Graduate Urban Ecology Seminar (BIO 384)

[catie carter]

Fellow graduate students,

For those of you interested in urban biodiversity conservation and urban ecology more generally, please check out this great graduate seminar offered by Dr. Shalene Jha from UT's Integrative Biology department. (see below or attached)

This class and two others offered in CRP (Intro to Urban Ecology, Urban Agricultural Systems) will also be engaged in an ecological assessment of the Battle Hall/West Mall building site as part of the Battle Lab Initiative's Green Fee Project to create an online web-based sustainability “dashboard” and kiosk that will help building visitors engage with ecological and historical information about the buildings and site.

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BIO 384K - Advanced Topics in Conservation Biology: URBAN ECOLOGY
Professor: Shalene Jha, sj...@austin.utexas.edu
Office hours and location: BIO 401B, Wed 2-3pm, or by appointment
Class meeting time and location: BIO 214, Wed 3-6pm, Fall 2013

Detailed Course Description:
This course uses a graduate seminar format to cover advanced topics in the conservation of biological diversity within Urban Ecosystems. We will read a mixture of foundational as well as recent papers that cover a wide range of topics within Urban Ecology, including biodiversity conservation, landscape ecology, urban agriculture, and ecosystem services. Furthermore, we will conduct a synthetic analysis of recent urban biodiversity studies with the intention to assemble a formal review on the topic.

Each class will begin with a summary lecture followed by discussion of papers from the primary literature. Students will be expected to read the relevant scientific literature, to actively participate in class discussions, and to lead a topic and discussion of choice. The seminar is intended to expose participants to research concerning urban biodiversity conservation and to develop the context for future syntheses and research projects in the field.

Focal topics include but are not limited to:
Urbanization impacts on ecosystem function, urban areas as environmental filters, foraging and reproduction in urban areas, climate change and urbanization, urban ecology and human societies, urban agriculture and food security, landscape architecture and biodiversity conservation
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CRP 383 7-INTRO TO URBAN ECOLOGY
01580	MW	830 to  1000a	SUT  2.110	DOOLING, S	open

CRP 384 URBAN AGRICULTURE SYSTEMS
01595	T	600 to   900p	SUT  2.110	LIEBERKNECHT, K	open