2010-11 Undergraduate Index A-Z
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Zoology [clear]
| Title | Offering | Standing | Credits | Credits | When | F | W | S | Su | Description | Preparatory | Faculty | Days of Week | Multiple Standings | Start Quarters |
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Animal Behavior and Zoology
Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying biology ecology field studies philosophy of science zoology Signature Required: Fall |
Program | JR - SRJunior - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | FFall | WWinter | SSpring | What do animals do, how do they do it, and why? In this year-long investigation of animal behavior, students will answer these questions through extensive use of the scientific literature, in-depth discussions of the evolutionary and ecological theories that are fundamental to the study of behavior, independent research projects, and several weeks in the field, including two weeks in the Pacific Northwest during fall quarter. Animals hibernate, forage, mate, form social groups, compete, communicate, care for their young, and so much more. They do so with the tools of their physiology, anatomy, and, in some cases, culture, for reasons having to do with their particular ecology and evolutionary history. In this program, we will begin with a review of animal diversity, and continue our studies of behavior from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective. Students will be expected to engage some of the complex and often contradictory scientific predictions and results that have been generated in this field, through lectures, workshops and take-home exams, as well as to undertake their own, intensive field research. In fall quarter, students will conduct short-term field projects, and become skilled in library research. In winter quarter, we will continue to learn theory and statistics, and will continue field work as well. In spring quarter, having studied the methods, statistics and literature frequently used in behavioral research, students will generate their own hypotheses and go into the field to test them through extensive, independent field research or internships. Field work might be in a variety of locales from the Pacific Northwest to Central America. Any field work outside the United States will be organized as independent learning contracts. Students will return to campus for the last two weeks of spring quarter to complete their data analysis and present their research. Some topics covered in this program will include mating systems, territoriality, female mate choice, competition, communication, parental care, game theory, plant/animal interactions and convergent evolution. Several readings will focus on one group of animals in particular: the primates, including Homo sapiens. | field biology, evolution, ecology and other life sciences. | Bret Weinstein Heather Heying | Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | ||
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Field Ecology
Dylan Fischer and Alison Styring biology botany ecology environmental studies field studies mathematics natural history sustainability studies zoology Signature Required: Winter Spring |
Program | FR - SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | FFall | WWinter | SSpring | This year-long program will focus on intensive group and individual field research on current topics in ecology. Students will be expected to intensively use the primary literature and student-driven field research to address observations about ecological composition, structure and function in natural environments. Students will participate in field trips to sites in the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest (U.S.). Students will be expected to develop multiple independent and group research projects in local forests in the south Puget Sound, the Evergreen campus forest reserve, national forests, national parks, state forests and other relevant natural settings. During each quarter, we will work as a community to develop and implement multiple field projects based on: 1) rapid observation and field data collection and analysis workshops; 2) participation in large multi-year studies based in Washington and more distant field sites; and 3) student originated short and long-term studies. In fall quarter, students will focus on field sampling, natural history, library research and scientific writing skills to develop workable field data collection protocols for field trips. In the winter, students will learn to analyze ecological data using a variety of laboratory and statistical analytical approaches, and they will further refine their research and scientific writing skills through the development of research proposals for team-designed field projects that will be implemented during spring quarter. In spring quarter, students will demonstrate their research, natural history and analytical skills via group and individual research projects. Student manuscripts will be "crystallized" through a series of intensive multi-day paper-writing workshops in which group and individual papers will be produced. Research projects will also be formally presented by groups and individuals in the final weeks of the quarter at a public research exposition. Finally, all written research projects will be reviewed by external experts, revised and bound together in a single printed journal-format volume. Specific topics of study will include community and ecosystem ecology, plant physiology, forest structure, ecological restoration, riparian ecology, fire disturbance effects, bird abundance and monitoring, insect-plant interactions, disturbance ecology, and the broad fields of bio-complexity and ecological interactions. We will emphasize identification of original field research problems in diverse habitats, experimentation, data analyses, oral presentation of findings, and writing in journal format. | biology, botany, ecology, environmental studies, field ecology, forest ecology, ornithology, and zoology. | Dylan Fischer Alison Styring | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | ||
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Introduction to Natural History
John Longino and David McAvity biology botany ecology environmental studies field studies mathematics natural history zoology |
Program | FR - SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | FFall | The scientific study of nature is carried out with a combination of descriptive natural history and quantitative analysis. We will develop skills in both areas by exploring the major terrestrial habitats of western Washington and carrying out short field problems that introduce statistical approaches to natural history description. Readings and lectures will cover introductory concepts in biodiversity studies, ecology, and evolutionary biology. Workshops will emphasize the scientific process, statistical methods and probability models as they apply to natural history. We will take one-day field trips to visit shrub steppe, alpine and coastal forest habitats. Evaluation will be based on exams, written assignments and a field journal. | biology, environmental science, mathematics, and natural history. | John Longino David McAvity | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | ||||
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Undergraduate Research in Environmental Studies with E. Thuesen
Erik Thuesen Signature Required: Fall Winter Spring |
Research | JR - SRJunior - Senior | V | V | Day | FFall | WWinter | SSpring | Erik Thuesen | Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | ||||
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Undergraduate Research in Environmental Studies with J. Longino
John Longino Signature Required: Fall Winter Spring |
Research | JR - SRJunior - Senior | V | V | Day | FFall | WWinter | SSpring | entomology, taxonomy and ecology | John Longino | Junior JR Senior SR | Fall |