The diverse interactions between plants and animals are of
fundamental importance to the structure and function of 
natural ecosystems. In many cases, additional organisms may be 
involved, making these interactions even more intriguing. This 
course will offer an overview of these diverse interactions 
with an opportunity to explore them more deeply from an 
ecological (population, community), evolutionary (phylogeny, 
adaptation), and a mechanistic (structure-function, dynamics 
of interactions, developmental) perspective. After successful 
completion of this course, a student will be able to:

1. Analyze and explain the ecology, evolution, and mechanisms 
of diverse plant-animal interactions and apply these insights.

2. Read scientific papers, verbally discuss their findings, 
and lead a class discussion on a select research paper 
(including questions of experimental design, the methods and 
analyses used, and follow-up research questions).

3. Communicate the science of plant-animal interactions to an
audience of non-scientists: write and review blog posts 
(and/or other communication media).

4. Identify a relevant question in this research field, review
the literature, and propose and justify an experiment in the 
form of a grant proposal (graduate students).

1. Community Ecology: The Nature of Interactions
2. Diversity of Plant-Animal Interactions
3. Research Questions in Plant-Animal Interactions
4. The Interdisciplinary Nature of Plant-Animal Interaction 
Research
5. Case studies of Plant-Animal Interaction Research
6. Research Frontiers in Plant-Animal Interactions