MCBI 2120 Ecology & Sustainability of Our Living Planet

Human populations have become such dominant drivers of environmental change on the planet that geologists have termed this geologic period, the Anthropocene- the epoch of humans. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) convened by the United Nations, widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred with worldwide adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people. Furthermore, IPCC reports make it clear that the choices we will make as a society over the next several decades will have profound impacts on the future of earths climate and life-sustaining services. As the branch of science concerned with the interactions and interdependencies between organisms and their environment, ecology has much to offer by way of solutions for achieving a sustainable and resilient society. Students will learn ecological concepts that explain the structure and development of ecosystems and the drivers of global environmental changes. We will investigate ecological interactions across all relevant scales from interactions among individuals within a population and community, all the way to those that shape entire ecosystems. We will explore the diversity of biological species, species interactions, community level dynamics, global nutrient cycling, and landscape ecology. Woven throughout the course will be unveiling patterns of environmental injustice, the unequal distribution of environmental harms and benefits. We will then investigate how ecological ideas can be applied to solve the human problems of climate change, species extinction, environmental pollution, food insecurity, environmental injustice, and social conflict. The laboratory component of the course will build students skills in ecological observation, experimental design, data collection and analysis, and evidence-based communication.