Runs annually in Trimester 2 @ Gold Coast & Brisbane South [Nathan]
Currently this is the main course that I run (I also teach into first year biology in the summer). In my biased opinion, it is vital as it introduces a lot of foundational ecological theory that complements subsequent courses. We have weekly labs where we conduct experiments in the field and lab. We learn a lot, we have fun!
Summary:Â
This introductory course covers concepts within (i) population ecology, including the distribution and abundance of populations along with their dynamics and growth; (ii) community ecology, including the concepts of species diversity, species interactions and the factors that influence those interactions; (iii) ecosystem ecology, specifically the flow of energy and nutrients in ecosystems; (iv) marine, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, exposing students to the breadth of ecological concepts across different ecosystem types.