Department of Biological Sciences

Session Offered:

Prerequisites:

BIOL 28600

Description:

BIOL 58500 is a general course in population and community ecology, designed to build on the coverage of these topics provided in BIOL 12100. Beginning with a review of natural selection, topics include physiological, behavioral, and life history adaptations of animals and plants. "Life tables" provide a bridge to population dynamics: how do intra- and inter-specific competition, predation and parasitism influence population growth and limitation? In turn, how do these processes determine which and how many species can coexist? The final part of the course focuses on the determinants and consequences of biotic diversity.

Emphasis is on basic principles, but the applied consequences are not far in the background: how do life history characteristics influence species vulnerability to hunting or habitat loss? How can humans act as "prudent predators" to harvest, but not eliminate, biotic resources? What are the consequences of disturbance and habitat loss for species diversity? What difference does it make to the rest of the community if species are lost?

Instructor(s):

Richard Howard

E-mail:

Textbook(s):

Text:  Ecology-From Individuals to Ecosystems  
Year/Edition: 4th
ISBN Number:  978-1-4051-1117-1
Author(s):  Michael Begon, Colin R. Townsend, and John Harper

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

 This text  required

Notes:

Exam information is available on-line via:
https://roomschedule.mypurdue.purdue.edu/Timetabling/exams.do

Course Format: