Global Change Biology

Faculty, post-docs, and graduate students in this concentration work on diverse aspects of global change biology, including conservation, habitat loss and fragmentation, range expansion and contraction, invasion ecology, extinction risk, stress physiology, adaptation, resilience, ocean acidification, and climate change. Our research focuses on both plant and animal systems and emphasizes the integration of field and lab work to identify, understand, and resolve current environmental challenges. Our goal is to apply scientific rigor to applied problems.

Faculty Mentors

(* Asterisk denotes faculty mentors currently not accepting graduate students.)

Elizabeth Crone*
Erik Dopman
George Ellmore*

Michael Romero
Philip Starks
Lawrence Uricchio

Colin Orians
Michael Reed

Faculty Advisor for this Concentration

Michael Reed

Professor

Avian ecology and conservation biology

Suggested Program of Study and Appropriate Courses

Masters students work with their mentor and/or their entrance committee to select courses that best meet the academic goals.
Our general philosophy regarding coursework is that you take only classes that you need to pick up skills that are important to your research (if a course is the best way to pick up those skills!), as well as courses that deepen your knowledge in your specific research area. [OK, if a course looks really interesting, and if it does not distract you too much from your research…] Consequently, the list below is NOT a list of courses that you ought to take if you are interested in Global Change Biology. Rather, they are courses that you might wish to consider taking to complement a particular research expertise that you are developing. Ultimately, the decision about what classes to take will be up to you and your committee.

Required

Year 1
- Two research Rotations (PhD students only, 1 rotation per semester); research rotations are registered as courses (Bio 253) – they are generally done with faculty in the Biology Department, but mentors outside the department can also be enlisted.
- Year 1 (or first year that you are a teaching assistant): All students that are Teaching assistants are required to take Pedagogy (Bio260)
Year 1 or 2

Seminar in Evolutionary Ecology (Bio 244) (offered in alternate years)

Optional Courses

Biology Department Courses
- Endocrinology (Bio 110)
- Animal Behavior (Bio 130)
- Biostatistics (Bio 132)
- Ecological Models and Data (Bio 133)
- Ecology of Animal Movement (Bio 135)
- Population and Community Ecology (Bio 142)
- Evolutionary Biology w/Lab (Bio 143)
- Principles of Conservation Biology (Bio 144)
- Marine Biology (Bio 164)
- Seminar in Marine Biology (Bio 179)
- Seminar in Conservation Biology (Bio 180)
- Tropical Ecology and Conservation (Bio 181)
- Food for All: Ecology, Biotechnology and Sustainability (Bio 185)
- Special topics courses (Bio 195/196)
- Seminar in Field Endocrinology (Bio # to be determined)
- Seminar in Evolutionary Ecology (Bio 244)
- Science Communication (Bio 262)
- Special Topics (Bio 293/294)
Courses in Other Departments
- Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS 101/UEP 232)
- Advanced GIS (GIS 102)
- Introduction to Remote Sensing (CEE 194A)
- Environmental Toxicology (CEE 167)
- Advanced Statistics I (Psych 107)
- Advanced Statistics II (Psych 108)
- Global Environmental Datasets (CEE 194)
- Environmental Statistics (CEE 202)
- Environmental Ethics (UEP 286)
- Ecology-based Policy Making (UEP 294)