ECOL 8310 (Population and Community Ecology)
8310 provides an advanced view of the spatial and temporal dynamics of populations and communities (e.g., population growth and regulation, species interactions, eco-evo dynamics, foodwebs, patterns of diversity). Lectures will emphasize concepts, as revealed through mathematical models, graphical analyses, and empirical investigations. Readings from the primary literature will facilitate the students' abilities to critically evaluate papers, research methods, and inferential tools. Discussions will be student-led and will enhance the students' communication skills and their abilities to assess and debate relative merits of different ideas and approaches.
ECOL 8000 (Topics in Modern Ecology)
This course provides an introduction to the practice of ecology as a basic science. Students are immersed in discussions, exercises and activities that emphasize critical thinking about ecological questions and concepts from multiple perspectives, across scales and levels of organization. This is not a survey of ecology, but rather an opportunity to become more comfortable and facile addressing challenging questions in Ecology. This course is team-taught and divided into 4 modules with transition days between modules. I teach the module on "inference/controversies in ecology". [Starting in Fall 2023, the course information was posted in eLC.]
ECOL 8990 (Research Reviews)
This seminar is designed to facilitate critical discussion of research projects at various stages of development and to help colleagues work through problems they have encountered in their research (such as the formulation of hypotheses, synthesis of existing research, design of experiments, analysis of experimental and comparative data, interpretation of complex data). We meet for 2 hours at my home, one evening each week. Although much like a "lab meeting", it is designed to provide a broader base of critical feedback and to include more novel perspectives than you might get from a smaller group of "like-minded" peers. Although strongly, ecological, I welcome participants with any interests in ecology, environmental science, comparative biology, or evolutionary biology.
ECOL 3500 (Ecology)
This course provides a foundational understanding of the processes that influence the interactions between organisms and their environment and affect spatial and temporal patterns in ecological systems. We examine processes that operate at numerous scales, from individuals to populations to communities to ecosystems. Topics include behavioral ecology, population structure and dynamics, species interactions, organization and classification of communities, and nutrient and energy flows in ecosystems. Because humans are an integral part of most ecosystems, we also explore the role of humans: e.g., as drivers of the dynamics of other species. [Note -- this course is taught through eLC, so I cannot link to the full course content. The links to the right provide syllabi.]