Course Descriptions
The course will be divided into three parts. The first section will explore existing theories, concepts and methods of environmental management. The middle section will review case histories of various forms of environmental management have been applied. The final section of the course will allow students to assess a resource issue in a specific geographic locale.
Readings will come from the primary scientific literature. This course fits into the graduate program by improving students’ literacy of topics in advanced ecology, and by improving student abilities in understanding and formulating quantitative ecological models, particularly models related to ecological interactions. The prerequisite for the course is an introductory ecology course of some kind. This course will not be a prerequisite for any other course.
There are no prerequisites, but instructor permission will be required.
Pre-requisites: Quantitative methods/statistics and Geographic Information Systems
This course will provide a theoretical background and practical skills in ichnology, the study of plant and animal traces. Among its topics, the course will emphasize: (1) plant and animal behaviors that result in traces in a broad range of ecosystems; (2) aspects of behavioral ecology pertinent to ichnology; (3) explore connections between ichnology and the history of life; (4) how ichnology – particularly tracking animals - is used as a tool in conservation biology; and (5) introduce students to zoogeomorphology, the study of how animal traces dominate or otherwise alter ecosystems.
Field work on and off-campus will be an essential component of the class, in which we will investigate (minimally) evidence of arthropod-plant interactions, insect nests, crayfish burrows, and vertebrate tracks, burrows, and other sign. Students will also receive an introduction to CyberTracker as a GIS-based tool for documenting, mapping, and interpreting terrestrial animal traces.
This graduate-level course teaches students key concepts in study design, advanced statistical methods and statistical software. For most students, this course will be a foundation for their thesis research. Instructors will use the student’s data and research experience to draw attention to key components in the design of research studies and the analysis of data collected either in the field, laboratory or through computer simulations.
The course has one pre-requisite: A basic-level quantitative methods class
Prerequisites are intermediate earth science or ecology courses.
This is one of the few graduate-level courses that focuses on the importance of urbanization and urban areas in general, and the only one within ENVS. The course is currently cross-listed with the Masters in Development Practice (MDP583) and will continue to be offered throughout the Laney Graduate School as an academic option for those students interested in urbanization as a topic area of research or inquiry.
The course has 2 pre-requisites: A basic-level quantitative methods class (e.g. ENVS260) and an introductory Geographic Information Systems (e.g., ENVS250, INFO530). Or permission of instructor.
This seminar will follow the major themes of Infectious diseases in primates: behavior, ecology, and evolution by Nunn and Altizer. Most weeks, members of the course will lead discussion related to a given theme within the realm of primate disease, supplementing the sections of the book with material from the primary literature.
The course will also include a lab-based tutorial in non-invasive methodologies for monitoring primate pathogens and two case studies. This course will provide a theoretical framework for, and working understanding of applications of this foundation to public health and conservation. This course will ensure a more robust training at the interface of health and ecology for Emory ENVS students.
This course will not have prerequisites, but will require consent of the instructor.
The general theme of the course will be the study of the underlying principles that influence the spatio-temporal patterns of diseases in the environment. It will combine general principles of ecology, environmental health and management, epidemiology and urban and global health.
Examples will include environmental diseases such as toxins (lead poisoning), cancers and environmental shortages, (famine), directly transmitted diseases (influenza, tetanus, diarrhoeal diseases), zoonoses (Rabies, schsitosomiasis, Nippah virus), Vector-borne disease (WEST Nile virus, Lyme disease, Chagas disease).
Most examples will be presented by small student groups with presentations prepared under guidance of the instructor.
This is a variable topics course. New and specific topics taught for the first time.
This seminar course is required for all students in the program. The course will be structured around a variable topic, such as environmental governance, climate change, resilience, or modeling environmental processes. The course will be a series of readings, which will introduce a student to key literature on the topic.
The weekly meeting will consist of student led discussions on the topical readings/ articles. This will develop the student’s capacity to develop and understand literature research as part of their graduate education. Graduate student standing will be the required, but no prerequisite courses.