Course Outline 2011

Plant Ecophysiology BIOL 255

0.125 EFTS (15 Points)
Second Semester
Description
An introduction to the physiology of plants at the cellular and whole organism level. Emphasis will be given to
the processes of resource acquisition, mechanisms of transport amongst plant parts and the responses of plants to
stressful conditions.
Course Coordinator + Lecturer
Professor Matthew Turnbull, Room 419 von Haast, phone 364 2987 ext 7040
Dr David Leung, Room 445, von Haast, phone 364 2987 ext 6650
Lectures Term 4
Monday 10-11 - Tuesday 9-10 - Wednesday 12-1 pm Friday 11-12 (venues TBA).
Laboratories:
These occur during term 4 in the teaching lab at the southern end of level 2 von Haast. There are 6 labs in total
and they run from 2.10-6.00 pm. The labs (stream Q) start Thursday Sept 8th.
A Tuesday group (stream P) will run only if numbers require, and will start Tuesday Sept 6th.
Electronic Distribution of Course Material
Information about the course, including the course handout, notices, summaries of lectures and other details will
be placed on Learn.
Goal of the Course
To introduce the methodology and principles of plant physiological investigation, to develop an understanding of
the physiological processes that allow plants to acquire resources and respond to environmental stresses, and to
provide basic skills in plant laboratory research.
Learning Outcomes
An appreciation of the functioning of vascular plants and its importance to life on Earth
An understanding of the role of plant physiology in biology and society
An understanding of the scientific practice and principles of plant physiology
The ability to interpret experimental data
The ability to describe key events in physiological pathways
Basic skills in plant laboratory science
The ability to access and utilize the scientific literature on plant physiology.

Feedback from Course Survey 2010 (first year of course)

Student ratings

2010

1. This was a well organized course

2. Course helped to stimulate my interest

4.4
4.1
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3. Workload (reasonable = 3.0)

4. Difficulty (reasonable = 3.0)
5. Overall, this was a good quality course

2.9
3.1
4.3

The following issues were raised in written feedback by students at the end of the course. The responses
were collated by the course coordinator and common responses scored. Action taken in response to
feedback is indicated in bold.
Which aspects of this course were most positive?
Lecture summaries/notes (2)
Labs well run and interesting (3)
Assessment involving literature reviews was a positive aid to learning
Getting credit for lab book made me fill it in!
Enthusiastic lecturer
How could this course be enhanced to assist your learning?
Assessment was almost all at the end (lab books, literature reviews, exam) could we have a midcourse test? (4) In a 6 weeks course it is a little hard to have a mid-course test, but what we have
brought in are 4 short quizzes (in weeks 2-5) to test knowledge on the previous weeks lectures.
Have some lab activities outside it is a bit hard to do labs outside, but we will consider adding
some glasshouse activities.
Course Outline
Section 1: Physiology of carbon acquisition in plants (Turnbull)
An overview of the most important concepts relating to the physiology of photosynthesis. These lectures
compliment laboratories 1 and 2. The lecture topics are broadly as follows:
1
Introduction cells, tissues and whole plants, form and function
2
Photosynthesis introduction + light reactions I
3-4
Photosynthesis carbon assimilation I + II
5-6
Photosynthesis physiological considerations/stress I + II
7
Manipulation of photosynthesis for benefit
8
Photosynthesis - the research context
Section 2: Acquisition of water and nutrients; stress responses (Leung)
An overview of the physiology of water use and nutrient uptake. These lectures compliment laboratories 3 and 46.
9-10 Water and plant cells; plant water balance
11-12 Responses to water stress + Research Context
13
Mineral nutrition
14
Root physiology - solute transport
15-16 Responses to nutrient stress and metal toxicity
Section 3: The processing of assimilates in plants (Turnbull)
An overview of the most important concepts relating to the processing of assimilates in plants. These lectures
compliment laboratories 1, 2 and 4.
17-18 Respiration I + Research Context
19-20 Assimilation of nutrients I + II
21-22 Translocation of assimilates I + II
23
Assimilation the research context
24
Integrating physiological processes - hormones

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Laboratory Work
Information on the laboratories and the laboratory schedules for the entire course are provided in the laboratory
manual. The cost of the laboratory manual will be around $5 and this should be purchased from the Student
Notes Centre, prior to your first laboratory class. You should be familiar with the laboratory schedule each
week before coming to the laboratory class.
Lab classes - provisional schedule
Lab 1 Photosynthesis and carbon fixation (DL)
Lab 2 Assimilation of nutrients (DL)
Lab 3 Plant nutrient relations + growth responses to light and nutrient environment (DL)
Lab 4 Plant water relations: introduction and water potential measurements (DL)
Lab 5 Plant water relations: transpiration and stomatal opening (DL)
Lab 6 Mineral nutrition and metal toxicity (DL)
Reading
Textbook
Taiz & Zeiger (2010) Plant Physiology 5th Ed available from UBC. Note that this is an excellent and detailed
text that is also used for BIOL254 and BIOL352. It will be a reference for you for some years to come.
Additional material can be found in Raven Biology of Plants
Books on Reserve
The Central Library has copies of the text on 3-day loan and copies on 3-hour loan.
Course Assessment
a) Course work - worth 30% - this will comprise marks for your laboratory work. 15% will be allocated to two
written summaries of research papers, and 15% allocated to the completeness/quality of work in your lab book.
b) Quizzes at the beginning of the lab in weeks 2, 3, 4 and 5 you will have a short (15 min) quiz on material
covered in the lectures from the week before. Each quiz will be worth 5% (for a total of 20%).
c) Final examination (2 hours) - worth 50% - time and venue TBA. This will cover all material in the lectures
and labs. You will be required to answer THREE questions out of 4 offered (one each from section 1 and 2, and
two from section 3 of the course).
Please note: the School reserves the right to change the weight of assessment if there is disruption to semester 2.
We would only do this is consultation with the class and with a view to achieving a fair outcome for students.

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RULES, REGULATIONS, AND WHAT TO DO WHEN THINGS GO WRONG

If in doubt: ASK! The course co-ordinator is happy to field questions at any time. All staff involved in the course are
generally available for advice on specific issues.
What do I do if Im sick?
If you feel that illness, injury, bereavement or other critical circumstances have prevented you from completing an item of
assessment worth 10% or more of total course assessment or have affected your performance in a test or exam, you should
complete an aegrotat application form, available from Student Records, 3rd floor, Registry or the Student Health and
Counselling Service. You should also notify the course co-ordinator. For further details on aegrotat applications, please
refer to the Universitys Enrolment Handbook 2011, p. 34, Aegrotat Consideration, or the University of Canterbury Calendar
2010, pp 46-47, Aegrotat Consideration). The aegrotat provisions are intended to assist students who have covered the
work of a course but have been prevented by illness or other critical circumstances from demonstrating their mastery
of the material or skills at the time of assessment. If the examiner cannot assess your aegrotat application because of lack
of other evidence, you may be asked to sit a special assessment if you miss a final exam. You should also expect to be
required to submit additional work if you miss a major assignment (e.g. a field trip for which a major write-up is required).
Please note: acceptance of the grounds for an aegrotat application does not simply excuse you from completing items
of assessment if you are requested to do so. You will be given reasonable time to complete any such work.
What do I do if I have to miss something?
In rare cases you may not be able to sit a test or exam, or attend a field trip, because of involvement in international or
national representative sport or cultural groups. In such cases see the course co-ordinator, and a course of action (usually the
sitting of an equivalent test or exam at a different time, or submitting an equivalent piece of written assessment) will be
arranged. This should be done well in advance of the set date for a missed exam/test/assignment. Please note holiday
trips, weddings, birthday parties etc. are not given special status in the University policy, so please do not ask for
special consideration in these circumstances.
Plagiarism
It is essential that you are aware that plagiarism is considered a very serious offence by the Academic community, the
University and the School of Biological Sciences. Plagiarism is defined as taking passages from another work or author and
presenting it as if it is your own work. Plagiarism includes:
buying any form of assessed work e.g. essays, lab reports
re-use of previous assignments
copying of another students work (with or without their consent)
the unreferenced use of published material or material from the internet e.g. cutting and pasting of paragraphs or
pages into an essay.
For most pieces of in-term assessment you will be given information concerning the use of direct and indirect quotes from
previously published work. If you are in any doubt about appropriate use of published material, please speak with a member
of academic staff. If you are still unsure what plagiarism is, then seek advice.
It is a School policy that courses may request you submit work electronically for subsequent analysis of originality using
Turnitin. Students agree that by taking courses in BIOL, required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity
review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the
Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com
service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site.
Where do I hand in assignments and then collect them once marked?
All assignments should be placed in the designated collection box in the foyer of the 4th floor of the School of Biological
Sciences (near the Secretaries' Office), unless directed otherwise by the course co-ordinator. All assignments must be
accompanied by a cover sheet signed by you stating that the submitted work is not plagiarised. Cover sheets are available on
top of the collection boxes, or you can download one from the Biology website (under Undergraduate). In addition, you may
also be asked to submit your work electronically (via Learn) for analysis in Turnitin. You will be given instructions on how
to do this in the assignment handout.
Marked assignments can be collected from the Secretaries' Office between the hours 9.30-10.30am and 1.30-2.30pm, unless
directed otherwise by the course co-ordinator. Teaching staff will endeavour to return work as soon as possible, and should
contact you if there are likely to be any delays that will prevent return within the maximum 4-week timeframe.
What if I cant get it finished in time?
Reports and assignments should be handed in on time. Extensions may be granted if you have a valid reason. If you require
an extension, you should request one from the course co-ordinator (or the lecturer responsible for marking the work),
with as much notice as possible. Please do this BEFORE the deadline for the assignment. If you have been given an

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extension you should hand the work DIRECTLY to the course coordinator (do not put it in the drop box as it may not
be cleared after the due date).
If an extension has not been granted:
work must be handed in by the due date to gain full credit
work handed in up to 7 days after the deadline will be marked, but the marks will be discounted 25% before they
are recorded to the student's credit
any work handed in more than 7 days after the deadline date will not be marked or earn credit.
What if I have written more than the word or page limit?
If there is a word limit on an assignment, it is usually there to stop you doing too much work and to encourage you to write
succinctly. It also makes things easier to assess. You can be up to 10% over without too much worry, but if the length
increases beyond that your mark may suffer due to failure to follow the requirements. If you find yourself way over the
word limit have a chat to the lecturer concerned about how to trim your assignment to an acceptable length.
What if I fail part of the course?
In BIOL, we require a satisfactory level of achievement in both the theoretical aspects of the discipline and in practical
activities. This means you must attend all class activities and submit all items of assessment unless you have a very good
reason not to (e.g. medical reasons). A student must achieve an overall score of at least 40% in both in-course
assessment and tests/exams (as defined in the course outline), AND a total score of at least 50%, to be awarded a
passing grade (C or better). If you fail to achieve the 40% minimum requirement, a grade of D will be awarded, even if
your total score is greater than 50%.
Whats the best way to give feedback?
We welcome constructive feedback at all times help us to make this a valuable course for you. We endeavour to remain
approachable at all times. If you would rather give feedback anonymously, please use the ERAU survey or talk to lab
demonstrators, or your class rep. who will all report back to the staff-student liaison committee that includes a representative
from each of the undergraduate classes. Class representatives will be selected from each class at the start of course.
Whats the best way to complain?
If you feel you have not been fairly treated during this course, please raise the issue with the lecturer or course co-ordinator
in the first instance. Other avenues include your class rep., who can raise issues anonymously, or the UCSA education
coordinator.

SBS Grading
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C

85% or above
80 84
75 79
70 74
65 69
60 64
55 59
50 54

A restricted pass (C-) may be awarded to those who are close to a pass (i.e. an overall score of 48-49.9%) AND who have
achieved at least a 40% overall score in both in-course assessment and tests/exams. If a C- grade is awarded you gain credit
for the course but cannot continue into papers that require this course as a pre-requisite. NB. The C- grade is only available
in first and second year papers - it cannot be awarded for third year papers.
Failing grades:
D
40-48
E
039

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