselm College have permission to print this material for their lecture notes.