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Program Requirements
The Environmental Biology Major is about the biology, diversity, and ecology of a broad range of organisms, from plant and vertebrate animals to insects, fungi, and microbes. This Major places a strong emphasis on the ecosystems that species inhabit and the constraints imposed by the physical environment and by environmental change. Environmental Biology has significant field components worked into the course sets, and through this experiential learning, biological diversity, and the ways that species interact with their physical environment in a variety of ecosystems will be studied. The Major makes full use of the unique physical setting and faculty expertise of McGill's Macdonald campus to train students to become ecologists, taxonomists, field biologists, and ecosystem scientists.
Program Director: Professor Christopher Buddle
Academic Adviser: Dr. Julie Major
Raymond Building, Room 2-021c
Telephone: 514-398-8380
Program Prerequisites
Please refer to "Faculty Information and Regulations" > "Minimum Credit Requirements", in this publication for information on prerequisites and minimum credit requirements.
Required Courses (30 credits)
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AEBI 210 Organisms 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Agric & Envir Sc) : The biology of plants and plant-based systems in managed and natural terrestrial environments. The interactions between autotrophs and soil organisms and selected groups of animals with close ecological and evolutionary connections with plants (e.g., herbivores and pollinators) will be explored in lecture and laboratory.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Singh, Jaswinder (Fall)
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken PLNT 201 or PLNT 211
- 2 hour lecture and 3 hour lab
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AEBI 211 Organisms 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Agric & Envir Sc) : Introduction to the biology, physiology, structure and function of heterotrophs and their interactions with other organisms. This course will focus on animals in terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. Topics include bioenergetics and functional metabolism, adaptations to environments, animal-animal, animal-plant, and animal-pathogen interactions.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Lewis, David James (Winter)
- Winter
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken WILD 200
-
AEBI 212 Evolution and Phylogeny (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Agric & Envir Sc) : A phylogenetic-based overview of the tree of life and examination of relationships between major taxa, from bacteria and archaea to eukaryotes. Evolution will be discussed via topics including: evolution by natural selection, neo-Darwinism and alternatives, myths and misconceptions in evolution, species and speciation.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Wheeler, Terry A (Winter)
- Winter
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken WILD 212.
-
AEHM 205 Science Literacy (3 credits)
Overview
English (Agric & Envir Sc) : Development of English language and information literacy. Problem-based approach using science topics from specializations offered by the Faculty will be central to skill development. The course includes how to research and compose work in scientific format and will encourage a reader-oriented style.
Terms: Fall 2010, Winter 2011
Instructors: Newman, Carole; Waters, Natalie Heather (Fall) Newman, Carole; Waters, Natalie Heather (Winter)
- Students whose first language is not English are encouraged to register for ESLN 299, ESL: Academic English Seminar, or equivalent, prior to starting their program.
-
AEMA 310 Statistical Methods 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Mathematics (Agric&Envir Sci) : Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
Terms: Fall 2010, Winter 2011
Instructors: Dutilleul, Pierre R L; Bona, Kelly Ann (Fall) Dutilleul, Pierre R L (Winter)
- Two 1.5-hour lectures and one 2-hour lab
-
ENVB 210 The Biophysical Environment (3 credits)
Overview
Environmental Biology : With reference to the ecosystems in the St Lawrence lowlands, the principles and processes governing climate-landform-water-soil-vegetation systems and their interactions will be examined in lecture and laboratory. Emphasis on the natural environment as an integrated system.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Mousavi-Torbati, Khosro; Begg, Caroline B (Fall)
- Fall
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken SOIL 210
-
ENVB 222 St. Lawrence Ecosystems (3 credits)
Overview
Environmental Biology : Integrative field course about the biological diversity and ecology of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems within St Lawrence lowlands and adjacent realms. Natural history and systematics of regional flora and fauna and interactions between organisms and their physical environment. Fundamentals of ecosystem and landscape ecology.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Buddle, Christopher (Fall)
- Fall
-
ENVB 410 Ecosystem Ecology (3 credits)
Overview
Environmental Biology : Biotic and abiotic processes that control the flows of energy, nutrients and water through ecosystems; emergent system properties; approaches to analyzing complex systems. Labs include collection and multivariate analysis of field data.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Fyles, James W (Fall)
- Fall
- Prerequisite(s): ENVB 222, AEMA 310 or Permission of instructor
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken WOOD 410
-
LSCI 204 Genetics (3 credits)
Overview
Life Sciences : The course integrates classical, molecular and population genetics of animals, plants, bacteria and viruses. The aim is to understand the flow of genetic information within a cell, within families and in populations. Emphasis will be placed on problem solving based learning. The laboratory exercises will emphasize the interpretation of genetic experimental data.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Charron, Jean-Benoit (Winter)
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken CELL 204.
- Pre- or Co-requisite: FDSC 211 or LSCI 211
-
LSCI 211 Biochemistry 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Life Sciences : Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism.
Terms: Fall 2010, Winter 2011
Instructors: Salavati, Reza (Fall) Jardim, Armando (Winter)
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken FDSC 211
- Co-requisite: FDSC 230
Complementary Courses (12 credits)
12 credits of complementary courses selected from:
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AEBI 491 Scientific Communication (1 credit)
Overview
Biology (Agric & Envir Sc) : Students will research and present a seminar on an approved topic, with the goal of developing their research and oral presentation skills. Presentations will include elements of the experimental science method (goals, hypotheses, methods, results, interpretations) and detailed coverage of at least one experiment.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Fall and Winter
- Prerequisite: AEHM 205
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken NRSC 491 or NRSC 492 or NRSC 391
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AEMA 406 Quantitative Methods: Ecology (3 credits)
Overview
Mathematics (Agric&Envir Sci) : Advanced concepts in theoretical and applied quantitative ecology. Topics include: community matrices, modeling populations and community dynamics, use of null models in ecology, biodiversity assessment and measurement, ordination and multivariate statistics, use of information criterion and bayesian statistics.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Solomon, Christopher (Winter)
- Winter
- Prerequisite(s): AEMA 310 and ENVB 305
- Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken AEMA 306
-
ENTO 340 Field Entomology (3 credits)
Overview
Entomology : A field course and project about arthropod taxonomy, field methods and experimental design in entomology. Includes natural history observation, and experimental approaches to arthropod population and community ecology.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Summer
-
ENVB 301 Meteorology (3 credits)
Overview
Environmental Biology : The physical processes underlying weather. Topics include: the atmosphere - its properties (structure and motion), and thermodynamics (stability, heat and moisture); clouds and precipitation; air masses and fronts; mid-latitude weather systems and severe weather.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Strachan, Ian Brett (Fall)
- Fall
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken NRSC 201
-
ENVB 305 Population & Community Ecology (3 credits)
Overview
Environmental Biology : Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Buddle, Christopher (Winter)
- Winter
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken WILD 205
-
ENVB 313 Phylogeny and Biogeography (3 credits)
Overview
Environmental Biology : Phylogeny reconstruction; principles of systematics; predictive power of phylogenetic trees; theory and principles of biogeography; historical biogeography of plants and animals; role of abiotic and biotic factors in shaping distributions.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Wheeler, Terry A; Waterway, Marcia J (Fall)
- Fall
- Prerequisite: AEBI 212 or WILD 212
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken WILD 313
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ENVB 315 Science of Inland Waters (3 credits)
Overview
Environmental Biology : Nature and history of limnology; divisions of inland waters; properties of fresh water; habitats; zones; nutrient cycles; biota; adaptations; seasonal variation; distributions; pollution; succession and evolution of fresh water environments. Includes field excursions.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Fall
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken NRSC 315.
-
ENVR 203 Knowledge, Ethics and Environment (3 credits)
Overview
Environment : Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
Terms: Fall 2010, Winter 2011
Instructors: Goodin, David; Johns, Timothy A (Fall) Sieber, Renee; Purdon, Mark; Hirose, Iwao (Winter)
- Fall - Macdonald Campus; Winter - Downtown
- Section 001: Downtown Campus
- Section 051: Macdonald Campus
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LSCI 230 Introductory Microbiology (3 credits)
Overview
Life Sciences : The occurrence and importance of microorganisms (especially bacteria) in the biosphere. Principles governing growth, death and metabolic activities of microorganisms. An introduction to the microbiology of soil, water, plants, food, man and animals.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
- Winter
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken MICR 230.
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MICR 331 Microbial Ecology (3 credits)
Overview
Microbiology (Agric&Envir Sc) : The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles will be discussed. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Driscoll, Brian T (Winter)
- Winter
- Restriction: Not open to students who have successfully completed NRSC 331
-
PLNT 304 Biology of Fungi (3 credits)
Overview
Plant Science : This course describes the various groups of fungi and explores in depth their biology and physiology, their ecological niches and the role in various ecosystems and their benefits and uses in industry and biotechnology.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Ajjamada, Kushalappa (Winter)
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
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PLNT 358 Flowering Plant Diversity (3 credits)
Overview
Plant Science : Principles of classification and identification of flowering plants and ferns, with emphasis on 35 major families of flowering plants and the habitats in which they grow.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Waterway, Marcia J (Fall)
- 2 lectures, one 3-hour lab, plus a 4-day field week held the week preceding the start of classes
- A $50 fee is charged to all students registered in this course, which has a fieldwork component prior to the beginning of classes in August. This fee is used to support the cost of excursions, a hand lens, instructional handouts and identification aids. Students who have already received a hand lens may request a reimbursement of a portion of this charge through their department.
- Prerequisites: PLNT 201 or AEBI 210 or ENVR 202 or permission of instructor
-
SOIL 300 Geosystems (3 credits)
Overview
Soil Science : Interactions between Earth's various geologic systems and how these interactions lead to mineral and rock formation. Geomorphic processes and how various landforms are created by the interactions at the Earth's surface between the various geologic systems.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: McCourt, George (Winter)
- Winter
- Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken SOIL 200. Restricted to U2 students and above.
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SOIL 326 Soils in a Changing Environment (3 credits)
Overview
Soil Science : Soil processes responsible for soil formation will be studied and the impact of changes to the physical and chemical environment will be discussed.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Hendershot, William H (Fall)
- Fall
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
- Prerequisite: A previous course in soil science, geography, geology or permission of instructor.
-
WILD 307 Natural History of Vertebrates (3 credits)
Overview
Resource Development : Review of higher taxonomic groups of vertebrates and prochordates, emphasizing diagnostic characters evolution and distribution.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Humphries, Murray Mitchell (Fall)
- Fall
- Lectures and modules
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken ZOOL 307
Specialization
At least one specialization of 18-24 credits
Specializations designed to be taken with the Environmental Biology Major:
- Applied Ecosystem Sciences
- Entomology
- Environmental Biology (Multidisciplinary)
- Plant Biology
- Soil and Water Resources
- Wildlife Biology
Note: For a complete list of specializations offered for students in the Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, refer to "Academic Programs" > "Bachelor of Science (Agricultural and Environmental Sciences) - B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)" > "Specializations", in this publication. Consult the Academic Adviser for approval of specializations other than those listed above.
Electives
To meet the minimum credit requirement for the degree.
Faculty of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences—2010-2011 (last updated Jan. 19, 2011) (disclaimer)