Fall 2014

Seminar in Ecology

Listed in: Biology, as BIOL-434

Formerly listed as: BIOL-47

Faculty

Ethan J. Temeles (Section 01)

Description

The topic is the ecology and evolution of plant-animal interactions. Most animals on Earth obtain their energy from green plants, and thus it is not surprising that interactions between plants and animals have played a prominent role in our current understanding of how ecological processes such as predation, parasitism, and mutualism shape evolutionary patterns in plants and animals. In this course we will start our analysis with a consideration of how plant-animal relationships evolve by studying examples from both extant systems and the fossil record. Next we will examine the different kinds of plant-animal interactions (pollination, seed dispersal, seed predation, and herbivory, to mention a few) that have evolved on our planet, and the ecological processes promoting reciprocal evolution of defenses and counter-defenses, attraction, and deceit. Finally, we will turn our attention to global change and the implications of human alteration of the environment for the future of plant-animal relationships, such as pollination, which are of vital importance to life on Earth. Three classroom hours per week.

Requisite: BIOL 230 or 321 or permission from the instructor. Limited to 14 students. Not open to first-year students. Fall semester. Professor Temeles. 

BIOL 434 - L/D

Section 01
Tu 01:00 PM - 04:00 PM MCLS 230

This is preliminary information about books for this course. Please contact your instructor or the Academic Coordinator for the department, before attempting to purchase these books.

ISBN Title Publisher Author(s) Comment Book Store Price
Plant-Animal Interactions: an Evolutionary Approach Blackwell, 2002 Herrera, Pellmyr TBD

Offerings

Other years: Offered in Fall 2007, Fall 2009, Fall 2011, Spring 2013, Fall 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2024