Biology (M.Sc.)

Population genetics of plants and animals emphasizing starch gel electrophoresis and karyotyping as analytical methods. Five hours of tutorial and laboratory work per week. Prerequisite: BIOL 3017, or equivalent.

This course considers selected topics in microbiology and consists of extensive reading assignments, tutorials, and seminars. Three hours per week.

Seminars are prepared and given by students. The topics are chosen specifically to acquaint graduate students with fields of research other than their own. Three hours per week.

Current topics in evolutionary biology are investigated through an in-depth, critical survey of the literature. Course work consisits of reading assignments, tutorials, and a written, critical review of the topic. (3 credits)

This course will explore the impacts of classical ideas on current thinking, and will also cover emerging theories and trends. Topics will include (for example) community assembly rules, group selection, null models, the origins and maintenance of diversity, spatial ecology, community genetics, ecological stoichiometry, community metabolic models, spatial insurance, unified theories of biodiversity, and criticality and disturbance in ecological systems. The course structure will be weekly seminars based on assigned readings with each student responsible for presenting the material and guiding discussion. (sem 3) cr 3.

Research design and general problem solving by experimental and correlational methods will be discussed and applied to biological situations. Special attention will be given to the problems of procedural artifacts and confounding variables. Conceptual understanding of multiple regression, analysis of variance, discriminant analyses, time series and canonical correlation will be considered, rather than the theory and mechanics of statistical tests. Emphasis will be placed on the applicability of available computer software and on the interpretation of sample outputs. Two lectures per week.

This course provides an introduction to essential concepts of complex systems (e.g. emergence, self-organization, pattern formation, fractels, chaos) with application to biological systems (ecological, evolutionary, physiological, cellular, molecular). Prerequisite: permission of instructor, (BIOL 4066 highly recommended). Weekly seminar series.

Emphasis is upon plant-soil-water relations and photosynthesis. Completion of an independent research project is required. Two lectures and three hours of laboratory work per week. Prerequisite: BIOL 2317 or equivalent. (Not available to students who have taken BIOL 4316.).

Types of damaged land. Philosophies of reclamation. Land use planning in reclamation. Factors limiting plant growth. Soil amelioration versus tolerant plant introduction. Species selection and the rebuilding of a biocoenose. Soil fauna and microbiota of reclaimed land. The use of chemical analysis and bioassay in planning reclamation techniques. The reconstructed ecosystem and its aftercare. Prerequisite: Instructor's permission. Five hours of lectures/seminars/laboratory work/field trips per week.

A critical review of the current literature in the fields of soil biology and soil plant relationships. Reading assignments, seminars, lectures and tutorials with emphasis on discussion and student participation at all levels. The content of the course is determined by needs and research interests of the participating students. Three hours per week.

The quality of the environment as affected by industrial, forestry, and agricultural practices. Effects of selected industrial pollutants on the ecology and physiology of indicator organisms, use of biomonitors for detecting short and long distance transport of pollutants. Part of the course content is determined by the research interests of participating students. At least three hours of lectures, seminars and field work per week.

Lectures, reading assignments and seminars will be employed in examining current topics and advances in entomology. Part of the course content is determined by research interests of participating students. Three hours per week.

This course will be based on the analysis, mainly through readings, scientific literature review and oral presentations of findings by the student, of the relationship between the behaviour of animals and their interaction with their environment. Possible topics include behavioural thermoregulation, optimal foraging behaviour, time and energy budgets, effects of body size on the behaviour of homeotherms, and environmental factors such as ambient temperature and microclimate, plant cover, predator-prey relationships, conspecifics and mates. The study of these relationships will emphasize across-taxa examinaton of behavioural solutions as well as behavioural compromises in response to specific environmental regimes. Where appropriate, emphasis will be placed on mathematical or descriptive modelling, the degree of generalization among taxa, and the quantification of relationships as a predictive tool in ethology. Three hours of tutorials/seminars per week, three credits.

Tutorials, instigative lectures, student investigations and examinations of recent publications will be employed to review the current state of knowledge in several major fields of limnology. Five hours per week. Prerequisite: BIOL 4756, or equivalent, or consent of instructor. (Not available to students who have taken BIOL 4767.) (Formerly BIOL 5756.)

This course focuses on the emerging field of animal conservation physiology. It covers how organisms ranging from invertebrates to vertebrates respond physiologically to alterations of their environment and the physiological mechanisms accompanying the decline of animal populations. This course also examines common alterations of habitat, the physiology of the response of organisms to stress, and how animal physiology can be used to supporting conservation priorities and biodiversity management. (lec 3) cr 3.

A study of the ecophysiological aspects of animal life and the principles of adaptation; exploration of those strategies which allow vertebrates to adapt to rigorous climatic conditions and selected environmental habitats. Students will be required to undertake either a research project or supplemental study of the literature or a term paper. Two lectures and three hours laboratory per week. (Not available to students who have taken BIOL 4797.)