NRES/BIOS 859: Limnology

Instructor(s): Jessica Corman

Number of Credit Hours: 4

Cross-listings: BIOS 459, BIOS 859, NRES 459, WATS 459

Prerequisites: 12 hrs BIOS, including BIOS/NRES 220/BIOS220x; two semesters CHEM.

Description: Physical, chemical, and biological processes that occur in fresh water. Organisms occurring in fresh water and their ecology; biological productivity of water and its causative factors; eutroplication and its effects.

Learning Outcomes/Course Objectives:The goal of this course is to present an integrated view of the physical, chemical, and ecological features of lakes. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Explain the basic physics, chemistry, and ecology of aquatic ecosystems.
  2. Assess the range of potential human uses and impacts on aquatic ecosystems.
  3. Describe how watershed- and global-scale processes affect lake ecosystems.
  4. Evaluate common limnological methods, including choice of experimental scales and field and laboratory techniques.
  5. Show increased comfort with and knowledge of quantitative methods and data analysis.
  6. Investigate publicly available datasets to answer contemporary questions about lake ecosystems.