Introduction to the course and course creator. How to navigate the course on NEO.

John Muir said, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." This is the central precept of ecology, which is the study of the relationships between organisms and their environment. In this introductory module, we will cover basic definitions and principles of ecology, systems thinking, and prepare you to get in the mindset of ecological thinking. At the end of this module, you should take time to recognize what you already know and reflect on some preconceived notions you may already have. There will be a pre-course assessment so you can identify what areas you may already be familiar with, and where you will see improvement after taking the course. You will also have the opportunity to review and assess your grasp of the technical content of this module.

In this module, we will explore the steps of the scientific method, a few salient examples of how it has been used in history, and its usefulness in everyday life. We will also explore the value of alternative ways of knowing and a few examples. Finally, we will learn to navigate interpreting increasingly confusing and expanding sources of both popular and scientific information that are bombarding us daily, and how to begin conducting your own credible research.

Biogeochemical cycles describe how certain elements, nutrients, and other chemicals travel through different phases of matter and Earth systems. Understanding the very basic building blocks (atoms, particles, molecules, and elements) of the abiotic and biotic factors of the universe is necessary to the study of ecology, because resources necessary for life are finite at any system level of study, and they dictate the formation of organisms, populations, ecosystems and species interactions. We will cover the basics of physics and chemistry, as well as earth systems, and biogeochemical cycles. Finally, we will touch on how humans can disrupt these cycles, and the downstream consequences of the disruptions.

Now that we understand the importance of temperature and water to the development of the diversity of life, we can explore in greater detail how different levels of precipitation and temperature patterns can dictate what kind of life exists in different regions of space and time. Biomes are categories of the types of environments found on Earth, and they can be defined by the amount of precipitation relative to temperature, among other metrics.

In this module, we will cover how energy flows within ecosystems- how it is captured from the sun and transferred between organisms up the trophic levels. We will also cover nutrient cycling, the process by which non-energy nutrients are cycled through organisms and ultimately returned to the soil by decomposers. We will also explore how this energetic and nutrient flow can be disrupted and manipulated by natural and human-caused toxins, and the importance of the connection between organisms through nutrient and energy cycling. This module creates a foundation for understanding the material in the following two modules, species interactions and population dynamics and structure.

In this module, we will look at the various ways in which these transfers of energy and nutrients can happen, as well as how species compete, cooperate, and co-evolve. We will look at interactions between members of the same species as well as those between members of different species. Organisms have a range of strategies for carving out a unique niche in order to survive and reproduce. In this module, we will explore a few common methods. The ways that organisms interact, along with other abiotic factors can have profound effects on the ecosystem, and population dynamics, which we will cover in the next module. Finally, understanding how species interact will be paramount to understanding how species evolve, creating the vast biodiversity that we see on planet Earth. This module will lay the foundation of knowledge needed to understand the module on natural selection and evolution, later in this course.

The way that a species interacts with the biotic and abiotic factors of its environment may dictate how the population of that species is structured, and how it changes. Understanding population structure and dynamics is important in predicting how an ecosystem will change in different scenarios, for management purposes, to create conservation plans for threatened and endangered species, and more.

In this module, we will explore how new species are formed in the wake of disturbance and the creation of new niches via processes of natural selection and evolution. We will also discuss the importance of biodiversity in maintaining healthy ecosystems and resilience in the face of ecological crisis. Finally, we will discuss how a study of evolutionary history can make us feel more connected to our natural relatives, and how misconceptions about evolution were used to further insidious social movements like eugenics and colonialism.

Disturbances of ecosystems can happen as the result of natural disasters such as tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and fires, as well as smaller natural disruptions such as a tree falling in a forest. They can also be caused by humans in cases such as toxic waste spills/dumps, tillage of a field, mining. In this module, we will explore the natural and predictable ways that ecosystems recover from disturbance, how disturbance leads to speciation and extinction, and how these natural processes can be used for habitat remediation after man-made destruction.

In this module, we will discuss historical extinction events, causes of extinction and endangerment, the current state of species extinction and some important examples of endangered species, methods and successes of conservation efforts, and all that we have to be hopeful about.

Human ecology as an academic field is a vast interdisciplinary subject that includes humans’ interactions with the environment, other species, and each other, as well as human evolution, society, health, and more. In this module, we will focus on a few of these areas, including human evolution, lifestyle, environmental impact, population growth, and some of the many major ways we have disrupted natural systems. Many of these issues are still problematic and need to be addressed with paradigmatic shifts, technology, and innovation. This module will focus largely on the issues that humans have fitting into nature harmoniously, and the havoc we have wreaked, such as pollution, and resource use. In the next module, we will focus more on solutions to these problems and the hope we have in the face of ecological reckoning.

In the previous module, we discussed some of the most dire threats to life as we know it, many of which are caused by human activity. In this module, we will address some of the solutions that are currently being employed and the reasons we should have hope for the future. We are on an existential fulcrum which can easily tip towards either societal and species collapse, or a sustainable utopia. There is no other path forward than a sustainable one. No other time in human history has had such high stakes, yet no other time has inspired such a necessary shift in global societal paradigms. Not since the majority of humankind gave up the hunter gatherer way of life have we been so close to a sustainable, healthy, egalitarian system. Finally, coalitions of people are concerned and tuned in to the problems and solutions we face. We are living in an unprecedented time of human ingenuity, freedom, and communication that has high potential to overcome these challenges.