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Biology Department
  2007-2008 Courses
Biology 116. Plants in the Human Environment
(5 Credits, Winter)

Cartoon: A lecturer, grasping a podium under a banner that reads "Ecology Lecture Series" says, "If we do not begin to address the environmental unbalances that we have brought out ecosystem, catastprophic and irreversable damage will occur, resulting in a multitude of abhorrent events that may indeed terminate the biological conditions necessary to sustain metabolic processes. In short..." And then, below the drawing, "We're screwed." Description: Concepts in plant biology for nonmajors. The emphasis is on the importance of ecological principles to human affairs. Major topics include the biodiversity, control of vegetation patterns, plant responses to climate changes, evolution, ecosystem functions, agricultural ecology and conservation biology. Students will learn about the diversity of plant life, how plants develop, disperse and establish and how they interact with their environment and with other organisms. Weekly discussion sessions provide opportunities for discussion and interaction, and will include greenhouse exercises and studies of the scientific and research methods as well as several timely conservation and environmental issues. .

Biology 116 link:
http://protist.biology.washington.edu/bio116/index.html
This link requires a password…please contact Roger del Moral for permission.



Biology 456. Vegetation of Western Washington
(5 Credits, Spring 2007)

Description:
This course is designed for conservation biology majors and those with emphases in ecology or evolution. Students from biology, forestry, geography, urban horticulture, and landscape architecture typically benefit from this course. This course builds on a basic understanding of the flora of our region (e.g. such as might be obtained in Biology 117). It explores the basic sight-identification of common species and how they are distributed on the landscape. One major emphasis is to understand the indicator value of most of the species (natives and exotic) in our flora.

Biology 456 link:
http://protist.biology.washington.edu/biol456/
This link requires a password… please contact Roger del Moral for permission.

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Biology 471. Plant Ecology
(5 Credits, Spring 2006)

Description:
This course has been developed from Botany 354 and Botany 465 to serve the demand for an advanced course in plant community ecology. We will explore how to sample and describe plant communities. How do communities develop? Do communities actually exist? What factors control the distribution of plant species? What do plants tell us about the landscape? Answers to these and other questions will be explored in the field and in laboratory settings.

This course is designed for students interested in ecology, evolution, environmental, conservation or plant biology. You should have had Biology 180 (or equivalent) and Biology 354, 356 OR 456.

Students from forestry, geography, urban horticulture and landscape architecture also benefit from this course.

Contact Roger del Moral for more information.

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