ENVS225

This course introduces foundational biology concepts within the framework of environmental systems, providing a bridge between Introductory Biology and more advanced upper division biology coursework in the Environmental Science major or elsewhere. We will address the role of biota - from molecular to ecosystem processes/scales - in affecting and responding to environmental change. The course is unique in its focus on the role of biota along the continuum from natural to highly-disturbed environments, and its emphasis on linkages between biological activity and environmental quality. The course contains three primary sections, focusing on a fundamental introduction to (i) ecology and evolution (stressing quantitative reasoning from basic principles), (ii) cellular and molecular biology, and (iii) ecosystem science, from the perspective of environmental systems science. These three distinct course modules will be tied together with a cross-cutting set of example systems or case studies that provide an exciting contextual framework for exploration of fundamental concepts.