Course Syllabus

Title of Course: Pollinator Ecology

Prefix and Number: Entom461/ 561

Semester and Year: Spring

Number of Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: 461- Entom 343, Entom 361, SOE 300, or Bio 372, or equivalent/ 561- Graduate student

Course Details

Day and Time: Tuesday, Thursday 1:30 – 2:45p

Meeting Location: [tbd]

Instructor Contact Information

Instructor Name: Rae Olsson, Ph.D.

Instructor Contact Information: FSHN 302F, rae.olsson@wsu.edu, 509-335-4526

Instructor Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:30 – 4pm, and by appointment

TA Name: [tbd]

TA Contact Information: [office location, phone, email]: [tbd]

TA Office Hours: [click here for best practices] [tbd]

Course Description

Discover the fascinating world of pollinators in Pollinator Ecology! This course explores the critical roles of bees, butterflies, birds, and other pollinators in ecosystems. Topics include pollinator behavior, plant-pollinator interactions, and the impact of policy, agriculture and environmental changes on pollinator communities. Graduate students enrolled in Entom 561 will write a literature review paper with the expectation of preparation to peer-reviewed journal, or as chapter in graduate dissertation. Graduate students will also give a 10-minute oral presentation on their literature review topic at the end of the semester, following the format of a graduate student conference presentation aligned with the student’s professional society affiliation.

Course Materials

Books: [N/A]

Other Materials: [N/A]

Fees: [N/A]

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) [add more lines if necessary]
Course Learning Outcomes (students will be able to:)	Activities Supporting the Learning Outcomes	Assessment of the Learning Outcomes
Scientific communication: Effectively communicate the challenges facing pollinators to a broad audience through a variety of different channels	Semester-long project creating a public outreach campaign on a specific plant-pollinator network or ecosystem and the challenges that network or ecosystem is facing, including actions the public can take to mitigate those challenges	Topic Proposal: Clarity and relevance of chosen challenge Research Summary: Depth of analysis and synthesis of information Campaign Plan: Feasibility, creativity, and alignment with objectives Campaign Materials: Quality, effectiveness, and engagement potential Implementation and Outreach: Execution quality, public engagement, and impact Evaluation Report: Insightfulness, thoroughness, and reflection Final Presentation: Organization, clarity, and persuasiveness
Understand the complex relationships between pollinators and plants, and communicate effectively about the way those relationships change in a variety of ecological contexts	Lectures, reading scientific papers, in-class activities	Reading assignments, in-class group activities, quizzes, exams
Draw inferences from peer-reviewed scientific papers on how governmental and industry policy impacts pollinator ecosystems in the present, and how policy changes could impact pollinator ecosystems in the future	Scientific paper discussions, governmental policy reviews and discussions, in-class activities, literature review paper	Reading assignments, in-class group activities, quizzes, exams, literature review to be prepared for submission to a scientific journal or as chapter of graduate thesis
Describe a variety of plant-pollinator mutualisms and networks, and how ecosystem functions rely on those mutualisms	Lectures, reading scientific papers, in-class activities	Reading assignments, in-class group activities, quizzes, exams
Design experiments to answer questions about pollinator declines, pollinator health, and ecosystem function at regional scale	Reading and discussing scientific papers, in-class activities	Reading assignments, in-class group activities, quizzes, exams
Understand the myriad forces causing pollinator decline globally	Lectures, reading and discussing scientific papers, reading and discussing governmental policy and industry pressures	Reading assignments, in-class group activities, quizzes, exams

Course Schedule [Please note that a WSU semester is 15 weeks + Thanksgiving/Spring Break. The schedule below does not include the break.]
Dates	Lesson Topic	Assignment	Assessment
Week 1	Overview of pollinators; importance of pollinators	Discussion of peer-reviewed paper on global pollinator importance. Introduce final project- Create a public awareness campaign on a specific plant-pollinator ecosystem challenge.	Short essay, comic, or podcast about pollinator importance in agriculture. Select final project topic.
Week 2	Bees, Butterflies, Birds, Bats, and Other Pollinators	Group presentations on different pollinator species/groups. Project planning activity to select and outline final project.	Quiz on types of pollinators Literature review topic due
Week 3	Plant-pollinator interactions; Mutualistic Relationships, Co-Evolution	Research paper discussion of specific plant-pollinator interactions.	Final project research summary due Literature review outline due
Week 4	Pollinator behavior and communication; Foraging Behavior, Navigation, and Communication	Workshop on final project campaign plan	Quiz on pollinator interactions, behavior, and communication
Week 5	Pollinator Population Ecology, Life Cycles, and Reproduction	Discussion of pollinator ecology methods, design a simple experiment including background, hypothesis, methods, expected results	Final project public outreach campaign plan due.
Week 6	Common Pollinator Diseases, Parasites, and Pesticides	Guest lecture from pollinator health specialist	Research proposal, quiz on pollinator health
Week 7	Pollinator Habitats, Conservation Efforts	Design a pollinator-friendly garden using native plants in a chosen region of WA state as a group	Presentation on pollinator-friendly garden, including how garden meets current WA state pollinator habitat guidelines
Week 8	Climate Change Effects on Pollinators, Adaptation Strategies	Creative scientific communication activity	Comic, podcast, or short story- speculative fiction with focus on how climate change will affect pollinators in the future. Final project campaign materials due.
Week 9	Role of Pollinators in Agriculture, Crop Pollination	Field trip to WSU Organic Farm	Reflective journal on field trip observations, quiz on pollinators in agriculture
Week 10	Pollinators in Urban Environments, Challenges	Discussion of urban pollinator habitats	Create a video teaching urban gardeners how best to support a specific pollinator group in an urban setting
Week 11	Economic Value of Pollination Services, Ecosystem Services	Economic analysis of pollination services. How to write an effective self-evaluation	Quiz on pollinator roles in urban spaces, climate change effects
Week 12	Environmental Policies, Pollinator Protection Laws	Debate on current pollinator protection policies	Pollinator protection policy critique paper
Week 13	Innovative pollinator health research	Review recent literature, discussion of new technologies to support pollinator health	Final project self-evaluation due
Week 14	Pollinator conservation strategies	Design a community outreach program	Presentation on pollinator conservation strategy proposal
Week 15	Course review and final presentations	Final presentation of semester-long project	Course self-evaluation
Week 16 (finals week)	Final exam		Graduate students 10 minute oral presentation of literature review

Expectations for Student Effort

Students should expect to spend three (3) hours in class, and an additional 3-4 hours per week working on assignments and the cumulative project.

Grading

Assignment Breakdown
Type of Assignment (tests, papers, etc)	Points	Percent of Overall Grade
Cumulative project	330	30
Assignments and in-class participation	550	50
Quizzes and exams	220	20

Grading Schema
Grade	Overall points earned	Grade	Overall points earned
A	930-1,000	C	730-760
A-	900-920	C-	700-720
B+	870-890	D+	670-690
B	830-860	D	630-660
B-	800-820	F	below 630
C+	770-790

Scores will be rounded to the nearest whole number. Lowest grade in each category (project, participation, exams and quizzes) will be dropped.

Attendance and Make-Up Policy

Students should make all reasonable efforts to attend all class meetings. However, in the event a student is unable to attend a class, it is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor as soon as possible, explain the reason for the absence (and provide documentation, if appropriate), and make up class work missed within a reasonable amount of time. There will be a heavy emphasis on graded in-class activities, so missing class meetings may result in reducing the overall grade in the class.

Academic Integrity Statement

I encourage you to work with classmates on assignments. However, each student must turn in original work. No copying will be accepted. Students who violate WSU's Standards of Conduct for Students will receive an F as a final grade in this course. You are responsible for reading WSU's Academic Integrity Policy, which is based on Washington State law. If you cheat in your work in this class you will:

-Be asked to meet with me to discuss your work. Failure to attend this meeting will result in a report to the Center for Community Standards.

-Be reported to the Center for Community Standards

-Have the right to appeal my decision

-Not be able to drop the course or withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished

If you have any questions about what you can and cannot do in this course, ask me.

If you want to ask for a change in my decision about academic integrity, use the form at the Center for Community Standards website. You must submit this request within 21 calendar days of the decision.

Use of AI Text Generators and Academic Integrity I recognize that AI generator tools are becoming more available and part of life. We want to address their use as tools, and how they may be used to complete your coursework. There will be instances where AI generators will be allowed, and I will clearly identify those instances during lectures and assignment descriptions. Use of AI Text Generators outside of those explicitly identified instances will be viewed as a violation of academic integrity. If you are unsure whether your use is allowed, please chat with me

AI Detection Policy

If I suspect that you’ve used AI-generated text without sufficient revision and disclosure of its use, I will request a meeting with you to discuss your work
If I identify a false reference or in-text citation, I will request that you submit a PDF of the original source
Failure to meet with me will result in a report to the Center for Community Standards and initiation of the Academic Integrity Process

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