Physiological Ecology of Plants
Students will demonstrate mastery of topics including plant water relations, photosynthesis, energy balance, nutrient uptake strategies, cold tolerance, ecotypic differentiation as they relate to important processes including seed germination, competition, allelopathy, herbivory, symbioses, etc.
Population biology of plants
Students will apply principles of self-thinning, reproduction, female investment, intraspecific competition to explain population regulation in plants.
Community ecology
Students will apply principles of symbiotic nutrient uptake strategies, other symbioses, pollination, inter-specific competition, herbivory, succession to describe community assembly and regulation in plant communities.
Global change biology
Students will apply principles of physics and chemistry to explain the underylying theory of climate change. They will also describe the interactions between plant ecology and climate change.
Agricultural ecology
Students will apply principles of nutrient fluxes, carbon cycling, and energy use to illustrate the ecology of food production.
