This course focuses on a range of subjects dealing with the dynamics of plant populations and communities. Critical assessment of current theories, experimental methods and analytical techniques will be emphasized. Students will review restoration projects in Canada and abroad, to become more familiar with experimental design, analysis and data management, as it is currently used in restoration ecology. Emphasis will be placed on the scientific method and the role of ecological theory. Political, social and economic aspects of restoration will be considered.
Extra work is required of graduate students.
Particular emphasis will be placed on evolutionary processes and on adaptive aspects of thermoregulation, foraging strategies, spatial distribution, social and reproductive strategies. The course will emphasize both the theoretical basis and empirical evidence for ecological adaptation. There is a one-hour seminar each week for class discussion of selected lecture topics. Extra work is required of graduate students. The regulation of plant growth and development from the environmental to the molecular level, and the integration of these processes in time and space.