Wilderness Ecology - For 271
Who should take this course?
This course is required for all students in the wilderness and civilization
program and is also open to students in the honors program and to other students
by consent of the instructor. In this class we provide a general overview of
ecology and its application to better understanding environmental issues,
especially those that relate to wild landscapes. We also provide examples of
appropriate uses of ecological science in improving public policy and decision
making, and discuss how people fit into ecosystem processes and functions. Our
key objective is to help students better develop their skills in critical
thinking and synthesis, in particular how to think ecologically. Note: this
course is not a substitute for FOR 330 for students in the College of Forestry
and Conservation, but it does provide good preparation for that course.
Why is this class important?
Ecology is the foundational field that helps explain the many complex relationships that govern the responses of ecosystems to natural disturbances, human caused disturbances, and natural forces including geology, soils, climate, species interactions, and historical factors. The general theme of this course is that knowledge of the basic ecology of a bioregion gives a strong conceptual foundation for better understanding the patterns in nature and the principal reasons for these patterns; this knowledge is critical to develop clearer thinking about the relationships between people and nature, and our place in the cosmos.
What will I learn?
- General principles and theories of ecology with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary ecosystem perspectives to help students develop a broader and more integrated view of ecosystems and their processes.
- How interactions across a range of scales of space and time help explain ecological characteristics of contemporary ecosystems and their response to future natural and anthropogenic stresses
- How to integrate information from basic biology, soils, physical processes, earth history, anthropology and plant ecology as a conceptual foundation for better understanding the scientific basis for current environmental policy debates, such as biodiversity conservation, fragmentation, reintroduction of predators in Yellowstone, sustainable resource use, fire management, and global warming.
- Develop your skills in critique of scientific papers, and using primary scientific literature to write scientific papers which synthesize knowledge on the history and causes of environmental change in representative landscapes.
Prerequisites
Sophmore standing
Who teaches the class?
The instructor for the course is Paul Alaback, a professor of Forest Ecology. He
has done extensive research on disturbance ecology and biodiversity and their
applications to conservation problems in forest landscapes in Montana, the
Pacific Northwest and Patagonia.