ADVANCED PALEOECOLOGY: SPECIES RESPONSES TO PAST ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
Geographic and temporal responses of plant species and terrestrial ecosystems to the major environmental changes of the last 1,000,000 to 1,000 years, particularly glacial-interglacial changes in climate, carbon dioxide, and the end-Pleistocene extinctions of large animals. Key concepts include novel and no-analog ecosystems, abrupt climate and ecological change, and megaherbivore-vegetation interactions. This time period is of direct interest to global change ecologists and biogeographers studying species responses to 21st-century climate change. Hands-on practice emphasizes multivariate data analysis and quantitative paleoecological inference.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: Junior standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Natural Science & Wellness + Lab Breadth - Biological Science Level - Advanced 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. Critically evaluate the primary literature. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Describe the fundamental processes governing species responses to past and present climate change. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Obtain and analyze paleoecological data using multivariate methods. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Critically analyze the readings in light of prior knowledge gained in other advanced courses. Audience: Graduate 5. Conduct new analyses by applying these methods to new data and questions. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Critically evaluate the primary literature. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Describe the fundamental processes governing species responses to past and present climate change. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Obtain and analyze paleoecological data using multivariate methods. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Critically analyze the readings in light of prior knowledge gained in other advanced courses. Audience: Graduate 5. Conduct new analyses by applying these methods to new data and questions. Audience: Graduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027