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Note: This is the 2010–2011 edition of the eCalendar. Update the year in your browser's URL bar for the most recent version of this page, or click here to jump to the newest eCalendar.
Note: This is the 2010–2011 edition of the eCalendar. Update the year in your browser's URL bar for the most recent version of this page, or click here to jump to the newest eCalendar.
The Minor Natural History involves the exploration of the natural world via specimen-based studies, object-oriented investigations and field studies. Museum collections are used to provide hands-on experience with real objects and specimens. The required course brings students to the Redpath Museum and other 9IÖÆ×÷³§Ãâ·Ñ natural science museums and exposes them to natural history methodologies and the value of specimen-based studies. Complementary course lists are drawn from a variety of disciplines to emphasize breadth and integration with the inclusion of specimen- or object-based courses and field courses in zoology, botany, and earth and environmental sciences. To ensure breadth, students are required to choose courses from among these lists. A compulsory field course component rounds out the program.
Redpath Museum : Natural history museums and their collections, how collections are created and maintained and how collections are used in scientific research. Context of natural history museums, collections-based research and curatorial methods.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Larsson, Hans Carl; Lourie, Sara Anne; Millien, Virginie (Winter)
Students select 21 credits from among four course lists (A (Zoology), B (Botany), C (Earth and Environmental Sciences), and D (Field Courses)) with the following specifications.
- At least 3 credits and no more than 9 credits from each of Lists A, B, and C.
- At least 3 credits from List D.
- No more than 3 credits from any one list may be at the 200-level.
Note: Students may take up to a maixmum of 9 credits of courses outside the Faculties of Arts and of Science.
*Note: BIOL 205 and BIOL 215 may be applied to either List A or List B.
**Note: Students may take either ENTO 330 or one of the cross-listed courses BIOL 350 and ENTO 350 as these courses have similar content.
Biology (Agric & Envir Sc) : Introduction to the biology, physiology, structure and function of heterotrophs and their interactions with other organisms. This course will focus on animals in terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. Topics include bioenergetics and functional metabolism, adaptations to environments, animal-animal, animal-plant, and animal-pathogen interactions.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Lewis, David James (Winter)
Anthropology : A systematic investigation into current methodological and theoretical concerns in archaeological faunal analysis. Topics to be examined include sampling and quantification, butchery, seasonality, subsistence, taphonomy, and paleoecology.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Savelle, James M (Fall)
Biology (Sci) : Unified view of form and function in animals and plants. Focus on how the laws of chemistry and physics illuminate biological processes relating to the acquisition of energy and materials and their use in movement, growth, development, reproduction and responses to environmental stress.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Dhindsa, Rajinder S (Winter)
Biology (Sci) : An introduction to the fundamental processes of ecology and evolution that bear on the nature and diversity of organisms and the processes that govern their assembly into ecological communities and their roles in ecosystem function.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Price, Neil; Larsson, Hans Carl; Potvin, Catherine (Fall)
Biology (Sci) : The characteristics of the major groups of animals, their ancestry, history and relationship to one another. The processes of speciation, adaptive radiation and extinction responsible for diversity. Methods for constructing of phylogenies, for comparing phenotypes, and for estimating and analyzing diversity.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Bell, Graham; Larsson, Hans Carl; Millien, Virginie (Winter)
Biology (Sci) : The origin, history, and nature of life from 3.5 billion years ago to the present, within the context of physical and biological changes in the Earth's environment. Topics: origin of life, radiation of multicellular organisms; invasion of land by plants and animals; rise and extinction of dinosaurs; origin of modern biota.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Biology (Sci) : Introduction to insect structure, physiology, biochemistry, development, systematics, evolution, ecology and control. Stress on interrelationships and integrated pest control.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Dunphy, Gary Brian (Fall)
Biology (Sci) : The origin and evolution of the major groups of vertebrates. Emphasis is placed on the evolutionary and embryonic origin of key vertebrate anatomies within the context of living and extinct vertebrate phylogeny.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Larsson, Hans Carl (Winter)
Biology (Sci) : The life history and ecology of freshwater invertebrates in lakes, rivers and wetlands; habitat requirements, functional ecology and food web interactions; the role of invertebrates in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems; threats to freshwater diversity.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Biology (Sci) : Principles of biology as exemplified by amphibians and reptiles. Topics include: adaptation, social behaviour, reproductive strategies, physiology, biomechanics, ecology, biogeography and evolution. Laboratories will emphasize structure, systematics and identification of local and world herpetofauna as well as field methods.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Biology (Sci) : The origin, diversity and evolutionary history of mammals, systematic review of fossil and living orders of mammals, aspects of mammalian paleoecology, functional morphology and adaptation.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Millien, Virginie (Winter)
Entomology : Insect structure and function, development and specialization; ecology and behavior; diversity, evolution and classification of insect orders and common families; pest management.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Boucher, Stephanie (Fall)
Entomology : Introduction to insect structure, physiology, biochemistry, development, systematics, evolution, ecology and control. Stress on interrelationships and integrated pest control.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Dunphy, Gary Brian (Winter)
Entomology : Ecology, evolution and systematics of insects and their relatives. Classification and phylogeny of selected insect families; use of diagnostic characters and taxonomic keys. Ecological interactions at an individual, population and community level with emphasis on diversity patterns in space and time.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Entomology : Diversity, biology, ecology and recognition of the main groups of aquatic insects.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Lewis, David James (Fall)
Earth & Planetary Sciences : Preservation of fossils; the fossil record of invertebrates; use of fossils in stratigraphy and paleoecology; fossils in evolutionary studies. Fossils of invertebrates are studied in the laboratory.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Paquette, Jeanne (Winter)
Resource Development : Review of higher taxonomic groups of vertebrates and prochordates, emphasizing diagnostic characters evolution and distribution.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Humphries, Murray Mitchell (Fall)
Resource Development : This course focuses on the evolution, classification, ecology and behaviour of mammals and relations between humans and mammals. Also structure, systematics and identification of local and world mammals, as well as field methods will be emphasized.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Resource Development : Taxonomic relationships and evolution of birds are outlined. Reproduction, migration and population processes of North American birds are examined.
Terms: Fall 2010, Winter 2011
Instructors: Bird, David M (Fall) Bird, David M (Winter)
*Note: BIOL 205 and BIOL 215 may be applied to either List A or List B.
Biology (Agric & Envir Sc) : The biology of plants and plant-based systems in managed and natural terrestrial environments. The interactions between autotrophs and soil organisms and selected groups of animals with close ecological and evolutionary connections with plants (e.g., herbivores and pollinators) will be explored in lecture and laboratory.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Singh, Jaswinder (Fall)
Biology (Sci) : Unified view of form and function in animals and plants. Focus on how the laws of chemistry and physics illuminate biological processes relating to the acquisition of energy and materials and their use in movement, growth, development, reproduction and responses to environmental stress.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Dhindsa, Rajinder S (Winter)
Biology (Sci) : An introduction to the fundamental processes of ecology and evolution that bear on the nature and diversity of organisms and the processes that govern their assembly into ecological communities and their roles in ecosystem function.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Price, Neil; Larsson, Hans Carl; Potvin, Catherine (Fall)
Biology (Sci) : Field studies of ferns, fern allies, conifers and flowering plants; the use of keys for species identification.
Terms: Summer 2011
Instructors: Lechowicz, Martin J; Aubin, Isabelle (Summer)
Biology (Sci) : Functional ecology and evolution of trees: patterns in the diversity of tree form and function, the nature of tree adaptation to environment from the scale of habitat to global biogeography.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Plant Science : This course describes the various groups of fungi and explores in depth their biology and physiology, their ecological niches and the role in various ecosystems and their benefits and uses in industry and biotechnology.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Ajjamada, Kushalappa (Winter)
Plant Science : The general anatomy and physiology of vascular plants with emphasis on the cells, tissues, organs, chemical components of plants and the physiological processes associated with their function.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Bede, Jacqueline (Fall)
Plant Science : Principles of classification and identification of flowering plants and ferns, with emphasis on 35 major families of flowering plants and the habitats in which they grow.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Waterway, Marcia J (Fall)
Plant Science : Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: de Blois, Sylvie (Fall)
Biology (Sci) : Causes and consequences of biological invasion, as well as risk assessment methods and management strategies for dealing with invasive species.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Ricciardi, Anthony (Winter)
Environment : A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: McCourt, George; Fyles, James W; Fabry, Frederic; Rhemtulla, Jeanine; Atallah, Eyad Hashem (Fall)
Environment : Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: de Blois, Sylvie; McCourt, George; Wheeler, Terry A; Lechowicz, Martin J; Paquette, Jeanne; Chapman, Colin Austin (Winter)
Earth & Planetary Sciences : Crystal chemistry and identification of the principal rock-forming and ore minerals. Elementary crystallography. Optional 2-day field trip.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Paquette, Jeanne (Fall)
Earth & Planetary Sciences : Interpretation of stratified rocks; history of Earth with special emphasis on the regions of North America; outline of the history of life recorded in fossils.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Halverson, Galen (Fall)
Earth System Science : Complex interactions among the atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere and hydrosphere. Biological, chemical and physical processes within and between each "sphere" that extend over spatial scales ranging from microns to the size of planetary orbits and that span time scales from fractions of a second to billions of years.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Wing, Boswell; Lehner, Bernhard (Winter)
Earth System Science : An understanding of the biological, chemical and physical fundamentals of the Earth system and how the different components interact. The mechanisms controlling interactions between reservoirs are quantitatively investigated. Special emphasis on the development and response of the Earth system to perturbations.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: McKenzie, Jeffrey; Kollias, Pavlos; Kalacska, Margaret (Fall)
Geography : An introduction to system-level interactions among climate, hydrology, soils and vegetation at the scale of drainage basins, including the study of the global geographical variability in these land-surface systems. The knowledge acquired is used to study the impact on the environment of various human activities such as deforestation and urbanisation.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Chmura, Gail L; Murphy, Meaghan (Fall)
Geography : Introduction to the study of landforms as products of geomorphic and geologic systems acting at and near the Earth's surface. The process geomorphology approach will be used to demonstrate how landforms of different geomorphic settings represent a dynamic balance between forces acting in the environment and the physical properties of materials present.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Pollard, Wayne H (Fall)
Geography : An examination of the structure, function and utility of wetlands. Topics include the fluxes of energy and water, wetland biogeochemistry, plant ecology in freshwater and coastal wetlands and wetlands use, conservation and restoration. Field trip(s) are envisaged to illustrate issues covered in class.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Murphy, Meaghan (Fall)
Geography : Principles and methods of Quaternary paleoecology and vegetation reconstruction. Examination of ecosystem response to human disturbance and environmental change.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Chmura, Gail L (Fall)
*Note: Students may take either of the cross-listed courses NRSC 405 and REDM 405 but not both.
Students may also take other field courses with the permission of the program adviser.
Biology (Sci) : Methods of sampling natural populations. Testing hypotheses in nature.
Terms: Fall 2010
Instructors: Lechowicz, Martin J; Leighton, Patrick; Davies, Thomas (Fall)
Biology (Sci) : Relevant to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and conservation of natural resources. Field component taught at the University's Bellairs Research Institute in Barbados, for two weeks in early May. The course is organized in a series of small-group field projects of 2-3 days each. Interested students should contact the Undergraduate Office and fill out an application form.
Terms: Winter 2011, Summer 2011
Instructors: Guichard, Frederic; Price, Neil (Winter) Guichard, Frederic; Price, Neil (Summer)
Biology (Sci) : Biology of marine mammals with special emphasis on seals and whales of the Bay of Fundy. Taught at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, St. Andrews, N.B., for two weeks in August. The course combines lectures, laboratory exercises, field trips, and individual projects. Apply first to Huntsman, then contact susan.gabe@mcgill.ca
Terms: Summer 2011
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Biology (Sci) : Terrestrial vertebrate fossils (i.e. dinosaurs, crocodiles and other reptiles) and palaeocommunity analysis, including practical training with fossil identification, mapping, collecting, and stratigraphic interpretation.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Entomology : A field course and project about arthropod taxonomy, field methods and experimental design in entomology. Includes natural history observation, and experimental approaches to arthropod population and community ecology.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Earth & Planetary Sciences : Geological mapping of selected areas, preparation of maps, reports from field notes, aerial photographs, etc.
Terms: Winter 2011, Summer 2011
Instructors: Hynes, Andrew J (Winter)
Natural Resource Sciences : Integrated study of African landforms, geologic history, climate, environments, biota, water resources and human influences, fostering a thorough understanding of the East African landscape and its inhabitants. Lectures, discussions on selected topics, use of museum resources and field studies will develop powers of observation, identification and enquiry.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Redpath Museum : Integrated study of African landforms, geologic history, climate, environments, biota, water resources and human influences, fostering a thorough understanding of the East African landscape and its inhabitants. Lectures, discussions on selected topics, use of museum resources and field studies will develop powers of observation, identification and enquiry.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Resource Development : This course deals with adaptations to heat and drought. Representative areas of Coastal Bend, Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts are visited over a two-week period. In the third week, emphasis is on the high desert and historical and cultural aspects of desert life observed in at the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings. A pre-trip analysis of an area to be visited and field notes are the principal bases of evaluation. Students must bear transportation costs.
Terms: Winter 2011
Instructors: Lewis, David James; McCourt, George; Fyles, James W (Winter)