16:215:507 Plant Systematics (3) Broad, evolutionary overview of all vascular plants, from club mosses and ferns to conifers and flowering plants. Principles of classification and field identification, morphology, and basic concepts in evolutionary studies in botany. Independent project. Struwe. Prerequisite: Principles of botany or vascular plant systematics.

16:215:508 Plant Systematics Laboratory (1)

16:215:510 Conservation Ecology (3) Biological, social, and economic causes of the major threats to ecosystems and species. The role of universities and human communities. Changing worldviews and possibilities for constructive response. Ehrenfeld

16:215:513 Population Genetics (4) Factors affecting gene frequencies in populations and leading to the origin of new species. An introduction to the analysis of continuously distributed polygenic traits. Smouse. Prerequisite: Genetics.

16:215:520 Landscape Ecology (3) A comprehensive introduction and overview of the field of landscape ecology, coupling theory and concepts with illustrated applications in the computer lab to provide practical experience using state-of-the-art landscape analysis tools. Meixler

16:215:550 Advanced Evolution (1) Journal club in evolution. Major elements of organismal evolutionary theory: phylogenetics, genetic variation, natural selection, adaptation, and speciation. Demonstration of methodology and software programs. Struwe, Duffy

16:215:554 Molecular Ecology (3) Genomics applied to ecology and evolution. Topics will include population dynamics, dispersal, natural selection, and conservation genetics. Pinsky

16:215:564 Wildlife Ecology and Conservation (3) The ecology, management, and conservation of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. Topics include population viability analysis, sustainable harvesting, habitat fragmentation, and conservation genetics. Lockwood

16:215:565 Community Dynamics (4) Patterns and processes involving sets of two or more coexisting species. Theoretical and empirical studies. Morin

16:215:571 (F) Bayesian Analysis (3) This course will prepare graduate students to perform Bayesian analyses. Topics covered will include likelihood functions, prior and posterior distributions, model choice, hierarchical modeling, and the OpenBUGS software package. Green

16:215:575 (F) Quantitative Ecology and Evolution (3) Application of differential equations and linear algebra to specific ecological phenomena (e.g., growth, competition, predator/prey). Dynamic modeling of simple (three- and four-component) ecosystems; students develop their own models. Morin. Prerequisite: Calculus.

16:215:585 Introduction to Ecological and Environmental Modeling (3) Mathematical and statistical tools for ecological and environmental modeling. General model formulation, validation, hypothesis testing, nonlinear phenomena, and forecasting. Xu. Prerequisites: College-level calculus and basic statistics.

16:215:586 Ecosystem Modeling, Quantitative Analysis for Ecosystem Management (3) Quantifying major ecosystem functions based on current knowledge and understanding of ecosystem processes and their interactions from cell to ecosystem scales; modeling photosynthesis, respiration, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, energy balance, stomatal conductance, and leaf area index; basic spatial modeling techniques and applications of remote sensing and GIS in ecosystem modeling. Application of models to ecosystem management and global environment change. Xu. Prerequisite: 16:215:585.

16:215:587 (S) Urban Ecology (3) Ecology in and of cities; responses of organisms to urbanization; socioecological linkages; urban planning and design as it relates to biodiversity. Aronson

16:215:588 Topics in Advanced Ecology (3) Literature review and synthesis of a selected current topic in applied or theoretical ecology.

16:215:590 (S) Population Ecology (4) Population dynamics and demography, natural selection and evolution, life history strategies, population regulatory mechanisms, species interactions and coevolution, variability among populations and ecological differentiation, and island biogeography. Lec./sem. 3 hrs., lab./field 3 hrs. Morin. Prerequisite: Ecology.

16:215:598 (F) Foundations of Ecology (3) An overview of concepts and current topics in the field of ecology. Winfree

16:215:599,600 Special Topics in Ecology (BA,BA) Topics vary every semester. Current listing can be found on the online scheduling system.

16:215:601 Seminar in Ecology (1) Introductory seminar required for all first-year ecology and evolution students. Graduate program director

16:215:602 (S) Ethics and Development in Ecology and Evolution (1) Applying for academic jobs; basics of scientific writing; training in responsible conduct of research. Lockwood. Prerequisite: 16:215:601.

16:215:603,604 Special Topics in Ecology (BA,BA) Topics vary by semester. Current listing can be found on the online scheduling system.

16:215:605,606 Advanced Problems in Ecology (BA,BA) Individual study in an area of expertise of the faculty.

16:215:650 Fundamentals of Ecosystem Ecology (4) Critical review of ecosystem ecology, including biogeochemical cycles and budgets, ecosystem energetics, the theory and history of ecosystem ecology, and the response of ecosystems to disturbance. Meets at the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies during Winter Session.

16:215:701,702 Research in Ecology (BA,BA)