Biological Sciences

This course examines the structure, diversity and development of trees and other plants, with emphasis on the angiosperms.

The course examines plant and fungal diversity with an emphasis on New Zealand species, the processes that drive species diversification, and methods for exploring and describing evolutionary relationships among species.

This course explores the diverse life forms and ecosystems of the world's oceans and coastal regions. It covers the biology, behavior, and ecological roles of marine organisms, from microscopic plankton to large marine mammals. Key topics include marine biodiversity, oceanography, and the complex interactions that sustain marine ecosystems. The course also addresses the impact of human activities, such as pollution and overfishing, on marine life, as well as current issues in marine conservation and the sustainable management of marine resources. Students gain a comprehensive understanding of the importance of preserving ocean health and the challenges facing marine environments today.

The course examines microbes in human disease and the contribution of microbiomes to our health. It also covers the role of microbes in food preparation or spoilage, and the detection and control of food-borne pathogens.

This course critically explores principal drivers behind the erosion of natural capital and resilience of ecosystems in light of them. Students take a solutions-based approach for how best to deal with habitat transformation, biodiversity loss, climate change, overexploitation of natural resources and contamination. Solutions incorporate a biological understanding of local and global impacts, drawing from the physical and life sciences, and extend it to actual and potential political, economic, and socio-cultural instruments appropriate and effective to address threats and changes to global biodiversity and ecosystem health.

This course examines the structure and function of forest ecosystems. Topics include forests as complex adaptive systems; forests of the world; history of forests and forestry; disturbance ecology; ecological succession; soils; biogeochemical cycling; energetics; population, community, ecosystems and landscape ecology; biological diversity; stability; complexity; resilience; and sustainable forest management as climate changes.

This course introduces the principles of evolution and the major events in the history of life, while providing a basic understanding of how scientific methods are used in the field of evolutionary biology and how evolutionary thinking is applied to issues in biological diversity, animal behavior and modern human biology. The goal of the course is to develop a scientific way of thinking about the facts of life, including the evolution of human beings. 

Preferred prerequisites: Introductory/intermediate biology courses.

This course aims to develop flexible and logical problem-solving skills, understanding of main bioinformatics problems, and appreciation of main techniques and approaches to bioinformatics. Through case studies and hands-on exercises, students (i) master the basic tools and approaches for analysis of DNA sequences, protein sequences, gene expression profiles, etc. (ii) understand important problems and applications of computational biology, including identifying functional features in DNA and protein sequences, predicting protein function, and deriving diagnostic models from gene expression profiles, (iii) be confident to propose new solutions to both existing and emerging problems in computational biology. This course requires students to take prerequisites.

This course covers the physiological functions of hormones that regulate homeostasis in the human body. The course provides an understanding of hormone production and action at the cellular and molecular levels. Students acquire specialized knowledge about the functions and roles of hormones and regulation of hormone secretion. 

The course introduces the study of genetics and focuses on understanding phenotypic variation and the mechanisms underlying inheritance. The processes that participate in converting an individual’s genotype into the phenotypes displayed by that individual are of particular interest and importance. In this course students explore the fundamental properties of genes and the various approaches to genetic analysis, as it is performed in several different model organisms. When applicable, the course examines current examples of genetics issues that
arise in the literature or in the media and link these examples to topics covered in class.

Prerequisites: General Biology