Community Ecology

Community ecology is an interdisciplinary field that bridges concepts in biodiversity science, biogeography, evolution and conservation. This course provides an introduction to the study of pattern and process in ecological communities with an emphasis on theoretical, statistical and experimental approaches. Topics include: ecological and evolutionary processes that create and maintain patterns of biodiversity; biodiversity and ecosystem function; island biogeography, metacommunity dynamics, niche and neutral theory; species interactions (competition, predation, food webs), species coexistence and environmental change. The class format includes lectures, discussions, and computer labs focused on analysis, modeling and presentation of ecological data using the statistical program R. Prereq: Bio 2970 required, Bio 381 recommended, or permission of instructor. (Biology Major Area C)