A two-week field course offered in May or August introducing students to the diversity of biological communities in the tropics focusing on ecological and evolutionary interactions. Plant and animal communities of the New World tropics are compared and contrasted with temperate communities. Student research projects included.

This course will next be offered in August 2012, and the location will again be Peru.  See the link below to view the description for the 2011 course; the description for the 2012 courses will be available no later than January 2012. 

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

Students must apply for this course during the field course application period.  Please see the EEB Field Courses website for more information.

A two-week field course offered in May or August at U of T’s Koffler Scientific Reserve, King City, Ontario. Students learn the natural history of the region and conduct a research project in the field. Student research projects included.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4) 

2011 (Summer) Course Instructors:  J. Eckenwalder, B. Gilbert
 
Students must apply for this course during the field course application period.  Please see the EEB Field Courses website for more information.

A two-week field course offered May to August by another Ontario university (to various locations) as part of the Ontario Universities Program in Field Biology (OUPFB). The selection of field course modules are announced in January. For registration information consult the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Undergraduate Office or EEB’s field course web page.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

Students must apply for this course during the field course application period.  Please see the EEB Field Courses website for more information.
 

A two-week field course at a high mountain field station in the summer. Students learn the natural history of alpine and subalpine biomes and investigate major abiotic and biotic interactions. Required projects catalogue natural diversity, examine species interactions, or assess abiotic influences and stresses on high-altitude organisms and their environment.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

Students must apply for this course during the field course application period.  Please see the EEB Field Courses website for more information.
 

A two-week field course in May at the Wildlife Research Station in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Lectures on the biology of birds with daily field work emphasizing field identification (visual and acoustic), field research methodologies, analysis of census data, habitat relationships, and behaviour of territoriality, reproduction and migration. Student research projects included.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

Students must apply for this course during the field course application period.  Please see the EEB Field Courses website for more information.
 

A two-week field course in August. The location alternates each summer: either the Harkness Fisheries Research Laboratory in Algonquin Park, Ontario or the coastal waters of the Greater Toronto region.  Field and laboratory exercises demonstrate how interactions between physical, chemical, and biological parameters are crucial in understanding lake ecosystems. Fundamental and applied issues are discussed. Students collect, analyse, and interpret data, and complete a class project and an individual project.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

2011 (Summer) Course Instructors:  H. Cyr, M. Wells

Students must apply for this course during the field course application period.  Please see the EEB Field Courses website for more information.
 

An examination of organism, population, and ecosystem responses to long-term environmental change occurring at the global scale, with emphasis on human caused perturbation to climate and the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrolic cycles and their ecological effects.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

2011-2012 Course Coordinator:  R. Sage
2011-2012 Course instructor:  A. Weis

Major concepts in ecology and evolution from the perspective of plant-animal interactions. The richness of interactions between plants and animals is explored including antagonistic interactions (e.g., herbivory, carnivorous plants), mutualistic interactions (e.g., pollination, seed dispersal, ant-plant associations), and interactions involving multiple species across trophic levels.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

2011-2012 Course Coordinator:  J. Thomson
2011-2012 Course Instructor:  M. Frederickson

The roles of plants in human societies including modern ethnobotanical research and its methods. Possible topics: plant products, cultural uses and perceptions of plants, folk taxonomy, and scientific plant taxonomy. Students will deliver oral presentations, research and write a major paper, and are encouraged to draw upon experiences in their family and community.

A focus on theoretical population genetics, using mathematical models to understand how different evolutionary forces drive allele frequency change. Students learn how to mathematically derive classic results in population genetics. Topics include drift, coalescence, the relationship between population and quantitative genetics, selection in finite populations, and mutation load. (Offered in alternate years, offered in 2011-2012)

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

2011-2012 Course Coordinator:  A. Agrawal

Processes of evolution at the molecular level, and the analysis of molecular data. Gene structure, neutrality, nucleotide sequence evolution, sequence evolution, sequence alignment, phylogeny construction, gene families, transposition.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

2011-2012 Course Coordinator:  A. Baker
2011-2012 Instructor: D. Irwin

Conservation biology from a Canadian and global perspective including targets for conservation, methods of assessment, tools for recovery, key philosophical issues, policy, and legislation. This course teaches the theory and practice of real-world conservation.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

2011-2012 Course Coordinator:  M. Gross

This course uses the collections, research, and public gallery areas of the Royal Ontario Museum to expose students to the ways in which biodiversity is discovered, analyzed, and interpreted in a museum setting. Topics include: morphological and molecular approaches, taxonomy, classification, bioinformatics and e-taxonomy, and the interpretation of biodiversity for the public. Labs include student projects and a one-day field trip on a weekend (cost about $20).

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4) 

2011-2012 Course coordinator:  D. Currie
2011-2012 Instructors:  T. Dickinson, A. Baker, J-B. Caron

Prerequisite: 2011-12: EEB362H1/EEB365H1 and at least one organismal course from EEB266H1, EEB267H1, EEB268H1, EEB330H1, EEB331H1, EEB337H1, EEB356H1, EEB360H1, EEB382H1, EEB384H1, EEB386H1, EEB388H1, EEB389H1; 

2012-13: EEB365H1 and at least one organismal course from list above

This course is taken concurrently by students who are enrolled in EEB498Y1 Advanced Research Project in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and uses a combination of seminars, discussions, and presentations (including presentations by students) designed to cover issues commonly encountered when conducting research in ecology and evolutionary biology. Topics may include experimental design, effective use of statistics, scientific writing and publishing, public communication, ethics, and career development. Students will be required to attend departmental seminars. This half-course runs from September to April and meets in alternate weeks. Students who apply to EEB497H1 in the fall session can also apply to enrol concurrently in EEB488H1Y.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)  

Please note that students must first apply for EEB498Y1. Once they are enrolled in EEB498Y1, then they will be automatically enrolled in EEB488H1Y (for a total of 1.5 FCEs).

2011-2012 Course Coordinator: Prof. Asher Cutter

Topics include evolutionary ecology and genetics, biodiversity, and behavioural ecology. Primary literature and research seminars form the basis for class discussion and short seminars. Student-led discussions.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

Students must complete an application form to be considered for this course.

Analysis and discussion of current topics in ecology. The topics vary from year to year. The seminar activities include both oral and written analyses of current research articles, and may include group projects. Critical discussion of research methods is an important component of the course.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

Students must complete an application form to be considered for this course.

2011-2012 Course Coordinator:  M. Frederickson
2011-2012 Course Instructor:  B. Gilbert

Topics in behavioural ecology including predator-prey interactions, host-parasite interactions, mate choice, and foraging. Other topics for general discussions may include animal emotions, consciousness, culture and welfare. Evaluation based on presentations, participation in class discussions, and written assignments.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

Students must complete an application form to be considered for this course.

2011-2012 Course Coordinator:  D. McLennan
2011-2012 Instructors:  R. Baker

An independent studies half-course allowing students to conduct research which is supervised by a faculty member in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Highly motivated fourth-year students will work closely with a supervisor, and will be required to write up the results of their research in a final research paper. Students should contact a potential supervisor well before classes begin in the fall, winter, or summer session. Information on how to apply for the course is available on the EEB website. Students cannot take more than two independent research courses of EEB 497H1, 498Y1, and 499Y1, and the second project must be with a different supervisor. Students who apply to EEB497H1 in the fall session can also apply to enrol concurrently in EEB488H1Y.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

Please note that students must first apply for EEB497H1. 

An advanced research project (a literature review alone is not sufficient) requiring the prior consent of a member of the Department to supervise the project. The topic is to be one mutually agreed on by the student and supervisor. They must arrange the time, place, and provision of any materials and submit to the Undergraduate Office a signed form of agreement outlining details prior to being enrolled. This course is normally open only to highly self-motivated students who are in their Fourth-Year and have adequate background in ecology and/or evolutionary biology. Students are required to write up the results of their research in a formal paper, often in the format of a research article, and are also required to present the results at a poster session and/or oral presentation. Students should contact their potential supervisors over the summer before classes begin in September. Information regarding how to register for the course is available on the EEB website. Students in this course are also concurrently enrolled in EEB488H1Y Research Issues in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4)

Please note that students must first apply for EEB498Y1. Once they are enrolled in EEB498Y1, then they will be automatically enrolled in EEB488H1Y (for a total of 1.5 FCEs).

2011-2012 Course Coordinator:  A. Cutter 

Allows students to do another independent project, supervision of which must be different from EEB497H1/EEB498Y1. Operates in the same manner as EEB498Y1.

Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Science course
Breadth Requirement: Living Things and Their Environment (4) 

2011-2012 Course Coordinator:  A. Cutter

Please note that students must first apply for EEB499Y1.