BIOL 254 - Environmental Science in the Field

1 unit(s)

(Same as ESCI 254, ENST 254, and GEOG 254) The environment consists of complex and often elegant interactions between various constituents so that an interdisciplinary approach is required to understand how human interactions may affect it. In this course, we study a variety of aspects of a specific environment by considering how biological, chemical, geological, and human factors interact. We observe these interactions first hand during a weeklong field trip. Some of the questions we may consider are: How does a coral polyp create an environment that not only suits its particular species, but also helps regulate the global climate? How has human development and associated water demands in the desert Southwest changed the landscape, fire ecology, and even estuary and fisheries’ health as far away as the Gulf of California? How have a variety of species (humans included) managed to survive on an island with the harsh environment of the exposed mid-ocean ridge of Iceland? The course is offered every other year, and topics vary with expertise of the faculty teaching the course.

Prerequisite(s): Prerequisites for 200-level courses are BIOL 106 and either BIOL 105, AP Biology with a 4 or 5 AP score, or IB higher level 5, 6 or 7 test score, unless otherwise noted. permission of the instructor.

Not offered in 2013/14.