Wildlife Responses to Climate Change

Catalog description

This course focuses on past, present, and future responses of wildlife to climate change (=global change ecology). In this course, we learn about global-scale climate changes, the factors that cause them and the consequences of these changes for wildlife populations and natural communities. We discuss how species are responding to climate change, emphasizing ecology, evolution, physiology and behavior. We also explore the various ways of studying the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and strategies to mitigate these impacts. There is a strong emphasis on understanding the process of gaining reliable knowledge in climate change ecology (and science in general) through reading and critical evaluation of the primary literature. By the end of this course, your communication skills, creativity, and analytical abilities are reinforced and improved.