BIOL 350 - Ecology

Units: 4
An examination of the factors influencing the relationships between organisms and the living and non-living aspects of their environment. Issues explored include species interactions, population dynamics, physiological adaptations, population growth, community structure, energy flow, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity loss. Lecture Units: 3; Lab Units: 1

Prerequisites: STAT 303, and either BIOL 140B or ENSC 241, all with a grade of C- or better.
Possible Instructional Methods: On-ground.
Grading: A-F grading only.
Course Typically Offered: Fall & Spring

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Apply the scientific process to different scenarios, including making observations, writing hypotheses and predictions, analyzing data, and making accurate conclusions based on evidence.
Make observations and connections from natural phenomena.
Understand the forces that shape Earth’s climate, and explain the evidence for human-caused climate change.
Relate evolutionary adaptations to specific biotic and abiotic environments to the distribution of habitats and species on Earth.
Explain and quantify biodiversity.
Understand the agricultural ecosystem (agroecology, fisheries, and forestry).
Apply theoretical models to understanding how ecological communities change or remain stable over time and the forces that regulate populations.
Interpret models of global nutrient cycling.
Interpret and model how species’ populations change over time and how diseases spread.
Explain trophic cascades and interpret food webs and food chains.
Explain how human waste can spread through ecosystems.
Apply the concepts of environmental sustainability and environmental justice to the human ecosystem.