Ecology of insects: interactions with the physical environment; structure and functioning of insect populations and communities; behavioral ecology of predator-prey interactions; plant-insect interactions; social insects; pollination biology; applied insect ecology.

Natural history and evolutionary biology of island terrestrial and freshwater organisms, and of marine organisms in the coral reef and lagoon systems will be studied, and the geomorphology of volcanic islands, coral reefs, and reef islands will be discussed. Features of island biogeography will be illustrated with topics linked to subsequent field studies on the island of Moorea (French Polynesia).

Natural history and evolutionary biology of island terrestrial and freshwater organisms, and of marine organisms in the coral reef and lagoon systems will be studied, and the geomorphology of volcanic islands, coral reefs, and reef islands will be discussed. Features of island biogeography will be illustrated with topics linked to subsequent field studies on the island of Moorea (French Polynesia).

(1) survey of museum resources, including strategies for accession, conservation, collecting and acquiring material, administration, and policies; (2) strategies for making collections digitally available (digitization, databasing, georeferencing, mapping); (3) tools and approaches for examining historical specimens (genomics, isotopes, ecology, morphology, etc); and (4) data integration and inference. The final third of the course will involve individual projects within a given museum.

(1) survey of museum resources, including strategies for accession, conservation, collecting and acquiring material, administration, and policies; (2) strategies for making collections digitally available (digitization, databasing, georeferencing, mapping); (3) tools and approaches for examining historical specimens (genomics, isotopes, ecology, morphology, etc); and (4) data integration and inference. The final third of the course will involve individual projects within a given museum.

Many of the greatest challenges we face today come from understanding and interacting with the natural world: from global climate change to the sudden collapse of fisheries and forests, from the spread of disease and invasive species to the unknown wealth of medical, cultural, and technological value we derive from nature. Advances in satellites and micro-sensors, computation, informatics and the Internet have made available unprecedented amounts of data about the natural world, and with it, new challenges of sifting, processing and synthesizing large and diverse sources of information. In this course, students will learn and apply fundamental computing, statistics and modeling concepts to a series of real-world ecological and environment

This course introduces identification methods and techniques for collection and preparation of specimens and associated biological data, field observation, and recording and interpretation of arthropod behavior, relationships to habitats, and plant-arthropod interactions.

This course introduces identification methods and techniques for collection and preparation of specimens and associated biological data, field observation, and recording and interpretation of arthropod behavior, relationships to habitats, and plant-arthropod interactions.

Insects display an incredibly rich array of behaviors, including extravagant displays, rituals, deception, sociality, and slavery. In some cases, these behaviors are innate, but in other cases individual insects can actively learn and modify their future behaviors based on real-life experiences. This course will focus on the development, structure, and function of insect behaviors, using examples from classic and recent publications. We will examine the evolution of insect behavior, how these behaviors play a role in the ecology of the organisms that express them, and explore various modes of communication that allow insects to judge their environment and respond appropriately.

Insects display an incredibly rich array of behaviors, including extravagant displays, rituals, deception, sociality, and slavery. In some cases, these behaviors are innate, but in other cases individual insects can actively learn and modify their future behaviors based on real-life experiences. This course will focus on the development, structure, and function of insect behaviors, using examples from classic and recent publications. We will examine the evolution of insect behavior, how these behaviors play a role in the ecology of the organisms that express them, and explore various modes of communication that allow insects to judge their environment and respond appropriately.