Natural Science 0287 - Bees

Bees originated approximately 120 million years ago, evolving alongside flowering plants and diversifying today into more than 20,000 species worldwide. This course uses bees (both managed and wild species) as a model to synthesize core concepts in biology. Through discussions on advanced topics in ecology and evolution, we will analyze the factors influencing bee population distributions, abundance, adaptations, and evolutionary relationships. By engaging deeply with a single taxonomic group, students will integrate knowledge across core biological disciplines-ecology, evolution, taxonomy, genetics, ecophysiology, behavior, conservation, disease, and agroecology. A central focus will be pollination ecology, including the politics, economics, and consequences of global pollinator declines, and the impacts of climate change on pollination networks. This upper-division course emphasizes scientific writing, peer review, experimental design, taxonomy, and student-led discussions of primary literature. Keywords:Entomology, Ecology, Biology, Taxonomy, Evolution

Environments and Change Lab/Materials fee:$30 Students should expect to spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time