Teaching

Lecture (Zoo 315): ​The purpose of this 2-credit course is to improve understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological components of aquatic ecosystems including lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands. Upon completion of this course students will be able to demonstrate understanding of how aquatic ecosystems function, analyze and interpret limnological data, and apply limnological information to surface water management. Click here for a sample syllabus.

Lab (Zoo 316): In this course students learn how to make physical, chemical, and biological measurements in inland water ecosystems and apply their knowledge to analyze data, diagnose water quality problems, and make data-driven management recommendations. In addition to hands-on field and lab instruction, students will participate in a weekend-long trip to northern Wisconsin to collect data and perform a comparative analysis of lakes. Sample Syllabus, Comparative Lakes Project Description, ​Lake Management Challenge

The course is a survey of the current problems and concepts in ecosystem science, a major branch of ecology focusing on the interactions of all the living and non-living entities in a specified place. The overarching goal is to help students develop a critical perspective of today’s major research issues in ecosystem science and apply these concepts to data and in their own research. Topics include primary production, decomposition, cycling of major elements, large-scale biotic processes, models of ecosystem interactions and feedbacks, and theoretical ideas about the dynamics of complex systems.

Science Communication: We all want our research to have an impact. In order to do this, we need to be effective at communicating with each other as well as a broader audience. In this course, we examined science writing and effective presentation techniques for a scientific audience. Then, we pivoted to learning strategies to share our science with a broader audience. Students honed their “public” message and learned about various modes for communicating with a non-practicing, science-curious audience. Course Website

Research Synthesis for Aquatic Science: Research synthesis is a powerful tool, yet environmental scientists are rarely taught how to conduct or contribute to rigorous, reproducible syntheses. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the principles and practices of research synthesis and to guide them in applying those concepts. Syllabus, Course website