Ornithology (ENV 430/530, every even spring term): Explores the form, function, ecology, and evolution of birds. Topics include anatomy, physiology, origins and biophysics of flight, migration and annual cycle, mating systems, and population and community ecology of birds. Includes lab and field study of anatomy and flight, identification techniques, counting methods, and trapping and banding.
Herpetology (ENV 440/550, every odd spring term): Explores the form, function, ecology, and evolution of reptiles and amphibians. Topics include anatomy, physiology, mating systems, population and community ecology of reptiles and amphibians, and their conservation biology. Includes lab and field studies of identification techniques, capture and counting methods.
Mammalogy (ENV 459/559, every even fall term): Explores the form, function, ecology, and evolution of mammals. Topics include origins, anatomy, physiology, diet and feeding strategies, population and community ecology, and social systems. Laboratory and field activities emphasize mammalian classification, habitat selection, and population biology. During the class students gather and analyze data for a 23-year-long (and counting) live trapping project on the population ecology of white-footed mice in the Brockport Woods.
Wildlife Ecology (ENV 406/506, every even fall term): Introduction to the scientific study of wildlife biology. Lecture topics include population ecology, behavior, nutrition, disease, habitat management, predator prey systems, economics, and the human dimensions of wildlife management. Laboratories and field work include radio telemetry, counting methods, aging white-tailed deer, and computer modeling.
Animal Behavior (ENV 427/527, every odd fall): Introduction to the mechanisms and evolution of animal behavior. Topics include methods for observating and quantifying behavior, natural selection and evolution of behavior, behavioral genetics, neural and physiological mechanisms of behavior, development of behavior, social behavior, sexual reproduction, parental investment, cognition and intelligence, and mating systems.
American Literature and the Environmental Imagination (ENV 389/ENG 389, occasional fall course): This interdisciplinary course explores American environmental writing from both scientific and literary perspectives and investigates the relationship between natural science, natural history and environmental literature. Examines how subjective and objective investigations of the natural world enrich one another and lead to a more complete sense of place. Course includes lectures, discussions, group presentations and field exercises emphasizing description, measurement and aesthetic response. Co-taught with Dr. Ralph Black of the English Department at the College at Brockport.
Field Biology (ENV 477/577, occasional summer sessions): An intensive, two-week field course that introduces students to the natural history of terrestrial habitats in western New York. Topics include structure and function of communities, species identification, qualitative and quantitative assessment of plant and animal communities, land-use change in the Brockport area, and conservation theory and practice.