Research & Teaching

This course is focused on aspects of environmental engineering related to the fate, transport, and control of pollution in surface water ecosystems.

Fishes inhabit diverse aquatic environments including deep seas, intertidal zones, coral reefs, polar waters, the vast Amazonian basin, and great East African lakes. A single fish species may occupy diverse environments through extraordinary long distance horizontal and vertical migrations.

This is an interdisciplinary graduate-level and advanced undergraduate-level course in which students explore topics in molecular microbiology, microbial diversity, and microbially-mediated geochemistry in depth. This course will be taught by faculty from the Microbial Sciences Initiative.

As a scarce and necessary resource for earthly activity, land triggers competition and conflict over its possession, use, development, and preservation. For privately owned land, the market manages much of the competition through its familiar allocative price-setting features.

An integrated approach to the diversity of life, emphasizing how chemical, physical, genetic, ecological and geologic processes contribute to the origin and maintenance of biological diversity.

This course introduces basic concepts in the ecology of individual organisms, their populations, and the biological communities in which they live. Emphasis is on terrestrial plant and animal ecology.

This course surveys the scientific principles of environmental issues and environmental management practices, with attention to the health of both humans and the ecosystem.

Fall term, four units, required for both MLA 1 and MLA AP students taking the third LA core-studio.

Selected topics in the history of the North American coastal zone, including the seashore as wilderness, as industrial site, as area of recreation, and as artistic subject; the shape of coastal landscape for conflicting uses over time; and the perception of the seashore as marginal zone in litera

Field and laboratory research into the history, biology, ecology, culture, and economic problems of local, regional, and world forests. Individual research projects.
Note: Seminars, conferences, field, and laboratory work at the Harvard Forest, Petersham, Massachusetts.

This course examines how microbes and animals have evolved to maintain function throughout the wide range of extant habitats. Emphasis is on physiological/biochemical evolution in response to environmental conditions, including climate change and life in extreme environments.

An introduction to the uses of plants by humans. Topics include the form, structure, and genetics of plants related to their use as sources of food, shelter, fiber, flavors, beverages, drugs, and medicines.

The course covers micro- and macro-evolution, ranging in its focus from population genetics through molecular evolution to the grand patterns of the fossil record.

Conservation biology strives to describe, understand, and forecast biodiversity dynamics by applying ecological and evolutionary theory within the contexts of resource management, economics, sociology and political science.