introduction to biogeography of the global garden
DESCRIPTION
Biogeography uses ideas from biology, geography and history to explain the panorama of life on Earth. This course provides students with a broad introduction to important concepts and issues in ecology and environmental science. Over the semester, we’ll investigate how weather and climate affects the distribution of species, how individuals interact with their own species and others, and discuss why species expand or go extinct. Within this framework, we’ll also examine the many ways humans, either as individuals or in groups, act as agents of biotic change.TRANSCRIPT
GEOG1403GARDENBIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE
GLOBAL
June 11, 2007Humanity made history.
Photograph: Andrew Munsch
ruralpopulation
urbanpopulation
Photograph: zman z28
nature can seem distant and alien
Photograph: C.C. Chapman
Photograph: anotherpioneer
Photograph: Judy Baxter
MATTERDOES NATURE REALLY
ANY MORE?
ABSOLUTELY IT DOES
A wildfire burns near the Los Alamos Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, on June 28, 2011. Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
The carcass of a cow decomposes on the side of a road near Lagbogal, Kenya. Sayyid Azim/Associated Press
The Quad Cities River Bandits and the Peoria Chiefs play a game inside the Mississippi River on April 20, 2011.Paul Colle!i/The Dispatch/AP
NATUREWHAT IS
WORTH?
GEOG1403GARDENBIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE
GLOBAL
This course is NOT about environmental activism.
Photograph: paolaharvey
This course IS about environmental SCIENCE.
OUR ENVIRONMENT
living things
OUR ENVIRONMENT
The MAIN focusof our course.
THE BIOSPHEREthe global ecological system including all living things, as well as their relationships with the elements of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.
We’ll start with the fundamentals of our physical environment
Photograph: Frank Kovalchek
How do species interact with their environment?
Photograph: Ki!en Wants
Why do some organisms thrive...
...while others disappear?
Biogeography is the study of the facts and the patterns of species distribution. It's the science concerned with where animals are, where plants are, and where they are not.“
”David Quammen, Song of the Dodo
Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and ORBIMAGE
Photograph: Kitsu
3MINUTES
STEP ONETurn to the person on your left and introduce yourself.
(If you don’t have anyone on your left, join the two folks to your right).
STEP TWOIdentify TWO ways the environment has
an influence on your life.
(Be as specific as you can)
NATUREWHAT IS
WORTH?
TO YOU
Who am I?
DR. SCOTT ST. GEORGEASSISTANT PROFESSORDEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY
Please call me
Scott
history
historyenvironmental
Collecting specimens to study tree growth in southern Arizona
Taken during my first trip in a helicopter, flying over the northern Rockies.
X
Photograph: Arlen Tees
X
X
Where am I from?
Winnipeg
Minneapolis
Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club
What are my qualifications?
Doctor of PhilosophyUniversity of Arizona
Master of ScienceUniversity of Western Ontario
Bachelor of ScienceUniversity of Winnipeg
www.twi!er.com/sco!stgeorge
What will youget out of this class?
Former GEOG1403 students studying how natural hazards a"ect Minnesota’s forests.
! Biological Sciences requirement
! Environmental Theme requirement
We’re in charge.
We’ll talk about how this course is going to work.
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Send an email to Ms. Bonnie WilliamsDepartment of Geography