Exploration of how physiological mechanisms shape ecological characteristics and dynamics. This course offers a broad overview of physiological ecology across the tree of life and connects to current research, focusing on ecologically relevant processes in microbes, plants, and animals, including energy budgets, photosynthesis, respiration, water and nutrient use, and growth.
Athena Title
Physiological Ecology
Prerequisite
(BIOL 1108 or BIOL 1108E) and BIOL 1108L
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
By completing this course, students will understand key physiological mechanisms by which individual organisms respond to the environment and influence ecological patterns and processes.
By completing this course, students will be able to describe how ecologically relevant physiological processes are quantified and interpret those data.
By completing this course, students will develop robust physiological intuition for interpreting macroecological phenomena such as the global pattern of primary productivity and metabolic theory.
Topical Outline
Overview and fundamental physiological principles
Plant physiological ecology: photosynthesis, respiration, growth and carbon allocation, stomatal conductance, water relations, and nutrient use
Microbial physiological ecology: metabolic diversity and energetics, growth, environmental responses, and the role of microbial physiology in biogeochemical cycling
Animal physiological ecology: energy budget, thermal regulation, nutrients, toxins, and adaptation
Biospheric physiological ecology: physiological ecology in the context of global change; biosphere resilience; Earth as a self-regulating super-organism
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
