BIOL 401 - Physiological Ecology of Extreme Environments: Life at the Edge

4 Credit(s)

This course focuses on the evolutionary adaptation of physiology to the problems posed by the biophysical extremes of this world including warm deserts, arctic and alpine environments, freshwater and saline wetlands, deep sea environments, and human-disturbed environments. Although topics represent the extremes of this world, an important message is that all environments are variable and the rules at the extremes apply everywhere—life is always at the edge. The course includes a project-oriented lab that uses methods available to teach the processes of physiological inquiry described in this course. Fulfills one interorganismal biology elective.
6 hours laboratory. 3 hours lecture.
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 161, BIOL 162, and BIOL 299.