BIOL 402T(S) Current Topics in Ecology (Same as Environmental Studies 404T)+
This tutorial will deal with current issues in ecology at the community and ecosystem levels. The first half of the tutorial will explore facets of community ecology such as the impacts of invasions of exotic organisms into native ecosystems; critical area size, fragmentation, and other biogeographic issues in conservation biology; and usual, short-distance versus unusual long-distance dispersal mechanisms for various organisms. The second half of the tutorial will concentrate on ecosystem-level issues such as maximum versus optimum harvesting rates in human-dominated biospheric processes and the global implications of rates of change in environmental variables. Evaluation will be based on oral presentations, class participation, and written assignments. Prerequisite: Biology/Environmental Studies 203 or Biology 204 (Animal Behavior).
Satisfies distribution and senior requirements in major.