ENVI 454
Climate Change Physiology
Last Offered Fall 2020
Division III
Cross-listed BIOL 454
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Animals are increasingly faced with rapid climate change driven by human activities across the globe. How do they cope with challenges imposed by increasing temperature? And, how might physiological mechanisms at the organismal level scale up to influence population processes? This course uses an integrative approach to understand the impacts of climate change at multiple levels of biological organization in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. We examine physiological mechanisms underlying animal responses and the role of acclimation versus adaptation in coping with rapidly shifting thermal environments. We then consider the impacts of these mechanisms on whole organism performance and their consequences for population persistence. Finally, we learn the analytical tools used to incorporate physiological mechanisms into ecological models to predict future responses to global climate change. Class discussions will focus on readings drawn from the primary literature.