DR. HOWARD'S COURSES

BIOL286: INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY
Interactions between the biotic and abiotic components of natural systems. The process of natural selection and how it affects adaptive change in ecological systems. Ecological principles associated with individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems.

BIOL287: LABORATORY IN INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY
One four-hour lab (three sections). Includes both laboratory exercises and field trips.

BIOL585: ECOLOGY
BIOL 585 is a general course in population and community ecology, designed to build on the coverage of these topics provided in BIOL 121-122. 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 interspecific 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?

BIOL597: SEX AND EVOLUTION
Lectures cover various theoretical and empirical aspects of sexual reproduction from an evolutionary perspective. Topics include: Why did sexual reproduction evolve? What different modes of reproduction exist? How is the sex of an individual determined in different organisms? What sex ratio should exist in different species? What is sexual selection, and how does it influence male and female characteristics in various species? How does sexual selection influence human social behavior? Discussion meetings critically evaluate recent literature. In these discussions, I ask each student to read one of the cited papers from the main paper under discussion; in this way, we not only explore the current paper but also the prior work on which the current paper is based.

BIOL695D: THE PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGICAL INSTRUCTION
Biol 695D is not a course per se with exams or presentations by students. It was created as a service to grad students, particularly ones that continue on in academia for their profession and thus teach as part of their position. Meetings are conducted in a discussion format in which a "guest", usually leads the discussion. As there are 15 weeks in the semester, 5 guests are usually from small colleges, 5 from mid-sized universities, and 5 from major universities (mostly from Purdue). I ask the guests to talk about their views of teaching, from their overall philosophy to their methods to what their institution expects of them (see specific topics below). During these sessions, the grads are encouraged to ask as many questions as they can to get the maximum amount of useful information from the guests. The goal of 695D is thus to provide a format for grads to begin forming their own teaching philosophy and ways to go about teaching.