BI 132 Environmental Science 2

1. Outcome 1: Evaluate climate change and its impacts on natural resources and critique methods to mitigate or adapt to its effects.
2. Outcome 2: Design, implement, analyze, and report on an observational study of agricultural soils. 
3. Outcome 3: Propose changes to our current food system to make food production, transport, marketing, and consumption more sustainable.
4. Outcome 4: Evaluate the local, regional and global status and management of wildlife and fisheries resources.
5. Outcome 5: Create a viable management plan for salmon and lamprey in the Willamette River Basin with regards to the maintenance or removal of regional dams.
6. Outcome 6: Describe the nature of forest resources then design, implement, analyze, and report on an observational study of the impacts of wildfire on PNW forests.
7. Outcome 7: Describe threats to global biodiversity, implications and potential solutions.
8. Outcome 8: Examine the distribution of freshwater supplies and appraise the effects of chemical and thermal pollution, overuse, desertification, salinization, desalinization, and other environmental issues associated with water.  
9. Outcome 9: Differentiate the pros and cons of carbon-based and alternative energy resources and evaluate the possibility of a future lived solely with alternative energy.
10. Outcome 10: Investigate ecosystem-based solutions to environmental problems related to natural resource use and management.

​​​​​​​Additional General Education Outcomes

1. Analyze the development, scope, and limitations of fundamental scientific concepts, models, theories, and methods.

2. Engage students in problem-solving and investigation, through the application of scientific and mathematical methods and concepts, and by using evidence to create and test models and draw conclusions. The goal should be to develop analytical thinking that includes evaluation, synthesis, and creative insight.

3. Examine relationships with other subject areas, including the ethical application of science in human society and the relevance of science to everyday life.

• Human Impacts on Ecosystems 
  • Methods of evaluation 
  • Analysis of paired remote sensing images illustrating human impacts over time 
  • Implications of large-scale human impacts 
• Global Climate Change 
  • Climate vs. weather 
  • Lines of evidence - direct measurement vs. natural archives of climate 
  • Global climate models and their use to predict future conditions 
  • Ecosystem-level impacts 
  • Evaluation of proposals to slow or reverse climate change and their economic and societal effects 
• Food Resources 
  • World food production 
  • Food-related challenges in more-developed and less-developed nations 
  • Impacts of agriculture on natural ecosystems 
  • Aquaculture 
  • Impacts of climate change on agriculture 
  • Elements of sustainable agriculture including local examples 
• Soil Resources 
  • Physical and biological composition of soils 
  • Laboratory analysis of the physical (e.g., texture, nutrient level, pH) and biological (e.g., organic content, soil invertebrates) characteristics of soils 
  • Comparison of soils from local sites representing different locations, soil types and land uses 
  • Soil surveys as a source of soils information 
  • Process of soil formation 
  • Soil-related environmental issues - erosion, nutrient loss, water contamination 
  • Impacts of climate change on soil resources 
• Water Resources 
  • Water supply and distribution 
  • Impact of climate change on water resources 
  •  Environmental problems associated with water supplies including chemical and thermal pollution, bioaccumulation and biomagnification, desertification, salinization, desalinization, and overuse
  • Water management - flood control, municipal water supplies, wetland        
• Wildlife Resources 
  • Measures of biodiversity 
  • Causes and consequences of biodiversity loss 
  • Conservation biology - ecosystem-based approaches to wildlife management 
  • Endangered species issues including ethical considerations related to species protection 
  • Impact of climate change on wildlife resources 
  • Case study of an endangered species (e.g., California condor, Gray wolf) including historical context, causes for decline, management strategies and social impact 
• Fisheries Resources 
  • The ecological and economic importance of fisheries resources 
  • Status and causes for decline 
  • Community and ecosystem impacts of fishery declines 
  • Traditional and ecosystem-based fishery management approaches 
  • Case study of PNW salmon and lamprey - historical and economic significance, status and management 
  • Impact of climate change on fisheries 
  • Student research and group presentation on the effect of dams on Pacific salmon and lamprey 
• Forest Resources 
  • Tropical rainforests vs. temperate forests 
  • Commodities and values - economic and non-economic (“ecosystem services”) 
  • Global deforestation - Distribution, causes and consequences 
  • Old growth forest ecology and management   
  • Impact of climate change on Forest Resources 
  • Analysis of the recovery of the burned forest at Opal Creek after the Beachie Creek Fires
  • Field-based experiment that evaluates forest growth and development - includes data collection, summary and analysis 
• Energy Resources 
  • The uneven distribution of carbon-based energy resources (coal, oil, and gas) 
  • The uneven distribution of alternative energy resources 
  • Creating a sustainable energy future 
• Laboratories 
  • Measuring climate change and human impacts on natural ecosystems through remote sensing and an analysis of national and personal ecological footprints
  • Physical and Biological Characteristics of Soils 
  • Critique of Industrial Agriculture
  • Creating a Sustainable Food System (student presentations)
  • Sustainable Fisheries - salmon and lamprey study
  • Water Resource Management (field trip)
  • Alternative Energy
  • Forest Regeneration - Seedling Mortality and Forest Development (field trip) 
  • Response of PNW forests to fire - Data analysis of Opal Creek recovery
  • Wildlife management of endangered species