Courses

Spring in green, Fall in brown, both in green and brown

11:300:416. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION (3)  Counts as a 704 course.   syllabus
An opportunity to foster ideas and discussion about environmental and scientific literacy while developing plans to target and assess learning goals for all audiences.

11:372:232 (3), 233 (1) Fundamentals of Environmental Geomatics and Lab
New technologies to make better use of geospatial data for environmental and natural resource analysis and management. Basic concepts, definitions, and examples of different applications used in an environmental planning and management context. Lab (233) is optional, but taking both courses satisfies the Computer Competency Requirement.  There are also 11:372:3XX courses that can serve as 704 electives. Discuss these with your advisor.

11:704:101. INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION (3)    course website    syllabus
This course provides the basic foundations for understanding evolutionary and ecological processes.  The course covers natural selection, basic evolutionary theories, human evolution, population ecology, community ecology, biomes and conservation biology.

11:704:104. TOPICS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION (1)
Not open to seniors. Seminar-type presentations by faculty members in the ecology and natural resources curriculum designed to introduce students to the curriculum's faculty and their areas of experience in conducting research and applying their research findings, and the importance of their research to society.

11:704:110. EVOLUTION, DISEASE AND MEDICINE (3)
No pre-requisites. Together with 119:101 will fulfill the non-science majors SEBS Life Science requirement. Basic concepts in the theory of evolution will be introduced and applied in the context of discussion of human and animal disease and the medical treatment thereof.  The course will cover infectious and non-infectious diseases and real-world applications of evolutionary theory to the practice of medicine.

11:704:211. THE NATURAL RESOURCE PROFESSIONS (P/NC 1)
One 55-min. lecture. Open only to students in professional resource management; others by permission of instructor. Survey of the profession of wildlife, forestry, and fishery. Guest lectures, class discussion, and field experience.

11:704:240. BEHAVIORAL BIOLOGY (4)     course website     syllabus
Prerequisites: 01:119:101-102.
Basic principles of animal behavior, including social behavior, animal communication, and physiological mechanisms underlying behavior. Topics include ethology, aggression, displays and communication, territoriality, and ethological view of human behavior. Motion pictures observe the behavior of fish, birds, reptiles, and primates.

11:704:269. INTRODUCTION TO EVOLUTION OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOR (3)   course website   syllabus
Prerequisite: 01:119:101/102, OR 01:119:103 OR 11:704:101.
Broad exposure to evolutionary theory and natural selection using examples from animal behavior. Not intended to be comprehensive in either evolutionary theory or in animal behavior, but rather to engender understanding of the principles of evolution, the basic terms and concepts in animal behavior, and the evolutionary and ecological processes that shape it.

11:704:272. DENDROLOGY (4) syllabus    lecture schedule     lab schedule
One 80-min. lec., one 280-min. lab. Prerequisite: 01:119:101. Not open to first-year students.
Nomenclature, identification, ranges, and habitats of important native and naturalized trees of North America. Shrubs and vines important as wildlife food and cover. Forest regions and types, emphasizing the Middle Atlantic area.

11:704:274. FIELD TECHNIQUES IN ECOLOGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES (4)
Lec. 1 hr. Two weeks of field work. Prerequisite: 11:704:272.  One lecture per week followed by a two week field course; the latter runs 5 days a week, all day for two weeks following the close of the Spring semester (starting on a Monday). Students are immersed in two different ecosystems and learn fundamental aspects of forestry, field ecology, wildlife biology, entomology, remote sensing, and natural resource management.

11:704:302. PARASITE ECOLOGY (3)        syllabus
Two 80-min. lecs. Prerequisite: 01:119:101-102.  The ecology and evolution of animal parasites, focusing on the ecology of disease, transmission dynamics, and parasite roles in community regulation and conservation biology.

11:704:303. PARASITE ECOLOGY LAB (1)     syllabus
Co-requisite: 11:704:302.  Introduction to wildlife parasites.

11:704:312. FOREST FIRE PROTECTION (1.5)
Lec./lab.  Prevention, presuppression, and suppression of forest fires. Controlled burning. Enforcement of forest fire policy.

11:704:317. CONSERVATION ECOLOGY (3)
Prerequisites: 01:119:101-102 or equivalent, and permission of instructor.  Effects of technology and population growth on species, ecosystems, and human communities. Environmental impact of agricultural and industrial systems. Global environmental change. Biological and social underpinnings of conservation. Extensive scientific and nonscientific readings.

11:704:323. ORNITHOLOGY (4)
Lec. 3 hrs., lab. 3 hrs. Weekly field trips and two all-day field trips. Prerequisites:01:119:101-102.  The biology, ecology, and field identification of birds of the region.

11:704:324. INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY (4)                 syllabus
Lec. 3 hrs., lab. 3 hrs. Prerequisites: 01:119:101-102.
Comparative study of some representative invertebrates as a basis for understanding the interrelationship between the physiological activity and the structure of organisms.

11:704:325. VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY (4)
Lec. 3 hrs., lab. 3 hrs. Seven field trips required, including one two-day weekend trip and one evening trip. Prerequisites: 01:119:101-102.  The classification, evolution, ecology, and life histories of the order and families of the vertebrates, especially of the eastern United States.

11:704:332. PLANT ECOLOGY                              syllabus
Lec. 3 hrs., lab. 3 hrs., field trips. Pre- or co-requisites: 01:119:101-102; or 103,
and a course in organismic biology (some aspect of botany or zoology).  Study of plant life histories, populations, communities, and plant animal interactions (pollination, dispersal, herbivory). Evolutionary basis for plant ecological traits. Weekly field trips to representative habitats in the state, including a weekend trip. Lab includes greenhouse, field experiments, and library reports.

11:704:335. LIMNOLOGY (4)
Lec. 3 hrs., lab. 3 hrs. Prerequisites: 01:119:101-102.  Interactions of biological, physical, and chemical factors in lakes and streams. Emphasis is biological.

11:704:351. PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGY (4)
Two 80-min. lecs., one 80-min. rec. Prerequisite: 01:119:101 and 102 or equivalent. Concepts underlying the organization of living systems. Environmental adaptations of species, population, and community dynamics, energetics, nutrient flux. Practical applications of ecological concepts.

11:704:360. ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY (3) syllabus
Prerequisites: 01:119:101-102.  A course about animal function. The course addresses physiological topics from the perspectives of comparative, ecological, environmental, evolutionary, integrative, and organismal issues. Objectives are to understand: the diversity of life, with a particular focus on physiological functions that allow animals to live and thrive in in a range of environments; the breadth of the discipline of physiology and the importance of integrating physiology with ecology and behavior, and with cellular and molecular biology; and that evolution is the ‘fabric’ or biology.

11:704:365. ARBORICULTURE (3)
Two 80-min. lecs., one 3-hr lab.  An overview of tree biology and practical techniques as they impact design, establishment, production, care, and management approaches in developed landscapes.

11:704:375. PRACTICUM IN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT (BA)
Graded on a P/NC basis. Open only to professional resource management majors. Five days of fieldwork.  Practical experience in wildlife management under the direction of biologists working for state, federal, or private wildlife management agencies.

11:704:376. PRACTICUM IN FISHERY MANAGEMENT (BA)
Graded on a P/NC basis. Open only to professional resource management majors. Five days of fieldwork. Practical experience in fishery management under the direction of fishery scientists of N.J. Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife; National Marine Fisheries Service; or other appropriate state or federal agencies.

11:704:377. PRACTICUM IN FOREST MANAGEMENT (BA)
Graded on a P/NC basis. Open only to professional resource management majors. Five days of fieldwork. Practical experience in forest management under the direction of foresters working for private industry; local, state, and federal government agencies; and in consulting capacities for landowners.

11:704:403. URBAN FORESTRY (3)
One 80-min. lec., one 180-min. lab. Prerequisites: 11:704:272 or 275; 11:704:456 or permission of instructor. Benefits and costs of trees, planning and design, soils, tree selection and nursery stock, IPM, composting, removal, wildlife; laws, finance, inventories, maintenance scheduling, planting. Field trips.

11:704:411. PLANT DIVERSITY AND  EVOLUTION (4)   syllabus        schedule
Lec. 3 hrs., lab. 3 hrs. Prerequisites: 01:119:101-102; 11:776:210. An overview of the evolution and diversity of vascular plants, from ferns to conifers and flowering plants. Field identification, morphology, principles of classification, and basic concepts in evolutionary research.

11:704:421. WETLAND ECOLOGY (3)  Taught Every Other Year  syllabus 
Prerequisites: 11:704:330 or 351 or equivalent, and permission of instructor.
Ecology, management, and utilization of wetlands. Basic aspects of wetland ecosystems and the nature of major types. Issues and problems of wetlands management and use.

11:704:431. FUNDAMENTALS OF ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING (4)
Prerequisites: CALC1, statistics, or permission of instructor.
This course will review the background mathematical and statistical tools necessary for students interested in pursuing ecological and environmental modeling, and will discuss general model formulation, validation, hypothesis testing, non-linear phenomena, and forecasting. Topics include linear algebra, differential equations, statistical tools, regression and curve fitting, box models, and population dynamics models.

11:704:441. ANIMAL BEHAVIOR (3)       syllabus
Lec./rec. 3 hrs. Prerequisites: 01:119:101-102; a course in physiology or permission of instructor. Recommended: Vertebrate or invertebrate biology and ecology.
Explores the evolutionary causes of behavior, and provides an understanding of the basic principles and of the scientific logic utilized in the study of animal behaviors.

11:704:442. ANIMAL BEHAVIOR LABORATORY (1)
Pre- or co-requisite: 11:704:441. A laboratory to accompany 11:704:441.

11:704:450. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY (3)
Prerequisite: 11:704:351 or equivalent; pre- or corequisite : 01:960:401.
Overview of the concepts, methods, and applications of landscape ecology; causes, development, and importance of spatial patterning; ecological and anthropogenic aspects of landscape pattern and change.

11:704:451. ECOSYSTEMS ECOLOGY AND GLOBAL CHANGE (3)     syllabus
Prerequisite: 11:704:351 or equivalent.  Analysis of the major global changes based on principles of ecosystems ecology; carbon, nutrient, and pollution cycling mechanisms and budgets; the methods used to study these phenomena.

11:704:453. NATURAL RESOURCE BIOMETRICS (4)
Two 80-min. lecs., one 180-min. lab. Prerequisites: 11:704:272, 274; 01:960:401 or equivalent.
Probability and non-probability based sampling schemes for natural resource attributes: traditional random-sampling techniques as well as model-based and probability-proportional-to-size techniques; estimation of parameters of natural resource populations.

11:704:456. TREES AND THE ENVIRONMENT (3)

11:704:461. FIELD ECOLOGY (2)
One 320-min. lab. Prerequisite: 11:704:351.  Concepts of ecological organization developed through field experience in the principal habitat types of New Jersey. Emphasis on field application of ecological knowledge.

11:704:464. WILDLIFE ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION (4)          syllabus
One 80-min. lec., one 280-min. lab. Prerequisite: 11:704:351. Quantitative analysis and understanding of the ecology, management, and conservation of game and non-game wildlife (terrestrial and aquatic). Population censusing and dynamics, harvesting, habitat requirements and fragmentation, conservation genetics, and managing protected areas.

11:704:475. WINTER FIELD ECOLOGY (P/NC 1)        syllabus
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.  A one-week, off-campus field experience in January, exploring the adaptations of temperate plants and animals to the harshness of winter.

11:704:483, 484. RESEARCH PROBLEMS IN APPLIED ECOLOGY (BA)
Prerequisite: Permission of advisor.  Research projects in applied ecology under the guidance of faculty members.

11:704:486. PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTION (3)
Prerequisites: 01:160:161-162, 01:447:380. Not open to students who have taken 01:119:485.
Theories, principles, and mechanisms of the evolution of cellular and organismic systems, with some attention to human evolutionary studies.

11:704:488. RESTORATION ECOLOGY (4)       syllabus
Lec. 3 hrs., lab. 3 hrs. Pre- or corequisites: 11:704:330 or 332 or 351, and one course in plant or animal organismic biology (e.g., mammology, principles of botany, insect biology, etc.).
Study of the ecological processes that underlie the re-creation of a natural community. Habitat characteristics, life histories, reproductive ecology, biological invasions, mutualism, societal laws, and attitudes toward restoration. Field trips to representative restored habitats.