Ecology of the Dining Hall. 3 credits, 3 contact hours

Catalog description

Prerequisites: ( BIOL 201 and BIOL 202 or R120 201 and R120 202 ) and ( BIOL 205 and BIOL 206 or R120 205 and R120 206) with grade of C or better. This course will use the examination of an on-campus ecosystem, the dining hall, as a framework for learning about a number of applied ecological concepts. We will investigate topics such as food webs, nutrient cycling, microbial ecology, and agroecology as they apply to the organisms and biological processes, present in our dining hall. Course work will involve extensive reading and discussion of scientific and popular literature, supplemented by regular class trips to the dining hall and related on-campus facilities.