Climate Change Ecology

FULFILLS:

BIOS 491 (section 001)/891 (section 592)

PREREQUISITES:

LIFE 120 and LIFE 121 with corresponding labs

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. John DeLong, contact: jpdelong@unl.edu

DATES:

June 6th to June 25th

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Climate change is here. Greenhouse gasses generated by human activity are causing an increased frequency of extreme weather events, record-hot summers, and melting glaciers. The ongoing impact seems ever direr, and it is no longer just climate ‘change’ but a climate ‘crisis’. The problem has seeped into our collective imaginations, generating numerous apocalyptic visions of the future. It therefore may be fair to ask: are we headed for a Climate Armageddon, or is it all just climate-fiction?

Climate anxiety aside, the effect of climate change on life on Earth represents an enormous opportunity to understand nature in an integrative way. Heat, water, and other physical features of the environment (e.g., acidity, gases) have broad effects on physiology, and these effects ‘scale up’ to impacts on organisms, populations, communities, and even whole biomes. Changes in one species may affect another species or even the physical environment, causing ripple effects throughout natural systems. Thermal stress, among other changes, may drive evolutionary responses, further changing the make-up of ecological communities. Understanding the biological effect of climate change requires, at a minimum, some ability to connect the dots among processes and organisms.

In this course, we will strive to connect the dots and follow the likely trails of effect from adding CO2 to the atmosphere to changes in natural phenomena. We will map out a logical flow of consequences and investigate the evidence for steps along the trail. We will then integrate across effects to make educated guesses about complex but critical climate impacts on things that many people care about, like coral reefs, polar bears, and coffee, and things we worry about, like malaria and growing food.

We also will use our field context to investigate the effect of heat on ecological processes. For example, we will conduct experiments and sample across microclimates to elucidate the consequences of adding heat to the environment.

The ultimate goal is to make our own evidence-based, non-fiction narrative about the effects of climate change on life. Yes, it’s complicated, and yes, you can do it. Success in this class means an increase in your own confidence that you can take something complicated and make it understandable. That process will leave you with a slate of transferable capabilities that you can apply to whatever comes next.