This “Desert Ecology” course will use desert biomes as the central framework for investigating patterns in ecology and evolution as they relate to the physical environment, and across US desert ecosystems. Students will explore how these abiotic factors have shaped ecological communities, how plant and animal species have adapted to these extreme environments, and how practicing scientists are continuing to uncover these relationships. At Zzyzx we'll examine community changes along the alluvial fan, and possibly do a study on creosote dispersion.

Approved