Ecology & Evolution

Ecology & Evolution (BIOS 207) is an undergraduate course which provides an overview of areas in ecology, evolution, and behavior.  The course is required for all biology majors and minors. I have taught the course in the summer at Cedar Point Biological Station, which means we can interaction with organisms in their natural environment.

I place a special emphasis on quantitative thinking, emphasizing model construction and interpretation. This emphasis aligns with national recommendations on training for future physicians and undergraduate biology majors. Throughout the course, critical and synthetic thinking is expected, as opposed to simply facts and information. This is reflected in the manuscript writing for each of 3 major research projects.

The course makes extensive use of an interactive electronic "textbook" called SimUText.

The summer 2016 syllabus for the course can be found here [PDF].

 

Chad Brassil on the benefits of SimUText

Students collect data at Reller Prairie
Students collect data at Reller Prairie as part of a lab for BIOS 207