Colby College: Advanced and Applied Ecology
This team-taught upper-level science course was intended to give students interested in the field of Ecology a bit more theoretical foundation, as well as applied hands-on lab experience. We covered topics including environmental adaptations of plants, competition, predation, life history, dispersal, population regulation, community structure and dynamics, island biogeography, and reserve design. Labs included GIS analysis, remote sensing, STELLA population modelling, plant competition (wheat and clover), life tables, foraging strategies, vegetation analysis, culminating with a rocky intertidal field experience. In class, students presented topics (e.g., predator management, rewilding, restoration, and global change) for a lively debate as well as led discussions on topics such as urban ecology, fire ecology, fisheries, and biological control.