Tropical Ecology - Includes a trip to Costa Rica during winter or spring break. Focuses mostly on tropical moist forests, providing an introduction to the diversity of flora and fauna in some of the most species-rich ecosystems of the world. Examines interrelationships among species, including human interactions with species and systems. Juniors and seniors. Invertebrate Zoology - A broad overview of the most diverse group of species on earth.
Invertebrates are everywhere, influencing all other species, including humans.
We learn about their ecological roles, e.g. decomposition, pollination, and their impacts upon human health, e.g. Lyme disease and malaria. Sophomores - seniors. An honors course that brings in faculty from several disciplines to explain the relationship of their field to environmental problems or to nature. Poets are inspired by nature, economists must determine costs of depleting resources, historians can trace the interactions of civilization with nature. The goal is to emphasize the inherent interdependence of humankind with the environment.