ENVIRONMENTAL BIOGEOGRAPHY

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: Sophomore standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Natural Science & Wellness Breadth - Biological Science Level - Intermediate L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Fall 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify patterns and mechanisms of local to global gene, species, ecosystem and biome distributions. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Describe how past, current and future environmental change affect biogeography. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Explain how humans affect geographic patterns of biodiversity. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Discuss major paradigm changes in biogeography and how changes in conceptual frameworks and technology have altered interpretations of data and understanding of processes. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Apply concepts from biogeography to current environmental problems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Explain how legacies of colonialism and scientific racism affect historical and current biases in the representation, methods, practice, and applications of biogeography. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Discuss and critique the primary literature (scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals) in biogeography. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 8. Identify a controversy in biogeography and state the problem, trace its origins in the literature, provide arguments on opposing sides from the peer-reviewed literature, and what implications it has on current thinking and practice in conservation or sustainable use. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify patterns and mechanisms of local to global gene, species, ecosystem and biome distributions. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Describe how past, current and future environmental change affect biogeography. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Explain how humans affect geographic patterns of biodiversity. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Discuss major paradigm changes in biogeography and how changes in conceptual frameworks and technology have altered interpretations of data and understanding of processes. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Apply concepts from biogeography to current environmental problems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Explain how legacies of colonialism and scientific racism affect historical and current biases in the representation, methods, practice, and applications of biogeography. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Discuss and critique the primary literature (scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals) in biogeography. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 8. Identify a controversy in biogeography and state the problem, trace its origins in the literature, provide arguments on opposing sides from the peer-reviewed literature, and what implications it has on current thinking and practice in conservation or sustainable use. Audience: Graduate