| My primary aim is to show how ecologists study and solve problems at three hierarchical levels--the population (physiological ecology, life history, and behavior), species interactions (competition, mutualism, predation and parasitism), and communities and ecosystems. Students learn through a combination of Powerpoint lectures, reading quizzes, written assignments and problem sets, and team learning in labs. An emphasis is on case studies, which addresses the student’s desire for application (e.g., by far the most successful case studies involve four lectures on predators, parasites, and disease, culminating in a lecture on bubonic plague). I completely redesigned, and continue to change and modify, the 14 labs. These labs extend and apply the concepts developed in lecture. They are not sure-fire demonstrations of some principle. Rather, they emphasize the generation and testing of hypotheses to solve a problem. This creates a lively atmosphere of investigation, much more like the real world than most labs I experienced as an undergraduate. |
From the syllabus
| Welcome to Zoology 3403. This course is designed to introduce you to the theoretical and practical aspects of ecology--the science of the distribution and abundance of organisms and their interactions with the biotic and abiotic environment. My chief goal is to teach you to think and reason like an ecologist. Many of the problems facing humanity have an ecological component. I hope to encourage some of you to consider making ecology one of your life’s passions. |