By under-standing the evolution of their stocky shapes and thebroad suite of behaviors they facilitate, one should havean enhanced perspective about how these species havebeen able to prosper to such a staggering degree.
This paper was super cool, we are now seeing certain species have increased competition advantage as human impacts increase. It interesting to hear about the raccoon dog an animal i'm not as familiar with and how this convergent evolution could be a scary sign.
Raccoons are so suc-cessful in human‐altered landscapes that they are charac-terized as a “synanthropic” species: a term describing wildanimals which flourish from an association with humans
Synanthropic species would be super cool area of study. I wonder how subspecies relationships work among more humanized animals vs wild animals?
First and perhaps foremost, the stocky shape of rac-coons and raccoon dogs is well suited to their “general-ized” habits
This is super interesting to think about and the context it gives in invasive species. I wonder if there is a correlation between generalized strategies across invasive species. As rare ecosystems are threatened by climate change will the spread of generalized plants and animals into less diverse ecosystems mean they are even harder to manage.
Both are also vectors ofharmful and potentially lethal diseases to humans andother species
I remeber in my international focused spanish class we talked about zoonotic illnesses and used racoons as an example. We were talking about threats of reduced biodiversity including zoonotic illnesses.
th species have becomeincreasingly problematic as invasive species throughoutmuch of Europe
While unrelated both species fill a Niche with no natural predators or limiting factors allowing them to be invasive.
Response to specific environmental pressure that results in a difference in fitness
I always wonder how instinct works in genetics, the fact the human baby's know how to swim to the surface at birth, or any animals immediate choices as a baby that are not learned. I wonder how these are selected and passed on to generations.
Not many states can boast mountains, rolling green hills, and a coastline, but all of this diversity also means that more species are at risk of extinction due to the ongoing climate crisis.
This touches on the idea that climate change will change all environments but also the fact that it creates more homogenous ecosystems destroying biodiversity and rare ecosystems.
Understanding these ecological concepts helps with ecosystem management and conservation.
I love that this class is introducing the knowledge of ecology and how it can actively be used. How can we use what we learned in other classes.
May incur similar changes to acclimation, but these responses to the environment occur at early stages of an organism’s development and they are permanent.
I have never come across this term, it connects to the human idea of nature, the importance of genetics and condition for development.
Individuals choose mates based on phenotype (i.e., desirable characteristics)
I love to think about this, how can aesthetic phenotypes be selected and what is the significance of visuals be on survival.
Despite the value that ecologists place on biodiversity, the ecology workforce ironicallylacks diversity. Worse, textbooks often feature ecologists of a single majoritydemographic
I love the fact that this course acknowledges the importance of perspectives on science and shows the power of diversity.
I will reach out to you directly if you miss 2-3 consecutive classes, to make sure you’re alright andcan make up any missed work.
I love the student forward personal approach of this, it makes the course more welcoming.
You will choose from a selection of provided prompts to create a figure that illustratesthe focal concept
Im excited to introduce some more creative concepts into ecology.
A series of modules, spanning ~2 class periods each, will provide the structure for thecourse.
I like how structured this course is and how organized the moodle page is, it will set us up for success.
apply ecological concepts across a variety of systems and scales
I like how this class connects ecological concepts to practical applications. It will help to connect what we learn in the classroom to future paths.