Ecology — Fall 2026

Safety nets — use them deliberately, not casually

• One exam can be made up — for documented conflicts (university athletics, sudden illness, family emergency).
• One lab assignment is dropped — same rationale.
• Late work: −5% of the assignment value per day (a 20-point assignment loses 1 point per day).
• Alert him as soon as possible — beforehand where you can — with formal documentation.

Note: there is no "lowest exam dropped" policy, and exams are not stated to be open-note. Do not plan around either.

Manning's own tips for success

"Ecology is not about memorizing terms, but it is about understanding processes." Build that into how you use this site: after every flashcard run, force yourself to explain the mechanism out loud, not just recite the definition.

• Attend and participate. In-class exercises are graded — completion or content, at his discretion — and are how you earn attendance credit. He also drops subtle hints about what is on exams.
• Take the readings seriously. Primary and popular readings go beyond textbook and lecture, are posted to Canvas, announced in advance, and likely discussed in class — and they are fair game on exams.
• Form a study group. He explicitly recommends making a habit of discussing lecture concepts as a team.
• Do the end-of-chapter conceptual questions in the textbook. He names these directly as exam practice.
• Slides are on Canvas — but they are the skeleton, not the course. Being absent costs you the rest.

How to read this schedule

• Each exam is a clean block. Exam 1 = weeks 1–5, Exam 2 = weeks 6–10, Final = weeks 11–15. Nothing is re-tested, so bank each block once and move on.
• Two textbooks, one topic. Stiling is the recommended buy; EFA is free and embedded here. When a topic lists both, read whichever explains it better for you — they cover the same ground.
• The heaviest stretch is Sep 29 → Oct 29 — five straight topic pairs (species interactions → community ecology) with no break until Oct 20, all landing on Exam 2.
• Ecosystem ecology is both the final's whole content and Manning's research area. Nov 5 → Dec 3 is where his emphasis and your last exam overlap completely.