All graduate courses should be selected in consultation with the Supervisor, Research Advisory Committee and Graduate Coordinator. With the exception of BIOL 5000 (and BIOL 6000), all graduate courses are 3 credits.
Courses marked with "*" are not offered 2011-12.
BIOL 5000 E Thesis
* BIOL 5017 E Population Genetics
Population genetics of plants and animals emphasizing starch gel electrophoresis and karyotyping as analytical methods. Five hours of tutorial and laboratory work per week. Prerequisite: BIOL 3017, or equivalent.
BIOL 5026 E Advanced Microbiology I
This course considers selected topics in Microbiology and consists of extensive reading assignments, tutorials, and seminars. Three hours per week.
* BIOL 5027 E Advanced Microbiology II
This course normally follows BIOL 5026, and has the same format. Some of the topics chosen will be related to the research interests of the students. Three hours per week.
* BIOL 5036 E Molecular Virology
This course considers recent topics in general (human, animal and plant) and molecular virology, including oncogenesis and immunovirology. Three hours per week.
BIOL 5056 E Biology Seminars
Seminars are prepared and given by students. The topics are chosen specifically to acquaint graduate students with fields of research other than their own. Three hours per week.
* BIOL 5066 E Selected Topics in Evolutionary Biology I
Current topics in Evolutionary Biology are investigated through an in-depth, critical survey of the literature. Course work consisits of reading assignments, tutorials, and a written, critical review of the topic. (3 credits)
BIOL 5067 E Selected Topics in Evolutionary Biology II
This course normally follows BIOL 5066. Students test hypotheses from current topics in Evolutionary Biology through comparative analyses of data from the literature. Course work consists of reading assignments, tutorials, and a written report. (3 credits)
* BIOL 5086 E – Topics in Community Ecology
This one-term course will explore the impacts of classical ideas on current thinking, and will also cover emerging theories and trends. Topics will include (for example) community assembly rules, group selection, null models, the origins and maintenance of diversity, spatial ecology, community genetics, ecological stoichiometry, community metabolic models, spatial insurance, unified theories of biodiversity, and criticality and disturbance in ecological systems. The course structure will be weekly seminars based on assigned readings with each student responsible for presenting the material and guiding discussion (sem 3, cr 3).
BIOL 5106 E Experimental Design and Methods of Analysis
Research design and general problem solving by experimental and correlational methods will be discussed and applied to biological situations. Special attention will be given to the problems of procedural artifacts and confounding variables. Conceptual understanding of multiple regression, analysis of variance, discriminant analyses, time series and canonical correlation will be considered, rather than the theory and mechanics of statistical tests. Emphasis will be placed on the applicability of available computer software and on the interpretation of sample outputs. Two lectures per week.
* BIOL 5166 E Advanced Topics in Quantitative Biology
Quantitative Biology involves the application of statistical and mathematical concepts and tools to understand the behaviour of biological systems. This course will involve the selection of one area for intensive and state-of-the-art investigation (e.g., spatial statistics, matrix modeling, diversity analysis, ordination, classification). The student will achieve a comprehensive understanding in the area chosen and how it may be applied to the student's field of research. Prerequisite: BIOL 4066 or permission of the instructor. Three hours contact per week.
* BIOL 5176 E Complex Systems
This course provides an introduction to essential concepts of complex systems (e.g. emergence, self-organization, pattern formation, fractals, chaos) with application to biological systems (ecological, evolutionary, physiological, cellular, molecular). Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor, BIOL 4066 highly recommended. Weekly seminar series.
* BIOL 5316 E Ecophysiology of Plant Stress
Emphasis is upon plant-soil-water relations and photosynthesis. Completion of an independent research project is required. Two lectures and three hours of laboratory work per week. Prerequisite: BIOL 2317 or equivalent. (Not available to students who have taken BIOL 4316.)
BIOL 5376 E Ecological Aspects of Land Reclamation Practice
Types of damaged land. Philosophies of reclamation. Land use planning in reclamation. Factors limiting plant growth. Soil amelioration versus tolerant plant introduction. Species selection and the rebuilding of a biocoenose. Soil fauna and microbiota of reclaimed land. The use of chemical analysis and bioassay in planning reclamation techniques. The reconstructed ecosystem and its aftercare. Prerequisite: Instructor's permission. Five hours of lectures/seminars/laboratory work/field trips per week.
* BIOL 5387 E Selected Topics in Soil Biology and Soil-Plant Relationships
A critical review of the current literature in the fields of soil biology and soil plant relationships. Reading assignments, seminars, lectures and tutorials with emphasis on discussion and student participation at all levels. The content of the course is determined by needs and research interests of the participating students. Three hours per week.
* BIOL 5396 E Ecology of Ecosystems Disturbed by Humans
The quality of the environment as affected by industrial, forestry, and agricultural practices. Effects of selected industrial pollutants on the ecology and physiology of indicator organisms, use of biomonitors for detecting short and long distance transport of pollutants. Part of the course content is determined by the research interests of participating students. At least three hours of lectures, seminars and field work per week.
* BIOL 5727 E Advanced Entomology
Lectures, reading assignments, and seminars will be employed in examining current topics and advances in entomology. Part of the course content is determined by research interests of participating students. Three hours per week.
* BIOL 5747 E Topics in Behavioural Ecology
This course will be based on the analysis, mainly through readings, scientific literature review and oral presentations of findings by the student, of the relationship between the behaviour of animals and their interaction with their environment. Possible topics include behavioural thermoregulation, optimal foraging behaviour, time and energy budgets, effects of body size on the behaviour of homeotherms, and environmental factors such as ambient temperature and microclimate, plant cover, predator-prey relationships, conspecifics and mates. The study of these relationships will emphasize across-taxa examination of behavioural solutions as well as behavioural compromises in response to specific environmental regimes. Where appropriate, emphasis will be placed on mathematical or descriptive modelling, the degree of generalization among taxa, and the quantification of relationships as a predictive tool in ethology. Three hours of tutorials/seminars per week, three credits.
* BIOL 5747 F Questions sur l'écologie comportementale
Ce cours sera axé sur l'étude, surtout par l'entremise de lectures dirigées, de revue de la littérature scientifique et de présentations orales, de la relation entre le comportement animal (insectes, invertébrés et vertébrés) et les facteurs de l'environnement. Les sujets à l'étude pourront inclure la thermorégulation comportementale, la quête optimale de nourriture, les budgets de temps et d'énergie, l'effet de la taille corporelle chez les homéothermes, et les facteurs environnementaux tels la température et les microclimats, le couvert végétal, les prédateurs, les proies, les congénères et les partenaires sexuels. L'étude de ces relations mettra en relief l'examen inter-taxon des solutions ou les compromis comportementaux face à un contexte environnemental donné. Au besoin, l'emphase sera portée sur l'étude des modèles mathématiques ou descriptifs, le degré de généralisation inter-taxon, et la quantification des relations en tant qu'outils de prédiction en éthologie. Trois heures de travaux dirigés/séminaire par semaine.
* BIOL 5766 E Population Ecology (Mammals)
Population structure and dynamics. Levels, irruptions, crashes and cycles. Discussion of mechanisms regulating mammalian populations. Two lectures and three hours laboratory per week.
* BIOL 5767 E Graduate Limnology
Tutorials, instigative lectures, student investigations, and examinations of recent publications will be employed to reiew the current state of knowledge in several major fields of limnology. Five hours per week. Prerequisite: BIOL 4756, or equivalent, or consent of instructor. (Not available to students who have taken BIOL 4767.) (Formerly BIOL 5756.)
* BIOL 5786 - Topics in Animal Physiology
This course focuses on the emerging field of animal conservation physiology. It covers how organisms ranging from invertebrates to vertebrates respond physiologically to alterations of their environment and the physiological mechanisms accompanying the decline of animal populations. The course also examines common alterations of habitats, the physiology of the response of organisms to stress and how animal physiology can be used in supporting conservation priorities and biodiversity management. (Lec 3, 3 cr)
*BIOL 5797 E Advanced Environmental Physiology
A study of the ecophysiological aspects of animal life and the principles of adaptation; exploration of those strategies which allow vertebrates to adapt to rigorous climatic conditions and selected environmental habitats. Students will be required to undertake either a research project, or supplemental study of the literature, or a term paper. Two lectures and three hours laboratory per week. (Not available to students who have taken BIOL 4797.)
* CHMI 5127 E Topics in Environmental Chemistry
The following topics in environmental chemistry will be discussed: metal contamination in aquatic systems and diagenetic transformations, chemistry of mine tailings and solid wastes, and recovery of contaminated areas. The course will emphasize the close link between analytical and environmental chemistry. Three lectures per week, one term.
* CHMI 5226 E Metallobiochemistry
This course will examine the recent literature covering the influence of metals on such processes as biomineralization, morphogenesis, genetic regulation, signal transduction, metal homeostasis, nutrition and disease. Three lectures per week, one term.
* CHMI 5286 E Environmental Biochemistry
The physiological, biochemical and genetic adaptations of living organisms to various environmental factors will be examined in this course. Stresses mediated by effectors such as temperature, water, salt, hydrogen ions, radiation, chemical pollutants, both metals and non-metals, and nutrients will be elucidated. Three lectures per week, one term.
* CHMI 5287 E Biochemical Toxicology
The biochemical principles and cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to the manifestation of toxicity caused by drugs and environmental chemicals with emphasis on potential routes of uptake, the enzymes which catalyze biotransformation of xenobiotics, storage and elimination will be discussed. The chemical reactivity, enzymatic induction and inhibition, the role of the cytochrome P-450-dependent mixed-function oxidase system in the deactivation and bioactivation of xenobiotics and glutathione conjugation will be presented. Topics covered include: reproductive toxicology, clinical and regulatory toxicology, human health and exotoxicological risk assessments. Selected classes of compounds and their exposure routes, mechanisms of toxicity, fate, toxicologic sequelae and their antidotes will be considered in depth. Three lectures per week, one term.
* GEOL 5317 E Topics in Applied Remote Sensing
Topics covered in this course will be selected from application of remote sensing to geological, land cover and water quality mapping.
BIOL 6000 E/F Doctoral Thesis
BIOL 6056 E Doctoral Seminars
Seminars on topics chosen specifically to acquaint students with fields of research other than their own.