BIOL 208 - Plants and Fungi

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Plants and fungi are key components of the biosphere. By focusing on their evolutionary ecology, this course explores their distinctive biological features, evolution of life history strategies, and how we have modified them for our own uses. Field trips to natural areas in the Hudson Valley focus on observing and describing variation in plant form, learning locally common plant species, and recognizing the primary plant communities of the Hudson Valley. Labs include a comparative study of the structure and function of plants such as moss, ferns, conifers and flowering plants, as well as the diversity of the major groups of fungi, including pathogens, mutualists, and mushrooms. Margaret Ronsheim.

Prerequisite(s): BIOL 108 or permission of the instructor.

Three 50-minute periods; one 4-hour laboratory.

Course Format: CLS