Courses Offered in the Ecology and Evolution Program

Why study in a dusty classroom when you can sample and study the beauty nature by taking a field course led by our expert faculty? Entering our undergraduate program late in your second year will ensure that you develop the prerequisites necessary to culminate your undergraduate experience with one or more of our capstone field and laboratory courses. The capstone field and lab courses have limited enrolment and provide you with individual attention and hands-on training. Laboratory courses provide training in physiology and molecular methods. The field courses span behavioral ecology to marine ecology, as well as speciality courses in invertebrate or vertebrate systems. The capstone courses taken in your junior and senior year can also be augmented with independent or honors thesis research in a one-on-one setting with faculty. The Ecology and Evolution program also has direct links with Environmental Studies, and Ocean Sciences and thus many integrated or double majors are possible.

Find out more about the faculty, research, and careers at these links:

• visit the Who are we? page to find a faculty that matches your interest.
• visit the research page to explore the research opportunities.
• visit the courses page to plan your program of study.

Our field and labortory courses

Learn sampling methods in a variety of field courses including Marine Ecology, Kelp Forest Ecology, and Herpetology.

Learn whole organism physiology and techniques in Molecular Evolution.

Kelp Forest Ecology and Marine Ecology

Kelp forest ecology and Marine ecology will give you experience in underwater studies and scientific diving.

Herpetology

Learn about the natural history of lizards and reptiles in a field course that takes you to diverse California ecosystems and UC Reserves. The course culminates in a field trip to the Desert ecosystems.

Behavioral Ecology

Learn about the latest techniques in computer-aided behavioral analysis (digital video, audio). Data collection for laboratories is in the wild and you visit many local model systems for behavioral study including: amphibians, humming birds, bees, reptiles, birds, elephant seals, and crickets.

Courses in Baja and Tahiti

The Marine Ecology Field Quarter and the course on the ecology of the Gulf of California provide you with an opportunity to visit distant and exotic research sites including the Sea of Cortez and Tahiti. Both marine and terrestrial ecosystems are covered.

Animal Physiology

Courses in animal physiology introduce principles of physiology with a variety of model vertebrate systems.

Affiliations with IMS and Ocean Sciences

The courses in Ecology and Evolution integrate well with faculty studies in both Ocean Sciences, the Institute for Marine Sciences, and Environmental Studies. Many pre-requisites are cross-listed within your major of specialization to allow you flexibility in designing double majors or filling in your schedule with courses from another program. A degree in Biology with emphasis in Ecology and Evolution is good path to many diverse career choices.