BIOL 140 - Survey of Ecology with Lab

5 credits

This one quarter course is the study of the interactions of plants, animals and other organisms with their environments, the nature of ecosystems, population dynamics, and the human impact on the environment. Emphasis will be placed on current issues in ecology, conservation and sustainability. Lab sessions will include ecological field study. For non-majors and allied health students.

Theory Hours
4 Theory hours

Guided Practice Hours
2 guided practice hours

AA Specified Elective
Satisfies science or lab requirment area A or C distribution or specified elective for the AA degree.

Course Outcomes
• Describe and understand the major concepts and methods of study in organismal ecology, from genetics, evolution, to physiological and behavioral ecology, and the influence of climate change on organismal ecology.
• Describe and understand the major concepts and methods of study in population biology, from population genetics, demography, life history evolution, and species interactions, and the influence of climate change and population decline and range distribution.
• Describe and understand the major concepts and methods of study of ecosystem, landscape, and macroecology, including species richness patterns, keystone species, succession, food web analysis, energy and nutrient cycles, and the influence of global climate change on these processes; understand the concept of sustainability and its influence on ecosystems.
• Understand basic concepts of experimental design, and the specific challenges of experimental designs in ecology, and be able to perform and analyze a basic experiment, while being able to recognize and express such information as found in peer reviewed scientific literature.

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