Ecosystem Ecology

Catalog description

Ecosystems include the living and non-living components of an environmental system and have emergent properties that can only be understood by examining the system as a whole. This course will examine advanced ecological topics centered around the structure and function of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Topics covered will include the development of the ecosystem concept, ecosystem succession, production/decomposition, energy transfer in food webs, and nutrient cycling. The course will consist of classroom lectures, problem sets, and reading/discussion of relevant literature. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: BIO 307 ; one semester of chemistry; junior standing. Offered Spring - Even Numbered Years.