Global Change and Insect Declines (ENY 4932/6934 & ZOO 4926/6927)

This 2-credit course was first offered in 2022 through the Dept. of Biology and Dept. of Entomology and Nematology. This course introduces undergraduate and graduate students to the global impacts of anthropogenic change on insect diversity and abundance. Each week, students will read pertinent papers on important topics such as pollution, pesticides, and climate change, followed by group discussions on how these factors are impacting insects in Florida and globally.

Students that complete this course will be able to critically assess new developments in science policy, in the context of how these policies address the problem of insect declines. They will also be more equipped to develop research projects that further investigate the impacts of insect declines, or to incorporate studies of insect declines into existing projects. Finally, they will be able to effectively perform outreach activities with the public and citizen scientists, demonstrating the importance and implications of insect declines and having a direct impact on the development of ecologically beneficial policies at the local level and beyond.

Phylogenetic Systematics Seminar (BOT6935/0332)

The goal of this 1-credit seminar is to engage faculty and students and discuss recent papers in systematics/evolutionary biology. Faculty affiliated with the course come from a diverse background, a the format of the course includes the discussion of current papers of high interest/impact (e.g., Nature, Science, PNAS), papers on previously chosen topics (e.g., phylogeography; large phylogenetic trees; phylogenetics and climate change; systematics and conservation), or short research presentations by students.

Spider Biology (ENY4905/ZOO4926)

This 2-credit course was first offered in Fall, 2013, through the Dept. of Biology and Dept. of Entomology and Nematology. The class was focused on learning the everything about spiders, covering functional anatomy, senses and perception, behavior, webs, classification, relationships, and ecology. Since 2016, this course has been taught by Lisa Taylor, please contact her for information on future offerings of this course.

Additional courses will be listed as they become available.

Former Courses

Phylogenomics

This course was offered in Spring 2014, through the Dept. of Biology. The course was for upper-level undergrads and graduate students. The course was taught by Akito Kawahara, Emily Sessa, and Jesse Breinholt.

Invertebrate Field Biology (ENY3163/5164)

This 3-credit course was offered during Summer Session B, through the Dept. of Entomology and Nematology. The course was for both undergrads and grad students, and focused on learning the invertebrate diversity of Florida. the course included many fun field trips to different collecting localities, including an end-of-semester trip to study the marine inverts on a boat at Cedar Key. Click here for the original 2012 course flier.