Biology 303 General Ecology , Spring 2006Textbook: Ecology. 4th Edition. Robert E. Ricklefs and Gary L. Miller. W.H. Freemean and Co., New York.
Course Contents: In this course we cover the factors that regulate the distribution and abundance of organisms, energy and elements in space and time. We begin by analyzing the factors that regulate population sizes, then discuss community structure, the structure and functioning of ecosystems and finish with the effects of humanity on a broad range of ecological phenomena. (PDF Syllabus)
Biology 443/643 Terrestrial Biogeochemistry, Fall 2005
Text: Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change . 2nd Edition. William H. Schlesinger. Academic Press, New York.
Course Description: The objective of this course is to introduce the concepts and important topics in terrestrial biogeochemistry. We will begin with an analysis of where, when and how energy and elements arrived on earth. From here we will consider the metabolic pathways of early life on earth and their effect on the atmosphere and lithosphere. We will then consider the mechanisms underlying the biogeochemical transformation of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and other rock-derived elements. We will consider the patterns and processes regulating the flux of energy and elements in terrestrial ecosystems, but we will briefly review patterns and processes in aquatic and marine ecosystems. We will then consider global scale energy and element cycles. Throughout the course there is an emphasis on how human activity affects biogeochemical transformations at the local, regional and global scales (PDF Syllabus)
Last Updated 23 October 2005