| LEC # | TOPICS | TERM PROJECT DATES | HOMEWORK DATES | RECITATION TOPICS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction: what is ecology? | Term project out | ||
| 2 | Evolution of Earth and the biosphere | Homework 1 out | MIT libraries | |
| 3 | How to be alive/thermodynamics of life | Term project topic due | ||
| 4 |
CI lecture: getting started with the term project Lecturer: Harlan Breindel, MIT Writing Center | Term project topic back | Literature reviews and TA review of materials | |
| 5 | Primary productivity I | |||
| 6 | Primary productivity II | Homework 1 due | Review for quiz | |
| 7 | Biogeochemical cycles | Term project description due | ||
| 8 | Global carbon cycle | Homework 1 back | Figures and technical writing, TA review | |
| 9 | Quiz 1 | Term project description back | Homework 2 out | |
| 10 | Limiting factors and Redfield | No recitation | ||
| 11 | Ecosystem experiments/geoengineering | Term project introduction due | CI: lecture | |
| 12 | Secondary productivity/food webs | |||
| 13 | Population growth | Term project introduction back | Homework 2 due | Review for quiz |
| 14 | Chemostats/life tables | |||
| 15 | Human population growth | Term project proposal due | Homework 2 back | Breindel: revising a document |
| 16 | Quiz 2 | Homework 3 out | ||
| 17 | Competition and the niche | Breindel: structuring and oral presentation | ||
| 18 | Predation/symbiosis/mutualism | Term project proposal back | ||
| 19 | Biogeography | Review for quiz | ||
| 20 |
A thought experiment in sustainability Guest lecture: John Sterman, MIT Sloan School | Homework 3 due | ||
| 21 | Quiz 3 | Q and A, office hours | ||
| 22 | Project presentations | Term project complete due | Homework 3 back | Project presentations |
| 23 | Project presentations (cont.) | |||
| 24-25 | Project presentations (cont.) | No recitation |