BIOL 103
Environmental Biology (GE)
1. Catalog Entry
BIOL 103
Environmental Biology (GE)
Credit hours (4) Three hours lecture; two hours laboratory
For any student who is not a Biology major. An introduction to how the natural world
works and of the scientific methods used to study the natural world. Emphasis is on
the study of ecology and the process and products of evolution. Applications are made
to the importance of biological diversity, and the impact of humans on the natural
world and the methods used to understand and ameliorate such impacts. BIOL 103 is
not a prerequisite for upper level study in Biology. Biology majors should take BIOL
131. Students who are not Biology majors but need to take upper level Biology courses
should take BIOL 105. This course has been approved for credit in the Natural Sciences
Area of the Core Curriculum.
Note(s): General Education and Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning designated course. This course will not fulfill Biology major requirements. Biology majors should take BIOL 131. Students who are not Biology majors but need to take upper level Biology courses should take BIOL 105.
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2. Detailed Description of Course
Evolution and adaptations of organisms to their environment. Interactions of organisms
with each other and with their environment. Communities and ecosystems. Human impacts
on the environment.
Depending on the interests of the instructor and the students, specific topics may
include, but are not limited to:
1) Speciation
2) Evolution of life on earth
3) Methods of classification
4) Overview of major taxa
5) Biodiversity
6) Habitat destruction (fragmentation)
7) Extinction
8) Rare and endangered species
9) Endangered Species protection
10) Invasive species
11)Nutrient and hydrologic cycles
12)Food webs and energy flow
13)Ecosystem Services
14)Resource depletion (tragedy of the commons)
15)Pollution
16)National Forests and National Parks
17)Environmental protection
18)Local and regional environmental issues
3. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
The course will be taught in the class/laboratory format, where “class” may include
any combination of lecture, discussion, group work, or online classwork, as determined
by the instructor.
Readings may include textbooks and other sources.
Laboratories will emphasize skills, which may include, but are not limited to observing
systematically, asking questions that can be answered with observation or experiment,
designing experiments based on those questions, collecting data systematically, data
analysis and presentation, and drawing appropriate conclusions.
Students may be required to plan, perform, and report on experiments. They may engage
in debates and discussions of controversies in environmental biology.
Whenever possible, students will practice using basic mathematics and statistics,
including graphing appropriately and measuring accurately with the metric system.
4. Goals and Objectives of the Course
Students will understand the methodologies of scientific inquiry, think critically
about scientific problems, and apply principles of a scientific discipline to solve
problems in the natural/physical world.
Students will be able to:
1) Distinguish between findings that are based upon empirical data and those that
are not.
2) Apply scientific principles within the context of a specific scientific discipline
to solve real world problems.
5. Assessment Measures
Assessment measures will vary with the instructor, but will generally include lecture
and laboratory exams and a final exam. Continuing assessment may involve quizzes,
class projects, laboratory reports and take-home exams. Students may be asked to do
outside research and prepare written or oral presentations applying what they have
learned. Students may be asked to argue, orally or in writing, for a particular position
in areas where there is disagreement. Students may be asked to develop laboratory
projects and may present the projects and results in poster or oral presentations.
1) Student understanding of the empirical nature of science will be assessed through
targeted exam questions.
Their understanding may also be assessed through the quality of their lab reports
and lab project
presentations.
2) Student ability to apply scientific methods and to use scientific problem-solving
may be assessed by observing
the development of their laboratory projects, assessing their project presentations,
and assessing their arguments
in presenting scientific disagreements.
6. Other Course Information
Depending on enrollment, multiple instructors may teach the course in a given semester.
They will coordinate laboratory exercises.
Review and Approval
March 2009
June 20, 2015
March 01, 2021