COURSES

Fall Semester 2000-2003

BIOL 108 Organisms in Their Environment

*3 (fi 6) (either term, 3-0-3). Introduction to how the organisms on this planet have been affected by their environment and how the current environment is the product of the activities of organisms. Also examines how evolution has operated to produce the major groups of organisms and how evolutionary origins are reflected in their classification. The principles that underlie our understanding of the major lineages is discussed using examples from bacteria, fungi, protists, animals, and plants. A description of the involvement of organisms in major ecosystem processes leads to an evaluation of the stability of those systems and of human impact on the processes. Prerequisite: Biology 30. Note: BIOL 107 and 108 can be taken in either order.

Spring Semester

Landscape ecology
LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY: BIOL 470

*3 (second term, 3-0-3) Enrollment limited to 20. Landscapes are holistic entities whose patterns influence ecological processes. Topics highlighted in this course include landscape components, morphology & dynamics; detecting spatial/temporal change in landscapes; issues of scales; movements of organisms, disturbances, and nutrients across landscape mosaics; and restoration, planning and management in a landscape context. Labs emphasize computer applications to characterizing landscape patterns and heterogeneity in space and time, distributing and moving organisms across landscapes, and restoring or planning landscapes for conservation objectives.