2020-21 Academic Catalog

The primary objective of this seminar is to gain a better understanding of “the plant-animal interface,” with a specific focus on the interactions between plants and vertebrate herbivores. Topics covered include 1) the range of influences that the abiotic environment has on plants as a source of energy and nutrition for vertebrates; 2) how animals respond to heterogeneity in the plant communities with a specific focus on plant chemistry (i.e., nutritional indices and defensive chemistry); and 3) how heterogeneity in plant chemistry influences animal demographics and overall biological diversity.  Prerequisite: Biology 125, Biology 126 and a 200-level course in Biology