Offered by:Natural Resource Sciences
Degree:B SC Agricu and Environm Sc
Program Requirement:
The Environmental Biology Major is about the biology, diversity, and ecology of a broad range of organisms, from plant and vertebrate animals to insects, fungi, and microbes. This Major places a strong emphasis on the ecosystems that species inhabit and the constraints imposed by the physical environment and by environmental change. Environmental Biology has significant field components worked into the course sets, and through this experiential learning, biological diversity, and the ways that species interact with their physical environment in a variety of ecosystems will be studied. The Major makes full use of the unique physical setting and faculty expertise of 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's Macdonald campus to train students to become ecologists, taxonomists, field biologists, and ecosystem scientists.
For information on academic advising, see:
Program Prerequisites
Please refer to "Faculty Information and Regulations" > "Minimum Credit Requirements", in this eCalendar for information on prerequisites and minimum credit requirements.
Required Courses (36 credits)
-
AEBI 210
Organisms 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
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.
Offered by: Plant Science
- 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab, per week.
-
AEBI 211
Organisms 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Agric & Envir Sc): Introduction to the biology of heterotrophs, focusing on animal diversity from the perspectives of phylogenetics, physiology, and ecology. Introduction to major animal taxa, comparing and contrasting these taxa, and exploration of the relationships among them.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
-
AEBI 212
Evolution and Phylogeny
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Biology (Agric & Envir Sc): Overview of the tree of life and exploration of the central role evolution plays in the field of biology. Difficulties inherent to classifying life and critically assessing evolutionary theory among scientific and popular audiences. The importance of phylogenetics and the relationships among major groups of organisms.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
-
AEHM 205
Science Literacy
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
English (Agric & Envir Sc): Development of English language and information literacy. Problem-based approach using science topics from specializations offered by the Faculty will be central to skill development. The course includes how to research and compose work in scientific format and will encourage a reader-oriented style.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Students whose first language is not English are encouraged to register for WCOM 295, ESL: Academic English Seminar, or equivalent, prior to starting their program.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Carole Newman, Emily MacKenzie
- Carole Newman, Emily MacKenzie
-
AEMA 310
Statistical Methods 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics (Agric&Envir Sci): Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
Offered by: Plant Science
- Two 1.5-hour lectures and one 2-hour lab
- Please note that credit will be given for only one introductory statistics course. Consult your academic advisor.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Pierre R L Dutilleul
- Jaskaran Dhiman
-
ENVB 210
The Biophysical Environment
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Environmental Biology: With reference to the ecosystems in the St Lawrence lowlands, the principles and processes governing climate-landform-water-soil-vegetation systems and their interactions will be examined in lecture and laboratory. Emphasis on the natural environment as an integrated system.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Terms
- Instructors
- Khosro Mousavi-Torbati, Chih-Yu Hung
-
ENVB 222
St. Lawrence Ecosystems
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Environmental Biology: Integrative field biology course about the biodiversity and ecology of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems within the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Research projects about the natural history of the regional flora and fauna. Fundamentals of community, ecosystem and landscape ecology.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Fall
- This course carries an additional charge of $20.54 to cover the cost of transportation (bus rental) for local field trips. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period.
-
ENVB 305
Population & Community Ecology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Environmental Biology: Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
-
ENVB 410
Ecosystem Ecology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Environmental Biology: Biotic and abiotic processes that control the flows of energy, nutrients and water through ecosystems; emergent system properties; approaches to analyzing complex systems. Labs include collection and multivariate analysis of field data.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- This course carries an additional charge of $20.54 to cover the cost of transportation (bus rental) for local field trips. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period.
- Prerequisites: ENVB 222, AEMA 310 or permission of instructor
- Terms
- Instructors
- Karen F Favret, Brian T Driscoll
-
LSCI 204
Genetics
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Life Sciences: The course integrates classical, molecular and population genetics of animals, plants, bacteria and viruses. The aim is to understand the flow of genetic information within a cell, within families and in populations. Emphasis will be placed on problem solving based learning. The laboratory exercises will emphasize the interpretation of genetic experimental data.
Offered by: Plant Science
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken BIOL 202.
-
LSCI 211
Biochemistry 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Life Sciences: Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism.
Offered by: Parasitology
- Co-requisite: FDSC 230
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken FDSC 211
- Terms
- Instructors
- Igor Cestari, Thavy Long
- Thavy Long, Igor Cestari
-
LSCI 230
Introductory Microbiology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Life Sciences: The occurrence and importance of microorganisms in the biosphere. Principles governing growth, death and metabolic activities of microorganisms. An introduction to the microbiology of soil, water, plants, food, humans and animals.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
Complementary Courses (6 credits)
6 credits of complementary courses selected from:
-
ENTO 330
Insect Biology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Entomology: Introduction to entomology, including the the importance and diversity of insects; insect morphology, anatomy and physiology; insect sensory systems; reproduction; metamorphosis; insect classification and survey of the orders and common families.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
-
ENVB 301
Meteorology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Environmental Biology: The physical processes underlying weather. Topics include: the atmosphere - its properties (structure and motion), and thermodynamics (stability, heat and moisture); clouds and precipitation; air masses and fronts; mid-latitude weather systems and severe weather.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
ENVB 313
Phylogeny and Biogeography
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Environmental Biology: Topics in the interface of evolution, phylogenetics, and biogeography, including tree thinking, phylogeny estimation, and the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity. The major scientific discoveries that demonstrated how Earth’s history affects the evolution of organisms, including the unheard voices of evolutionary biology.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
ENVB 437
Assessing Environmental Impact
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Environmental Biology: Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Open to U2 students and above.
-
ENVB 497
Research Project 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Environmental Biology: Independent research project in consultation with a faculty supervisor. Selection of a research problem, formulation of hypotheses and objectives, research design, comprehensive literature review, commence data collection.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Fall and Winter
- Prerequisite(s): AEHM 205 and permission of instructor
- Restriction: Open to U2 and above, and to students with a minimum CGPA of 3.0.
- Note 1: Fall and Winter. Enrolment is limited by availability of research project supervisors and to students in the Environmental Biology Major. Students should make arrangements with a willing supervisor, and the proposed supervisor and project are subject to approval. Students must obtain a minimum grade of B in ENVB 497 to be allowed to take ENVB 498.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Kyle Elliott
- Kyle Elliott
-
ENVB 498
Research Project 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Environmental Biology: Continuation of the independent research project begun in ENVB 497. Data collection and analysis, testing of hypotheses, discussion of results.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Fall and Winter
- Prerequisite(s): ENVB 497 and permission of instructor
- Restriction(s): Open only to students who have earned a minimum of B in the prerequisite course(s). Enrolment is limited by availability of research project supervisors and to students in the Environmental Biology Major. Students should make arrangements with a willing supervisor, and the proposed supervisor and project are subject to approval.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Kyle Elliott
- Kyle Elliott
-
FAES 300
Internship 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Faculty of Agric & Envir Sci: Full-time work-term intended to complement the student's undergraduate studies. Course work will be graded by a Faculty member with expertise relevant to the student's area of study. Finding a work placement is the responsibility of the student and facilitated by the Faculty's Internship Office.
Offered by: Agricultural & Env.Sc.-Dean
- Students will receive a final grade on their transcript. Students must be registered as a full-time student prior to and after enrollment in this course. A mandatory report must be submitted at the end of the Internship to the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Internship Office.
- Restrictions: Students must be registered as a full-time student prior to and after enrollment in this course. Minimum CGPA of 2.7 required. Open to all students in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Alice D Cherestes, Kendra Gray
-
MICR 331
Microbial Ecology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Microbiology (Agric&Envir Sc): The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in
biogeochemical cycles. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Winter
- Prerequisite(s): LSCI 230 or AEBI 212 or ENVR 202 or permission of the instructor.
- Not recommended for U1 students.
-
PLNT 304
Biology of Fungi
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
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.
Offered by: Plant Science
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
- Restriction: U2 or above, or permission of instructor.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
PLNT 358
Flowering Plant Diversity
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
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.
Offered by: Plant Science
- A 4-day field week is held the week preceding the start of classes
- Prerequisite: AEBI 210 or ENVR 202 or permission of instructor
- A $95.46 fee is charged to all students registered in this course, which has a fieldwork component prior to the beginning of classes in August. This fee is used to support the cost of excursions, a hand lens, instructional handouts and identification aids. Students who have already received a hand lens may request a reimbursement of a portion of this charge through their department.
-
PLNT 460
Plant Ecology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
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.
Offered by: Plant Science
- 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab
- Prerequisite: AEMA 310 or permission of instructor.
- This course carries an additional charge of $170.00 to cover the cost of transportation (bus rental) for local field trips. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
SOIL 300
Geosystems
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Soil Science: Interactions between Earth's various geologic systems and how these interactions lead to mineral and rock formation. Geomorphic processes and how various landforms are created by the interactions at the Earth's surface between the various geologic systems.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Winter
- Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken SOIL 200. Restricted to U2 students and above.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year
-
WILD 302
Fish Ecology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Resource Development: Introduction to the biology and ecology of freshwater and marine fishes. Topics include taxonomy, physiology, biogeography, competition, predation, fishing, and conservation. Lab exercises and field trips emphasize familiarity with local fishes and their ecological interactions.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- Prerequisite: AEBI 211 or permission of instructor
- This course carries an additional charge of $41.07 to cover the cost of transportation (bus rental) for local field trips. The fee is only refundable prior to the deadline to withdraw with full refund
-
WILD 307
Natural History of Vertebrates
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Resource Development: The diversity and natural history of Canadian vertebrates illustrated with trophic, phylogenetic, and macroecological approaches.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
- This course carries an additional charge of $20.54 to cover the cost of transportation (bus rental) for local field trips. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Murray Mitchell Humphries
-
WOOD 441
Integrated Forest Management
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Woodland Resources: The study of silviculture and silvics and their application to forest management to sustain the production of wood and other ecological goods and services such as wildlife, water and landscape in natural forests and rural environments (agroforestry). Acquisition of practical skills in forest surveying and computer simulation of forest growth.
Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences
Specialization
At least one specialization of 18-24 credits.
Specializations designed to be taken with the Environmental Biology Major:
- Applied Ecology
- Plant Biology
- Wildlife Biology
Note: For a complete list of specializations offered for students in the Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, refer to "Browse Academic Units & Programs" > "Bachelor of Science (Agricultural and Environmental Sciences) - B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)" > "Specializations", in this eCalendar. Consult the Academic Adviser for approval of specializations other than those listed above.
Electives
To meet the minimum credit requirement for the degree.