BOT * 3050 – Plant Functional Ecology F (3-3) [0.50]

This course integrates fundamental and applied aspects of plant ecology, focusing on the roles of functional traits, physiological mechanisms, life history strategies, abiotic constraints, and biotic interactions in influencing plant distribution and abundance. Specific topics include physiological ecology, growth and allocation patterns, influence of biotic and trophic interactions [pollinators, pathogens, herbivores, competitors, mutualists, decomposers] on the structure and function of plant communities, and effects of global environmental change. Labs will include a field component that explores variation in functional aspects of plants. This course is especially valuable for students interested in plant or wild life biology and environmental management. Department of Integrative Biology.


Posted By : trillclinton
Posted On : February 5, 2017

Is the textbook recommended by the student? No
Did the student enjoy the professor? Yes
Professor : Maherali

Comment :
I found this course really interesting and the Prof is engaging throughout the lectures. Slides are posted on courselink, but you need to make notes in class during lectures. Assignments are rather easy with full discussion sections required in the last two. Labs are neat as they\'re field labs mostly around the Dairy Bush/Brown\'s Woods. There was no midterm when I took this. The final was a little tricky, but overall fair. Textbook wasn\'t even needed at all the lecture notes are sufficient.
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Posted By : Anonymous
Posted On : April 25, 2012

Is the textbook recommended by the student? Yes
Did the student enjoy the professor? Yes
Professor : Not specified

Comment :
Alright course. Material was not hard but I found it very dull and slow. Most of the material is at a grade 12 level, so if you have taken grade 12 BIO then you should already have enough knowledge to take this course
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Posted By : Anonymous
Posted On : December 12, 2011

Is the textbook recommended by the student? No
Did the student enjoy the professor? Yes
Professor : MacDougall

Comment :
This course was very interesting. The material is not too difficult, but the testing is tricky. If you know your material well, it's not difficult to do well. The labs are all in the field so make sure to dress according to the weather. Only results and discussions on 3 labs are required for write-up. All labs are required to be written up in in point form in a lab notebook to be submitted for grading.
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Posted By : Anonymous
Posted On : March 19, 2011

Comment :
I found this course very interesting and not very difficult...the prof was interesting and a nice guy, the assignments were not too difficult, and all the labs involved field work in a variety of locations around Guelph. The only downside is that 3 lab reports and a final assignment are required, so there is a fair amount of writing and statistical testing. The labs were graded hard, but he explained all the requirements in class and if you followed them it wasn't hard to do well.
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