Integrative Biology

An intensive lecture and laboratory training course on the fundamental principles and practical applications of stable isotope methods in biogeochemistry, ecology, physiology, and environmental science. Topics covered are sample preparation, operating of an isotope ratio mass spectrometer, and analysis of stable isotope data. This course is required for all students interested in using the facilities housed in the Center for Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry for their research

Topics vary from year to year but will include paleoecology of major groups of organisms or major environments from population, community evolutionary, or taxonomic persepectives.

Class takes place at Lawrence Hall of Science. For graduate students interested in improving their ability to communicate their scientific knowledge by teaching ocean science in elementary schools. The course will combine instruction in inquiry-based teaching methods and learning pedagogy with about eight weeks of supervised teaching experience in a local school classroom with a partner. Thus, students wil practice communicating science and receive mentoring.

This course will introduce students to the diversity of methods and techniques used in ecology and environmental biology. It will focus on major areas of research such as environmental science, population and community ecology, environmental physiology, and ecosystem ecology. In particular, we will discuss the processes that influence the relationships between the biosphere and the atmosphere and the effects of anthropogenic changes, the components and functions of biodiversity, the interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environments, and the major biogeochemical cycles. Each topic will be analyzed from a theoretical and an empirical - practical perspective during the weekly sessions.

This course will review the background mathematical and statistical tools necessary for students interested in pursuing ecological and environmental modeling. Topics include linear algebra; difference equation, ordinary differential equation, and partial differential equation models; stochastic processes; parameter estimation; and a number of statistical techniques.

The uses of phylogenetic trees in comparative biology. Covers the many applications of phylogenetics to biogeography, speciation, conservation, population genetics, ecology, behavior, development, functional morphology, and macroevolution that are revolutionizing those fields. Laboratories are closely integrated with lectures and cover algorithms and software. Requirements include a practical term project.

The goals of the course are to (a) examine how geographically-linked characteristics of species influence their potential for evolution and extinction; and (b) provide an overview of the analytical techniques and applications for studying the interplay between geographic ranges, environment, evolution, and extinction. Accordingly, the course begins by examining what geographic ranges of species are and what controls them. We then will explore how geographic-range characteristics influence and interact with speciation and extinction processes. With that foundation, we will examine how species assemble into communities and how ecological processes govern distributions at the community and landscape levels, touching on such topics as community energetics, scaling issues, and the influences of humans on "natural" ecosystems. The last third of the course will be devoted to an overview of quantitative analytical techniques that commonly are used to study interactions between biogeogeographic ranges, evolutionary processes, extinction, and environmental change.

In this field-oriented course, we will visit sites representative of diverse grassland, chaparral, scrub land, forest, desert, river, marsh, and intertidal ecosystems of California. We will spend up to three weeks studying one or two habitat types that occur at a given field site. Our first site will introduce students to the natural history and ecological patterns at sites. During a second meeting on campus, we will give a 1.5 hour lecture and lead a 2 hour discussion on ecological issues relevant to processes and patterns exemplified at a given site. Methods for field investigations will also be discussed and demonstrated. During our third meeting, we will revisit the site, and students will collect quantitative data that test hypotheses about processes influencing species distributions and abundances. Course requirements will include a research proposal in National Science Foundation format, that presents field results as seed data, develops a program for subsequent investigation of problems uncovered by preliminary results, and justifies the importance of the proposed research with discussions from the literature. A final oral presentation in a class symposium is required.

A survey of the principles and practices of conservation biology. Factors that affect the creation, destruction, and distribution of biological diversity at the level of the gene, species, and ecosystem are examined. Tools and management options derived from ecology and evolutionary biology that can recover or prevent the loss of biological diversity are explored.