FYSM 235 - Alien Invasions

Institution:

Trinity College

Subject:

Description:

As we start the new millennium, thousands of plant, animal and microbe species have found their way, advertently or inadvertently with the help of human beings, to distant habitats where they could not reasonably have been expected to disperse naturally. In most parts of the world, native ecosystems are under siege from these exotic or "alien" species, and biodiversity is threatened. In some places, alien plants have spread across expansive ecosystems like wildfire causing the extinctions of competitor plants in just a few decades. In other places, alien animals have taken up residency in habitats where there is no predator species to control their population growth, thus no check for their insatiable appetites for native prey. This seminar will discuss the history and biology of many appallingly successful alien invasions - from brown tree snakes in Guam, to kudzu in the American south, to zebra mussels in North America and Europe, to the toxic green seaweed Caulerpa in the Mediterranean, to spotted knapweed on the Great Plains, to avian malaria in Hawaii. We will also look at the economic impacts of these and other out-of-control alien species, and the possible solutions to bringing at least some into check. Should alien species be eliminated or ignored in their new environments Is their removal even possible We will read and discuss several works on alien invasions, and each participant will research and present to the seminar the invasive biogeographies, potential for containment, and regional plans of action for selected exotic species. This seminar will meet two times most weeks for 75 minutes (1:15 - 2:30), while in other weeks, it will meet only for a single field trip, sometimes in excess of three hours (1:15 - 3:55). Only first-year students are eligible to enroll in this class. 1.00 units, Seminar

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.Trincoll.edu

Phone Number:

(860) 297-2000

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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