Course Goals: General Ecology—Biology 341

The main objective of the lecture portion of this course is to gain a comprehensive coverage of ecological principles. One of the simplest definitions of ecology is “the study of the abundance and distribution of organisms.” In this course we will explore the physical and the biological features and interactions that determine densities and distributions. A central goal of ecology is to try to reduce the incredible complexity of the natural world to an oversimplified, yet hopefully still useful, set of principles. This course will provide an understanding of ecological theory, and we will critically examine some real-world applications of such theories. Ultimately, students should be able to relate ecological principles to problems of habitat and species conservation, resource and waste management, pest control, and areas of environmental planning.

In addition to reinforcing concepts from the lecture, goals of the lab portion of the course are to expose students to habitats characteristic of the South Carolina Lowcountry, employ some basic ecological field methodologies, introduce students to independent research, foster scientific communication skills (oral and written), and to hone quantitative skills (statistics and ecological modeling).