Global Change Ecology

Over the past century, the mean surface temperature of our planet has increased slightly less than 1°C. While this may seem like a small increment, this change is already profoundly affecting Earth's organisms and ecological communities, and predictions for the impacts of continued change range from severe to catastrophic. Humans are also changing the environment through alteration of nutrient and water regimes. Topics include cause of climate change, comparison to past climatic change, human contribution to change and effect on organisms, communities and ecosystems. Prerequisites: BIOL 1010, BIOL 1011, AND BIOL 2010. Recommended Prerequisites/Corequisites: BIOL 2090.