Biology 171-A: Special Topic in Biology for Nonscience Majors: Biology of Global Change

We will explore the impacts of human-influenced climate change on living organisms, biological communities, and ecosystems. The focus of the course is to examine how organisms respond physiologically and behaviorally to our altering planet, and how those adaptations impact populations. In only a short time, humans have radically influenced the planet through various avenues: land use changes, global warming, overharvesting, pollution, and the introduction of invasive species. To provide context for contemporary environmental changes, we will also examine alterations to Earth's climate on a geological time scale. This course consists of lectures, activities (e.g., group brainstorming, discussions, data interpretation), and discussion of primary literature.