1.018J / 7.30J Fundamentals of Ecology, Fall 2003

This is a basic subject in ecology that seeks to improve the understanding of the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems and the regulation of the distribution and abundance of organisms. The course covers productivity and biogeochemical cycles in ecosystems, trophic dynamics, community structure and stability, competition and predation, evolution and natural selection, population growth and physiological ecology. There is particular emphasis placed on aquatic systems.