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Araş Gorev. Fehmi Yildiz

Why Ecology is important for everyone!

Our Final Hour is a book written by Martin Rees in 2003. He discusses how environmental disasters threaten humankind's future in this century. The science of Ecology shows the interdependence between humans and nature that is vital for food production, maintaining clean air and water, and sustaining biodiversity in a changing climate. Without behaving in an ecological way, we will be very close to mankind’s last hour!

Course Objectives

1. introduce the basic concepts and principles in ecology/environmental sciences through lectures, in-class exercises, assignments

2. familiarize students with various methods used to study ecology & its sub-disciplines as well as environmental sciences and sustainability

3. gain experience in posing ecological questions & solving them by hypothesis testing & conducting a   short ecological research project

4. introduce techniques for analysis & visualization of ecological data through lectures and in-class exercises

5. re-enforce learned concepts & their application to real-world environmental issues and connections in   our daily lives through in-text readings, short videos & in-class discussion

6. introduce ecological sustainability concepts and their necessities

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, students should:

1. Acquire an ecological understanding for use in their daily lives

2. Demonstrate an understanding of key concepts & principles in ecology that operate at the level of the individual,  population, community, and ecosystem 

3. Be familiar with common approaches for analysis & graphical visualization of ecological data 4. Use observations & data to formulate research questions and hypotheses and make predictions 5. develop an understanding of how the scientific method is employed 

6. Develop skills in data analysis, synthesizing information, critical thinking, & applying knowledge

7. Develop an understanding of how organisms, including humans, interact with their environment & the  consequences of those interactions

8. Develop an awareness of current regional & global environmental challenges 

Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environments. The environment is made of biotic and abiotic factors. These interactions and relationships between different organizational levels of the living organisms, and their environments, will affect the composition, structure, and processes of ecosystems including the diversity of plant and animal communities and the productive capacity of ecological systems (ecological sustainability). There is no doubt that human viability is connected to ecological sustainability and to achieve this we need to study and identify these relationships. Without considering ecological relationships and their importance in the development projects we may fail to conserve the long-term productivity of the waters, soils, and ecosystems, which in turn may threaten people's health and well-being. This course aims to explore the stability of climate systems, the quality of air, land, and water, land use and soil erosion, biodiversity (diversity of both species and habitats), and ecosystem services (e.g. pollination and photosynthesis). The science of ecology is truly multidisciplinary playing a fundamental role in many areas of study spanning natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, economics, law, and medicine. For example, there is a clear link between “clinical medicine”, “public health”  and “ecology”. We are currently seeing an increase in the kind and number of diseases brought about by pollution and other ecosystem changes. Human behavior concerning how we interact with the environment and the ethical/unethical decisions we make also has clear ramifications on society as a whole. On one hand, society benefits from economic growth, especially in this age of construction/industrialization providing shelter, infrastructure, and employment, whereas,  on the other hand, these activities often destroy critical ecosystems important in purifying vital water resources, reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide contributing to global warming, and providing essential fish habitat that supports economically important fishing industries. In its simplest form, ecological knowledge of how animals, plants, and humans interact in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments allows us to monitor potential negative ecosystem changes before they become irreversible and can help us to manage our natural resources sustainably. Finally,  how humans have interacted with their environment in the past and the respective environmental responses that have occurred can help us predict future responses, so we don’t make the same mistakes. The primary goal of this core course is to provide a broad knowledge base and a general understanding of key ecological principles and concepts and become  “ecologically literate” by providing a conceptual scientific framework for contemporary ecological issues. Students will gain a good understanding of how ecologists conduct research, the quantitative tools they commonly utilize, interpret graphical representations of data and encourage critical thinking by exploring how ecological principles can be applied to local and global environmental problems. This course adopts a "hands-on" learning approach, in-class exercises (see specifics below), and a guided ecological research project where students will employ the scientific method by creating their hypothesis, experimental design, collecting data, analyzing/summarizing the data, and present results in an informal setting.