BIOL 303 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function
As a consequence of human activity, the Earth’s biosphere is currently experiencing the 6th mass extinction event in the history of the planet. Why is there so much biodiversity to begin with and will be the large-scale environmental consequences of biodiversity loss? This class will blend lecture with open-ended discussion of peer-reviewed scientific papers to try to understand the answers to these questions. The first part of the course will focus on what drives biodiversity, while the second part will investigate the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function. The papers we read will span a variety of organisms (e.g. rodents, trees, microbes, & invertebrates) and a variety of systems (e.g. deserts, forests, soils, & ponds).
Instructor
Norman