Mar 28, 2024  
Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog 2017-2018 
    
Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED CATALOG] See drop-down menu above to access other catalogs.

BIOL 117 - Environmental Biology

(4 credits)
Ecological relationships and current environmental issues are explored in class with a focus on how biological systems function and what impacts humans have had on global biodiversity. Class discussions and short video clips from Nature, CNN and CBC news explore the human impact on harvesting renewable and nonrenewable resources, biogeochemical cycles, human population growth, threats to endangered species, global climate change, sustainable use of renewable resources and local impacts on global biodiversity. Class discussions, laboratory exercises and team projects highlight examples taken from outside the United States and particularly case studies drawn from Canada and regions of Southeast Asia. Laboratory exercises emphasize making observations and using quantitative reasoning to study effects of environmental factors on organisms; using computer models to study harvest impacts on world fisheries; and case studies to examine water use and world health issues. Three hours of lecture and one two-hour laboratory weekly. Offered every semester. (CNSL)