At the end of the semester, students should be able to:

A. Know how biotic and abiotic factors interact to form    
functional ecosystems. 

1. Understand basic ecological concepts including:
-Elemental cycling
-Net primary productivity
-Trophic levels,Niche concept
-Competition, predator-prey, mutualism
-Population structure and dynamics
-Community ecology
-Biogeography and adaptation to local conditions 

2. Understand concepts and metrics of biodiversity
- Levels of diversity (population, species, genetic)
- Species diversity, richness, evenness, etc.

B. Understand how ecosystems change with time and disturbance.  

1. The effects geologic change have had on ecosystems

2. Succession (terra and aqua)
-General patterns of succession
-Recognize specific seral stages and identify climax and sub-
climax communities of regional importance
- How succession can be influenced to achieve objectives

3. Understand ecological resistance, resilience, and long-term 
responses (acute and chronic) to natural and anthropogenic 
disturbance
- Fire
- Wind
- Insects and disease
- Pollution
- Land use (development, mining, etc.)
- CO2 enrichment and climate change
- Exotic and invasive species

C. Understand differences in spatial scale that exist in 
ecosystem processes and functions, i.e., stand, forest, 
landscape, region, global

What is ecology
Life cycle 
The niche 
Abiotic elements 
Habitat selection
Genecology 
Population structure 
Population dynamics 
Life history theory 
Mutualism, commensalisms, parasitism, herbivory, etc.  
What is a community
Interspecific competition 
Predation 
Succession  
Community Organization 
Source-sink theory and meta-population dynamics 
Biodiversity 
Energy flow
Water cycle 
Carbon cycle 
Nutrient cycles 
Management vs. natural disturbance