Graduate Seminar Courses

For more information on courses, visit the Evolution and Ecology course distinctions page.

SP2026

EEOB 8896.04
Applying for academic jobs

Instructors: Meg Daly (daly.66@osu.edu) & Jim Hood (hood.211@osu.edu)
Credit:
Location:
Meeting day & time:
Class#

We will address aspects of this application process including preparing a CV as well as research, teaching, and diversity statements; how to prepare an effective research talk; and what a competitive application looks like. As the seminar progresses, we will also read literature about the academic job market, discuss the requirements for different types of academic jobs, and negotiations. At the end of the seminar, we will spend time discussing other career paths.

SP2024

---

AU2023

EEOB 8896.04 :: CANCELED
Plant Interactions

Instructor:  Dr. Andrea Fetters (fetters.38@osu.edu)
Credit: TBD
Location: TBD
Meeting day and time: TBD
Class#

EEOB 8896.04-20
Foundations of Ecology Graduate Seminar

Instructor: Dr. Stuart Ludsin
2 credit hours
Mondays 12:30-2:30 PM
124 Research Center, 1314 Kinnear Rd.
Call #38222

The purpose of this seminar is to introduce students to critical concepts and advances in the field of ecology. Towards this end, students will read papers from the peer- reviewed literature, both old and new. These papers will center on important foundational concepts in behavioral, population, community and ecosystem ecology (e.g., adaptationist program, life-history evolution, competition, predation, disturbance, food webs, biodiversity, spatial and temporal scale, ecosystem resilience, global change), and how they have changed during the past century or so, as well as why. These discussions should help us understand the emergence of more contemporary topics in ecology such as metabolic theory, metacommunities, regime shifts, and ecological epigenetics among other things, as well as how the methods used in ecology have evolved through time.

We will meet weekly for a 2-hour discussion on Monday afternoons during the entire semester. During each meeting, we will discuss a single topic, which will be based on 1- 2 readings from the peer-reviewed literature. Discussions each week will be facilitated by 1-2 students depending on class size.

Feel free to contact Stuart Ludsin (ludsin.1@osu.edu), if you have any questions about the course or suggestions about potential topics to cover (or papers to read).

EEOB 8896.12  Molecular Ecology
Conservation Genomics

Instructor: Lisle Gibbs (gibbs.128@osu.edu)
Credit: TBD
Location: TBD
Meeting day and time: TBD, First 7 weeks
Class#38126

Current topics on application of genomics to conservation of biodiversity.

EEOB 8896.18
Mentoring

Instructors: Rachelle Adams (adams.1970@osu.edu) and Zeynep Benderlioglu (benderlioglu.1@osu.edu)
Credit: TBD
Location: TBD
Meeting day and time: TBD
Class#38125

---

SP2023

EEOB 5194
Human Dimensions of Ecology: Decolonizing Nature

Instructors:  Dr. Maria Miriti (Miriti.1@osu.edu) and Dr. Ariel Rawson (rawson.2@osu.edu)
Location: McPherson 1008
Meeting day and time: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:35AM - 10:55AM

This course provides students with an in-depth and critical exploration of the human dimensions of ecology as a pathway for addressing issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in ecology. By drawing on interdisciplinary studies and literature from ecology and the social sciences, this course addresses the intersection between social inequities and global ecological crises as the most pressing challenges of our times.  During the course of the semester we will:

1.Examine how human dimensions of ecology are addressed in emerging ecological concerns. 

2.Consider how science as social process impacts ecological research.

3.Center the ecological knowledge of people marginalized within typical ecological understanding, including that of displaced peoples within ecology. 

EEOB 8896.14
Applying for academic jobs 

Instructors: Meg Daly (daly.66@osu.edu) and Jim Hood (hood.211@osu.edu)
Credit: 1 credit hour 
Meeting day and time: 1.5 hours/week, TBD 
Location: TBD 
Class# 30466  

In Ecology and Evolution programs across the United States, securing a tenure track assistant professor position has often been the goal of many PhD students and postdocs. Other, highly successful grad students and postdocs eschew this career track for various reasons including the long hours and relatively, low pay, hypercompetitive research funding environment, and lack of geoflexibility. Regardless of one’s current career plans, it is important for graduate students to understand the academic job market and how to apply for an academic job. Being able to articulate one’s accomplishments and strengths is an important skill for obtaining any job. To fill that gap, this seminar will focus on how to apply for an academic job. We will address aspects of this application process including preparing a CV as well as research, teaching, and diversity statements; how to prepare an effective research talk; and what a competitive application looks like. As the seminar progresses, we will also read literature about the academic job market, discuss the requirements for different types of academic jobs, and negotiations. At the end of the seminar, we will spend time discussing other career paths. 

EEOB 8896.19
Applied Multivariate statistics for research

Instructor: Alison Bennett (bennett.1242@osu.edu) and Jacob Hopkins (hopkins.982@osu.edu)
Credit Hours: 2 credit hours (full semester)
Meeting day and time: 2 days a week, TBD based on student schedules
Location: AL422
Class# 35692

Interested in using multivariate statistical methods in your research, but aren’t fan of heavy math and statistics?  This seminar will both discuss and provide practical instruction in how to appropriately use methods like ordination, PERMANOVA, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, network modeling, and CoDA methods in your research.  We will meet two days a week with Day 1 focusing on lecture and discussion of the method(s), and Day 2 focusing on how to use the method in R.  This course will not be HW intensive and will instead rely on in-class participation and a small final project for evaluation. Email hopkins.982@osu.edu with any questions about the course!

EEOB 8896.19
Meta-Analysis in Evolution and Ecology

Instructor: Steve Hovick (hovick.2@osu.edu)
Credit: 1 credit hour (full semester)
Meeting day and time TBD (ONLINE)
Course# #35701

This graduate seminar will focus on the theory and practice of meta-analysis in ecology and evolutionary biology.  We will focus on the benefits and limitations of these methods, best practices for conducting meta-analysis, and how to critically appraise a meta-analytical study.  We will read and discuss papers from the primary literature plus relevant sections from the Handbook of Meta-Analysis in Ecology and Evolution (available as an ebook through the OSU library).  Participants will be expected to fully participate in our weekly group discussions and contribute to leading them.  To make the methods we discuss more concrete, the course will culminate in a final project in which all students write a brief proposal for a meta-analytic study on a topic they choose, presumably related to their primary study system.

If you are interested in taking this seminar, please contact Steve Hovick (hovick.2@osu.edu) so we can find a meeting time that works for everyone (ideally a single 2-hour block per week during the second 7-week session of Autumn 2021).

EEOB 8896.19
Applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence to evolutionary, ecological, and behavioral research

Instructors: Kaiya Provost (provost.27@osu.edu) and Bryan Carstens, (carstens.12@osu.edu)
Credit: 1 credit hour (full semester)
Meeting day and time: Tuesdays, 3:00-4:00pm104 Aronoff
Class# 35699

Do you want to understand machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) approaches as they relate to ecology and evolution?. This seminar will provide readings from the primary literature that apply these concepts to major questions relevant to EEOB. Topics covered include predictive modeling, random forest, data imputation, neural networks, and tensor flow deep learning.Seminar will have two lead instructors. Kaiya Provost is an NSF-funded postdoc working on AI approaches to analyzing recordings of bird calls. Bryan Carstens is interested in exploring how ML and AI enable the automated analysis of big messy biological data sets.

 

EEOB 8896.19
“Relationships Are Complicated”: Big Data and Complex Microbial Ecological Systems

Instructor: Zakee Sabree (sabree.8@osu.edu)
Credit: 1 credit hour (second session, March 1st-April 24th)
Meeting times: Once a week/100 minutes, TBD
Class# 37258

This is a topics course where we will read and discuss seminal and recent peer-reviewed papers that seek to address aspects of host-microbe, microbe-microbe, microbe-environment interactions using large, heterogenous datasets, deep learning approaches and live model systems. 

---

Autumn 2022

EEOB 5510
Team Science

Instructor: Alison Bennett (bennett.1242@osu.edu)
Credit Hours: TBA 
Meeting times: Mondays & Wednesdays 3:55PM-5:15PM
Class# TBA

EEOB 8896.05
Science Communication

Instructor: Andi Wolfe (wolfe.205@osu.edu)
Credit Hours TBA (first 7 weeks)
Meeting times TBA
Class# 37618

Every scientist needs to communicate his/her research in as many ways as possible. Sharing images during presentations at meetings, while giving seminars, teaching courses, or via social media sites are good ways to let others know about your work and passion(s) for evolution, ecology, or organismal biology. This seven-week seminar will focus (pun intended) on all aspects of nature photography – from the basics of how to make photos under a variety of conditions to using software for post-processing of images. We’ll meet twice a week – for a 2-hr period during the regular week, and again for a half-day or all-day field trip on Saturday to go make photos in local parks or nature reserves. Students will need to purchase a copy of Lightroom 5 (available at Wired Out for an academic discount, or via an online subscription available from Adobe.com), and own, rent, or borrow an appropriate camera to use during the course. Specific goals of the course include: 1) review of photography basics, 2) learn how to use post-processing software, 3) develop a critical eye for composition, exposure, and depth-of-field settings, and 4) sharing photos and information via social media.

EEOB 8896.10
Phylogenetic Comparative Methods

Instructor: Jordan Satler
Credit Hours: 1
Meeting times: Wednesday 4:15-5:15pm
Class# 26447

We will work through the following book (https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691219035/phylogenetic-comparative-methods-in-r). The ebook is available for $40.

---

Spring 2022

EEOB 5194
Bioacoustics of Ohio I: Practical Bioacoustics in the Field

Instructors: Kaiya Provost (provost.27@osu.edu) and Bryan Carstens, (carstens.12@osu.edu)
Lecture: Wednesdays 10:20 to 11:15 am, Cunz 180
Outdoor Lab: Fridays 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
2 credit hours

Study the birds of Ohio and their songs, learn to record animal sounds, and contribute to actual bioacoustics research at the Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics!
Course Features and Topics:

• Weekly Outdoor Labs around Columbus
• Two Weekend Field Trips
• Opportunity to be on Published Research*
• No Expensive Course Fee, No Textbook
• Analog and Digital Recording Equipment
• History and Ethics of Bioacoustics
• Current Research at OSU

 

EEOB 8896.05
Anthropogenic Change and Behavior

Instructors: Ian Hamilton (hamilton.598@osu.edu) and Susan Gershman (gershman.6@osu.edu)
1 credit hour (14 weeks)
Meeting times: Thursdays TBA
Online
Course# 23938

 

EEOB 8896.05
Visualizing Symbiosis

Instructor: Rachelle Adams (adams1970@osu.edu)
1 credit hour
Time: TBD
Last 7-weeks SP2022
Contact Corey Ash for course#

We will begin this seminar reading a chapter from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer where she describes beautify complex  lichens. Then we will read selected chapters from The Symbiotic Habit by Angela E. Douglas and Mutualisms edited by Judith L. Bronstein.  While learning about symbioses we will discuss ways to visualize evolutionary and ecological concepts through descriptive analogies and conceptual figures. 

Students will be asked to co-lead discussions and complete a conceptual figure relating to their field of research.

 

EEOB 8896.07 
Graduate seminar in plant-pollinator biology

Instructor: Karen Goodell
first 7 weeks
1 credit, meet 2h per week.
Time TBA (hoping for Tuesday or Thursday afternoon)
Course# 37215

We will read and discuss recent (and some not so recent) papers on pollination ecology, pollinator effectiveness, pollinator community dynamics, pollinator diversity drivers, responses of pollinators to climate change, and implications for pollination of natural and agricultural plants. We will choose readings that reflect recent advances from both the plant perspective and the pollinator perspective. We will examine new developments in research methods, technologies, and data analysis to understand how plant-pollinator research has grown and future directions in applied and basic plant-pollinator interaction research

 

EEOB 8896.09
Current Topics in Environmental DNA (eDNA)

Instructor: Roman Lanno (lanno.1@osu.edu)
1 credit hour
Meeting times: Wednesdays 4-4:50pm, Jennings Hall, Rm 160
Course# 22534

---

Autumn 2021

EEOB 5194                                      
Interdisciplinary Team Science

Instructors: Alison Bennett (bennett.1242@osu.edu), Charlene Brenner, Jeff Agnoli, Marcela Hernandez, Liz Kirby, Mark Moritz, Risa Pesapane, Zoe Plakias, Courtney Price, Virginia Rich, Cathy Ryan, Leslie Shoaf, Leo Taylor, Samuel White
2 credit hours
Meeting times: T/Th 10:20-11:15, Baker Systems 130
Course# TBD

Funding agencies worldwide, including the NSF, are placing greater emphasis on interdisciplinary research. For example, the NSF has identified “Growing Convergence Research” as one of its 10 Big Ideas. True convergence research requires the development of interdisciplinary scientific teams (groups of 2 or more working collaboratively to solve a problem). However, graduate students are often siloed within programs, and not necessarily trained to engage with others outside their field. This course aims to teach students the necessary skills to lead or participate in scientific or interdisciplinary teams.

The lectures, activities and assignments in this course are designed to provide students with a handbook for building and maintaining a scientific team by the end of the course.

 

EEOB 8896.17
Invertebrate Zoology: Omic approaches to invertebrate biology

Instructor: Meg Daly (daly.66@osu.edu) 
1 credit hour (14 weeks) 
ONLINE
Course# 37069

The seminar will focus on recent papers that transcriptomic, metabolomic, and genomic methods to understand aspects of biology in aquatic invertebrates. 

 

EEOB 8896.19
Meta-Analysis in Evolution and Ecology

Instructor: Steve Hovick (hovick.2@osu.edu)
1 credit hour (second 7-week session)
Meeting day and time TBD (ONLINE)
Course# 20732

This graduate seminar will focus on the theory and practice of meta-analysis in ecology and evolutionary biology.  We will focus on the benefits and limitations of these methods, best practices for conducting meta-analysis, and how to critically appraise a meta-analytical study.  We will read and discuss papers from the primary literature plus relevant sections from the Handbook of Meta-Analysis in Ecology and Evolution (available as an ebook through the OSU library).  Participants will be expected to fully participate in our weekly group discussions and contribute to leading them.  To make the methods we discuss more concrete, the course will culminate in a final project in which all students write a brief proposal for a meta-analytic study on a topic they choose, presumably related to their primary study system.

If you are interested in taking this seminar, please contact Steve Hovick (hovick.2@osu.edu) so we can find a meeting time that works for everyone (ideally a single 2-hour block per week during the second 7-week session of Autumn 2021).

EEOB 8896.19
Current Topics in Quantitative Methods Selected topics in data analysis with R

Instructor: Gerry Carter (carter.1640@osu.edu)
1 credit hour (first 7-weeks)
Meeting times: TBD based on polling
grade: pass/fail
Course# 20732

The seminar will meet to work through a set of data analysis exercises in R. During each class, participants will write and annotate an R script performing an example of a statistical method on real data. Exact topics will be decided by participants, but might include: tidyverse functions for data wrangling, for loops, functions, permutation tests, bootstrapping, simulations for testing models, fitting general linear models, mixed effects models, generalized linear models, zero-inflated models, and classification and cross-validation with discriminant analysis and random forests. To get the most from the seminar, participants already should be able to do the exercises in chapters 1-12 in the online book "R for Data Science" (https://r4ds.had.co.nz/).

---

Spring 2021

EEOB 8896.04 
Symbioses

Instructors: Alison Bennett (bennett.1242@osu.edu), Brian Carstens (carstens.12@osu.edu), Meg Daly (daly.66@osu.edu), Rachelle Adams (adams.1970@osu.edu), Ian Hamilton (hamilton.598@osu.edu), Zakee Sabree (sabree.8@osu.edu), and Jason Slot (slot.1@osu.edu)
1 credit hour
Meeting Times: First 7 weeks, Day and Time TBD
Class #36057

Symbioses are important drivers of community assembly and ecosystem services, and are found in numerous habitats.  Microbial symbionts vary in their association with hosts—their association can range from obligate to dependent, they can live inside or outside of hosts, be transmitted vertically or horizontally, vary in genome size, and range from parasitic to mutualistic.  At the extreme ends of these partnerships we find obligately mutualistic vertically transmitted microbes with reduced genomes living inside hosts.  And yet several long-standing symbioses have existed for eons.  Thus, in this seminar we ask what are the characteristics and traits that drive symbionts past the “point of no return”?  Can movement along continuums by microbial symbionts be predicted by stoichiometry, eco-evolutionary feedbacks, or communication and signaling between partners?  To this end we will read two papers per week on the topic, and discuss those papers.

EEOB 8896.14
Graduate Seminar Harnessing the big data resolution in aquatic ecology: processed based modeling of environmental sensor data.

Instructor: Dr. Jim Hood, EEOB (hood.211@osu.edu)
1 credit (both sessions)
Time and place: TBD based on participants’ schedules.
If you plan to enroll in this seminar, contact Jim Hood (hood.211@osu.edu) soon so we can schedule a meeting time.
Course #27928

Over the last decade, there has a been a dramatic increase in the deployment of environmental sensors in streams, rivers, and lakes. Collectively, these sensors have generated massive, publicly available, high-frequency data sets describing biological and physiochemical aspects of aquatic ecosystems. How can ecologists and limnologists harness this data revolution to develop new insight into the structure and function of aquatic systems? One approach is to use these high frequency data sets to inform process-based models of ecosystem processes such as carbon and nutrient cycling. In this graduate seminar, we will explore various approaches for modeling ecosystem processes using high-frequency data. Approximately two-thirds of the seminar will focus on modeling primary production and ecosystem respiration (components of ecosystem metabolism) due to recent advances in this field. For the remainder of the class, we will focus on other carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling models as well as topics tailored to the interests of the participants. To address these issues, we will combine hands-on tutorials (conducted in R) with discussions of recent peer-reviewed literature.

 

EEOB 8896.19 **CANCELED**
Meta-Analysis in Evolution and Ecology

Instructor: Steve Hovick (hovick.2@osu.edu)
1 credit hour (14 weeks)
Meeting day and time TBD (ONLINE)
Course# 36274

This graduate seminar will focus on the theory and practice of meta-analysis in ecology and evolutionary biology.  We will focus on the benefits and limitations of these methods, best practices for conducting meta-analysis, and how to critically appraise a meta-analytical study.  We will read and discuss papers from the primary literature plus sections from the Handbook of Meta-Analysis in Ecology and Evolution (available as an ebook through the OSU library).  Participants will be expected to fully participate in our weekly group discussions and contribute to leading them.  To make the methods we discuss more concrete, the course will culminate in a final project in which all students write a brief proposal for a meta-analytic study on a topic they choose, presumably related to their primary study system.

If you have any questions or are interested in taking this seminar, please feel free to contact Steve Hovick (hovick.2@osu.edu).   We will decide on a meeting time that works for everyone as we get closer to the beginning of the AU semester.

 

---

Autumn 2020

EEOB 6620 & 6630
Scientific Writing in Evolution & Ecology: Manuscripts & Proposals

Instructor: Stu Ludsin (ludsin.1@osu.edu)
EEOB 6620 (Manuscript Writing). Session 1 (Aug. 25 – Oct. 12, 2020): class # 26308 (1.5 credits) 
EEOB 6630 (Proposal Writing). Session 2 (Oct. 19 – Dec. 9, 2020): class # 26310 (1.5 credits) 
Mondays, 1:00 – 3:00 PM, 104 Aronoff Laboratory (or online, if needed because of COVID-19) 

These graduate-level courses will focus on improving the scientific writing ability of students. EEOB 6620 will emphasize writing scientific manuscripts, with EEOB 6630 centering on writing research proposals. During both courses, students will learn how to approach the writing process, practice writing, and learn to analyze their own writing and that of others. 

These courses will be intensive, as students will be expected to write, peer-review writing, and participate in small and large-group discussions each week. Students will need to have a writing goal for both courses, and ideally can make progress on a manuscript (EEOB 6620) or a research proposal (EEOB 6630). 

EEOB 8896.04
Phenotypic plasticity, adaptations, and climate change

Instructor: Libby Marschall (marschall.2@osu.edu)
1 credit hour
Meeting times: Tuesdays 1:50-3:40PM, alternating weeks
class #: 35049

This seminar will be focused on recent research across taxa and systems on the interaction between rapid environmental change (specifically, climate change), phenotypic plasticity, and adaptation. We will meet on alternating weeks, resulting in seven 2-hour meetings over the course of the semester.

EEOB 8896.12
Analyzing the Genomic Basis of Adaptations

Instructors: Lisle Gibbs (gibbs.128@osu.edu) and Andreas Chavez (chavez.102@osu.edu)
Credit Hours TBA
Meeting times Tentatively Thursday 10 – 1130 AM in Aronoff 104
Class# TBA

The goal is to organize a forum within EEOB with people who have research interests on this topic to meet and discuss conceptual issues, methodological approaches and empirical results. All are welcome. Students who wish to take the course for official credit can sign up under EEOB 8896 course listing.  We ask that people who are interested in participating please fill out the Google Form link by 1 August so that we can get an idea of who might participate.

Weekly meeting with faculty and student led discussions on series of topics related to the use of genomic methods/information to study the evolution of adaptive variation in natural populations. A tentative list of topics and dates is given below but we are open to alternative topics or possibly research presentations.  Depending on the numbers of participants, students will be responsible for leading 1 – 2 discussions based on papers they choose that are relevant to the topic or from papers suggested by the instructors. Please see attached document for a tentative weekly schedule, a list of potential topics, a list of foundational/review papers for your bibliography, some key questions on this topic, and a list of additional resources from the "Population Genomics” book by Rajora 2019. We will also incorporate seminar visits by Matt Hahn and Gideon Bradburd by discussing papers suggested by them on the weeks they are at OSU. Details can be found in the Topics-Genomics of Adaptation document.

EEOB 8896.19
New frontiers in measuring biodiversity

Instructors: Dr. Brooks Kohli (Kohli.105@osu.edu) and Dr. Marta Jarzyna (Jarzyna.1@ osu.edu)
1 credit hour
Meeting Times: First 7 weeks, Day and Time TBD
Location: TBD (or online pending COVID 19 restrictions)
class #:  36199

The recent development of a multi-faceted concept of biodiversity – including taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions – is revolutionizing how diversity is measured, our understanding of how it is generated or disrupted, and how best to conserve it in a changing world. Functional and phylogenetic dimensions of biodiversity recognize the salient ecological and evolutionary differences among taxa, and the rapid growth of species occurrence, trait, and genetic databases has made measuring these dimensions possible for a wider variety of taxa and systems.
 
Course objectives: Students will be introduced to the concepts and methods for quantifying functional and phylogenetic diversity and their application to fields including but not limited to community ecology, biogeography, macroecology, conservation biology, and landscape ecology. Students will learn about these topics through a combination of literature discussion, exploration of existing trait databases and phylogenetic supertrees, and tutorials using R packages to manipulate trait and phylogenetic data and calculate common diversity indices.  The goal of the seminar is to give students the background knowledge, resources, and tools to calculate multiple dimensions of diversity for their study system.

EEOB 8896.19
Analyzing animal social networks in R

Instructor: Gerald Carter (carter.1640@osu.edu)
2 credit hours
Meeting Time: TBD
Class#: 35051

Students will learn how to use R to create and analyze social networks using real and simulated data. We will focus on practical skills for testing hypotheses using custom permutation tests. Background knowledge of R will be useful but not required. Topics include methods of behavioral data collection, inferring relationships from different kinds of social data, resampling statistics, and simulations. Each student will present a presentation on an R script they wrote to answer a question using network data. Students are encouraged to work with their own data. Students will also be invited to work together as a group to test a hypothesis using high-resolution social network data (from vampire bats) with the goal of co-authoring a peer-reviewed paper.

For more information, go to socialbat.org/courses

EEOB 8896.20
Diversity, inclusion, and structural racism in ecology and evolution

Instructor: Maria Miriti (miriti.1@osu.edu) and John Freudenstein (freudenstein.1@osu.edu)
1.5 credit hours
Tentative Schedule: Friday 11:30-1  (digitally)
Class#: 162133

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others, and the interaction between Amy Cooper and Christian Cooper have transformed perceptions and exposed the consequences of racism in the U.S. and around the world.  Racism underlies privilege in U.S. society and institutions as revealed, for example, by the disproportionate number of COVID-19 deaths among African-Americans. Academic institutions are not immune as shown by chronically low participation of underrepresented minorities, particularly African-Americans, despite much investment in diversity enhancement initiatives.

The myriad ways in which structural inequities influence the STEM academy, including ecology and evolution, are now openly acknowledged, and examined.  For meaningful change to occur, institutions, broadly defined, need to do more than admit that they have been operating under a paradigm that implicitly supports racial biases.  Because these paradigms have persistently and consistently disadvantaged underrepresented minorities, another lens is that these institutions benefit from structural racism.  To make the changes that have been stated in many forums, we need to understand what is meant by structural racism and its influences in ecology and evolution.

We propose a graduate seminar to address structural racism in ecology and evolution.  The objective is to examine the ways in which racism is woven into daily life and how that informs scientific practice, values, and education.  We strive to create a forum that includes as many in the department as is possible.  An ongoing issue is that those most negatively affected by structural inequity are those who are most involved in improving diverse participation.  However, the advantages of societal racism are as much a part of daily life as the disadvantages, whether you are rich, poor, educated, or uneducated.  To truly move forward, the conversation must include many voices and experiences.

This seminar will include documentary presentations and readings that present structural racism, faculty presentations on the role of identity in our career paths, and structured discussions directed towards confronting structural racism in ecology and evolution.   An anticipated outcome of this seminar is to develop a clear, consistent strategy for improving diversity and inclusion in our department, and in our discipline.

---

Spring 2020

New Course!
ENTMLGY/EEOB 5490 **CANCELED**
Insect Behavior: Mechanisms and Function

Spring Semester Even years (R. Adams)
3 credit units

The behavior of insects mediates all aspects of their ecological interactions and evolution. This course will describe the multitude of amazing behaviors expressed by insects and explore how behavior determines their survivorship and fitness. We will discuss the selective forces and constraints driving the evolution of behaviors and the proximal mechanisms that make possible complex expression within the comparatively simple insect nervous system.

EEOB 8896.01
Functional and Evolutionary Morphology

Instructor: John Hunter (hunter.360@osu.edu)
1 credit
Meeting time: Thursdays 3-4 PM (tentative)
class #: TBD

Analysis of the form and function of morphological traits underlies and informs studies of adaptation, character evolution across a phylogeny, and the distribution of organisms across space and time. Thus, functional morphology is at the interface between many subfields of evolution and ecology. Although functional morphology is sometimes pursued for its own sake, often with a heavy dose of biomechanics, insights gains from an analysis of structure and function can apply much more broadly, especially when coupled with phylogenetic, developmental, paleontological, macroevolutionary, or macroecological approaches.
 
In this seminar, students will read and discuss papers in functional morphology with an eye to determining  how the field interfaces with other fields in modern evolutionary biology and ecology. My default will be to emphasize feeding and locomotion in vertebrate musculoskeletal systems, but I am open to other groups and systems depending on student interest. Topics might include the correlation of diet and tooth shape in mammals, the evolution of the definitive mammalian middle ear, and the rise of ecometrics and ecomorphology.

EEOB 8896.05
Digitized Data: Using museum collections to study biodiversity in the Anthropocene

Instructors: Dr. Lisa Barrow (barrow.36@osu.edu), Dr. Bryan Carstens (carstens.12@osu.edu)
1 credit, Second 7 weeks (2/26–4/20)
Meeting Times: Tuesdays 9–10:30 AM (Tentative), Aronoff TBD

The billions of specimens in natural history collections hold vast potential for understanding global biodiversity across time and space, particularly in this time of rapid global change (the “Anthropocene”). Major digitization efforts in the last few decades have increased accessibility of collections data in public databases, enabling research on topics such as phenological shifts, species interactions, pollution, emerging pathogens, and phenotypic evolution.

Students will be introduced to some of the methods and potential for working with museum specimens and their associated data. We will discuss recent papers that harness digitized collections to study global change and biodiversity. Each student will develop a short proposal idea to supplement their research with open-access collections data, stimulating discussions about what data already exist and what challenges remain for addressing a variety of questions in global change biology using museum collections.

EEOB 8896.12                                
Microbiome meta-analysis

Instructors: Antonino Malacrino (malacrino.1@osu.edu), and Alison Bennett (bennett.1242@osu.edu) 
Credit Hours 2 (2nd 7 weeks)
Meeting times TBA

Microorganisms drive several fundamental physical, chemical and biological phenomena. We usually focus on single or few microbial species, while mechanisms and processes are often driven by communities of microbes. Isolation and cultivation of entire communities is virtually impossible, so current research relies on sophisticated sequencing and bioinformatics methods to uncover microbial communities. Metabarcoding allows us to explore the diversity of microbial communities.
In this course, students will explore the metabarcoding microbiome literature, develop a research question, and conduct a meta-analysis of metabarcoding data. Students will retrieve the data from public repositories, build a database, and analyze the database with state-of-the-art bioinformatics techniques. The goal of the seminar will be to focus in depth on a question in the metabarcoding microbiome literature, analyze the question, and submit a manuscript for peer-review.

---

Autumn 2019

EEOB 8896.07
Communicating science via photography

Instructor: Andi Wolfe (wolfe.205@osu.edu)
Credit Hours TBA
Meeting times TBA
Class# TBA

Every scientist needs to communicate his/her research in as many ways as possible. Sharing images during presentations at meetings, while giving seminars, teaching courses, or via social media sites are good ways to let others know about your work and passion(s) for evolution, ecology, or organismal biology. This seven-week seminar will focus (pun intended) on all aspects of nature photography – from the basics of how to make photos under a variety of conditions to using software for post-processing of images. We’ll meet twice a week – for a 2-hr period during the regular week, and again for a half-day or all-day field trip on Saturday to go make photos in local parks or nature reserves. Students will need to purchase a copy of Lightroom 5 (available at Wired Out for an academic discount, or via an online subscription available from Adobe.com), and own, rent, or borrow an appropriate camera to use during the course. Specific goals of the course include: 1) review of photography basics, 2) learn how to use post-processing software, 3) develop a critical eye for composition, exposure, and depth-of-field settings, and 4) sharing photos and information via social media.

EEOB8896.12
Analyzing the Genomic Basis of Adaptations

Instructors: Lisle Gibbs (gibbs.128@osu.edu) and Andreas Chavez (chavez.102@osu.edu)
Credit Hours TBA
Meeting times Tentatively Thursday 10 – 1130 AM in Aronoff 104
Class# TBA

The goal is to organize a forum within EEOB with people who have research interests on this topic to meet and discuss conceptual issues, methodological approaches and empirical results. All are welcome. Students who wish to take the course for official credit can sign up under EEOB 8896 course listing.  We ask that people who are interested in participating please fill out the Google Form link by 1 August so that we can get an idea of who might participate.

Weekly meeting with faculty and student led discussions on series of topics related to the use of genomic methods/information to study the evolution of adaptive variation in natural populations. A tentative list of topics and dates is given below but we are open to alternative topics or possibly research presentations.  Depending on the numbers of participants, students will be responsible for leading 1 – 2 discussions based on papers they choose that are relevant to the topic or from papers suggested by the instructors. Please see attached document for a tentative weekly schedule, a list of potential topics, a list of foundational/review papers for your bibliography, some key questions on this topic, and a list of additional resources from the "Population Genomics” book by Rajora 2019. We will also incorporate seminar visits by Matt Hahn and Gideon Bradburd by discussing papers suggested by them on the weeks they are at OSU. Details can be found in the Topics-Genomics of Adaptation document.

EEOB8896.20
Diversity and Inclusion in Ecology and Evolution

Instructor: Maria Miriti (miriti.1@osu.edu)
Second 7 weeks; Credit Hours TBA
Meeting times TBA
Class# TBA

Increasingly, the value of a diverse workforce in identifying questions, designing research programs, and evaluating results is recognized in STEM disciplines. People with different experiences bring varied perspectives to a problem, which can promote more rigorous examination of hypotheses and generate more robust findings. Interestingly, the environmental sciences remain one of the least diverse disciplines in STEM according to the NSF's annual report on Women, Minority and Persons with disabilities. The reasons for such low participation are complex, but limited exposure to nature, negative experiences with STEM among underrepresented groups, and lack of culturally competent mentorship can create disparities that impede success at all educational levels.

This course will examine barriers to inclusion in ecology from a variety of perspectives including education, field experiences, and social science. Topics include: 

1. The influence of one’s cultural lens on perceptions of the natural world

2. How cultural perceptions can influence field experiences

3. Strategies to improve mentoring and inclusion in environmental disciplines

---

Spring 2019

EEOB 5194
Group Studies: Evolutionary Ecology

Instructors: Ian Hamilton, hamilton.598@osu.edu and Gerry Carter, carter.1640@osu.edu

Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:35AM-10:55AM

Course overview

This course uses evolutionary approaches to understand the causes and consequences of interactions between organisms and their environment, including interactions within and between species.  Key topics in the field of evolutionary ecology include the evolution of schedules of reproduction and development (life history), the evolution of behavior and the evolution of interactions among species.

Course Objectives

·Students will understand the diversity of life history patterns, behaviors and interspecific interactions, and how these can be the result of natural, sexual and social selection

·Students will be able to develop and test hypotheses about the evolutionary causes and consequences of variation in life history, behavior and interspecific interactions.

·Students will be able to use mathematical and computational models such as quantitative genetics models and game theoretical models, to make predictions about the evolution of strategies

·Students will understand how evolutionary perspectives are used to understand how individuals, populations and species respond to anthropogenic change.

EEOB 5797
Tropical Behavioral Ecology and Evolution in Panama

Instructors: Rachelle Adams, adams.1970@osu.edu and Gerry Carter, carter.1640@osu.edu

Tropical Behavioral Ecology and Evolution in Panama is a May study abroad program where you will be immersed in biological research in a Panamanian Neotropical rainforest. With guidance of instructors, students will propose and complete independent research projects related to evolution, ecology and/or behavior. You will have unique opportunities to interact with a global community of scientists and work at the world-renowned Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Funding information can be found at the Office of International Affairs.  For questions contact OSU study abroad (oia-educationabroad@osu.edu) or Dr. Adams.1970@osu.edu. Note: All students must take Undergraduate Independent Studies EEOB 3193 or EEOB Graduate Seminar: Behavior EEOB 8896.02 with Dr. Adams.

EEOB 6330
Phylogenetic Methods

Instructors: John Freudenstein, freudenstein.1@osu.edu and Laura Kubatko, lkubatko@stat.osu.edu
4 credit hours
Class# 33909

Methods for phylogenetic analysis: cladistics, maximum likelihood, Bayesian approaches; character coding and data management.

EEOB 8896.01 
Taste and smell in arthropods

Instructor: Norm Johnson, johnson.2@osu.edu
14 Weeks; 1 credit hour
Course #34376

A review and discussion of recent literature on the molecular biology, physiology, neurobiology of olfaction and gustation in arthropods. 

EEOB 8896.02
Tropical Research Proposal Writing

Instructors: Rachelle Adams, adams.1970@osu.edu and Gerry Carter, carter.1640@osu.edu

We will focus on evolutionary processes that shape the ecology and behavior of systems in a diverse tropical forest. Students will build skills in writing and experimental design in Columbus, Ohio (SP19) as they prepare their research permits and research proposals. Field research will be conducted at the world renowned Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama (May 2019; EEOB5798). In addition, the students will review and discuss the work of their peers as well as attend lectures to prepare for fieldwork. A final proposal will be submitted in April 2017 in the format of a NSF Preproposal and STRI Short Term Fellowship. This course provides unique opportunities to interact with a global community of scientists and learn successful research strategies while preparing to work in a Neotropical rainforest.

**This course is offered only in conjunction with EEOB 5798

EEOB8896.04
Global biodiversity and macroecology

Instructor: Marta Jarzyna, jarzyna.1@osu.edu
Second 7 weeks
Meeting times TBA

Class# 34814

Most contemporary empirical ecology focuses on the ecological interactions of individuals and populations at small temporal and spatial scales and often relies on experimental manipulation. Macroecology is a rapidly emerging field that takes a much larger perspective and explores patterns and processes driving biodiversity across the landscape, continental, and global spatial scales as well as long—i.e., decadal to paleontological—time scales. Because experimental manipulation across such large scales is impossible, macroecology often relies on sophisticated statistical methods. The objective of the course is to introduce students to the ecological questions that are at the forefront of the field of macroecology and to the variety of statistical approaches for tackling them.

EEOB 8896.09
Ecotoxicology

Instructor: Roman Lanno, lanno.1@osu.edu
Schedule TBA; 2 credit hours 
Class# 33895

EEOB 8896.12
Introduction to Methods in Genome Analysis

Instructors: Alexander Ochoa, ochoa.43@osu.edu; Lisle Gibbs, gibbs.128@osu.edu; Michael Broe, broe.1@osu.edu
Second 7 week session
Meeting Time: Mondays 1:00-3:15 PM, 104 Aronoff Laboratory
Class# 33503

EEOB 8896.15
Topics in Population Genetics and Phylogenetics

Instructor: Laura Kubatko, lkubatko@stat.osu.edu and Paul Fuerst, fuerst.1@osu.edu
Meeting Time: Mondays 12PM-1PM, Aronoff Laboratory
14 Weeks; 1 credit hour
Class# 28427

In this course, we will be reading and discussing the recently published book "Phylogenetic Comparative Methods: Learning from Trees" by Luke Harmon. The phylogenetic comparative method seeks to use a phylogenetic framework to study the evolution of traits ranging from morphological features of organisms to rates of speciation and extinction. The methods used for these analyses include a variety of mathematical and statistical techniques, and our goal will be to achieve an intuitive understanding of how these tools are used to address evolutionary questions of interest. We will read approximately one chapter per week and discuss the reading as a group.

EEOB 8896.19
Quantitative Methods: Multivariate Statistics  

Instructor: Dr. Stuart Ludsin, ludsin.1@osu.edu, Ben Marcek, marcek.1@osu.edu
2 credit hours
Meeting Time: TBD, 0124 Aquatic Ecology Lab/Research Center
Class# 34984

SP19 COURSES OF INTEREST OUTSIDE OF EEOB:

Micro 5161
Bioinformatics and Genomics

Instructor: Dr. Igor Jouline, jouline.1@osu.edu, Department of Microbiology
Meeting Time: Monday, Wednesday, Friday; time and location TBD; 3 units

In this course, you will learn how the genome sequencing technology has revolutionized biology and provided a foundation for new developments in science and medicine. You will become familiar with computational tools that are necessary to analyze genomic data and you will find out what biological questions can be answered by genomic approaches. We will use prokaryotes as the main material for genomic studies, but the core principles that you will learn are also applicable to eukaryotes including humans.

---

Autumn 2018

EEOB 8896.04-190
Graduate Writing Seminar I

Instructor: Ian Hamilton, hamilton.598@osu.edu
First 7 week session (Aug. 28 – Oct. 8); 1.5 credits
Meeting Time: Mondays 1:00-3:00, 104 Aronoff Laboratory
Class # 14587

This graduate-level course is the first of a two-part set that will focus on improving the scientific writing ability of students. This course will focus specifically on writing scientific manuscripts. During the course, students will learn how to approach the writing process, practice writing, and learn to effectively critique their own writing and that of others.

 

EEOB 8896.04-290
Graduate Writing Seminar II

Instructor: Ian Hamilton, hamilton.598@osu.edu
Second 7 week session (Oct. 15 – Dec. 3); 1.5 credits
Meeting Time: Mondays 1:00-3:00, 104 Aronoff Laboratory
Class # 18469

This graduate-level course is the second of a two-part set that will focus on improving the scientific writing ability of students. This course will focus specifically on writing scientific proposals. During the course, students will learn how to approach the proposal writing process, practice writing, and learn to effectively critique their own writing and that of others.

 

EEOB 8896.10
Comparative phylogeography

Instructor: Bryan Carstens, carstens.12@osu.edu 
14 weeks
Meeting times TBA
Class # 16091

This seminar will survey classic and current approaches to comparative phylogeography, including gene tree concordance, suture zones & breaks, hypothesis testing, hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation, community trees, automated phylogeography, and likelihood based approaches. The course will be a mix of paper discussion and hands-on experience with software packages, and a term project will be required.

---

Spring 2018

EEOB 8896.10
The practice of taxonomy and nomenclature

Instructor: Marymegan Daly, daly.66@osu.edu

EEOB 8896.11 Graduate Seminar
Effects of climate change on populations and communities

Instructor: Allison Snow, snow.1@osu.edu

EEOB 8896.14 Graduate Seminar
Climate change impacts on the structure and function of lake phytoplankton and zooplankton communities.

Instructor: Dr. Jim Hood, hood.211@osu.edu

EEOB 8896.15
Seminar in Population Genetics

Instructors: Laura Kubatko, lkubatko@stat.osu.edu; Paul Fuerst, fuerst.1@osu.edu

---

Autumn 2017

EEOB 8896.04
Writing Science: Two-part Graduate Seminar Series

Instructor: Stuart Ludsin, ludsin.1@osu.edu

EEOB 8896.07
Communicating science via photography

Instructor: Andi Wolfe, wolfe.205@osu.edu

---

May / Summer Semester 2017

EEOB 5798
Tropical Behavioral Ecology and Evolution in Panama

Instructor: Rachelle Adams, adams.1970@osu.edu

EEOB 7210
Methods in Evolution and Ecology: Essential tools for computational biology

Instructors: Bryan Carstens, carstens.12@osu.edu and Ariadna Morales, moralesgarcia.1@osu.edu

---

Spring 2017

EEOB 8896.01 
The Anatomy and Physiology of Host-Microbial Interactions

Instructor: Zakee Sabree, sabree.8@osu.edu

EEOB 8896.02
Graduate Seminar: Behavior

Instructor: Rachelle Adams, adams.1970@osu.edu

EEOB 8896.05  
Ecological Speciation

Instructor: Bryan Carstens, carstens.12@osu.edu

EEOB 8896.11
Population Ecology Part II: developing and applying demographic models 

Instructors: Maria Miriti (miriti.1@osu.edu) and Libby Marschall (marschall.2@osu.edu)

EEOB 8896.18
Sexual Selection and…  

Instructors: Susan Gershman (gershman.6@osu.edu) and Andy Roberts (roberts.762@osu.edu).

EEOB 8896.19
Agent Based Models in Behavior and Ecology

Instructor: Ian Hamilton, hamilton.598@osu.edu

---

Autumn 2016

EEOB 8896.10 
Discussion of current primary literature and major topics in phylogenetic systematics.

Instructor: Meg Daly

EEOB 8896.12 
When should engineered gene drives be used to manage wild species?

Instructor: Professor Allison Snow, snow.1@osu.edu

EEOB 8896.15  
Seminar in Population Genetics

Instructors:  Laura Kubatko and Paul Fuerst

EEOB 8896.19
Meta-Analysis in Evolution and Ecology

Instructor: Steve Hovick

EEOB 8896.20
Gender in Science and Engineering

Instructor: Joan M. Herbers

---

Spring 2016

EEOB 6210
Ecotoxicology

Instructor: Roman Lanno, Phone: 292-4943

EEOB8896.04—section 310
Publishing Papers in Plant Ecology

Instructor:  Allison Snow

EEOB 8896.05
Molecular Basis of Adaptive Variation in Natural Populations

Instructor: H. Lisle Gibbs

EEOB 8896.07-100
Communicating science via photography

Instructor: Andi Wolfe

EEOB 8896.09
Hydraulic Fracturing: Environmental and sociological considerations

Instructor: Roman Lanno, Phone: 292-4943

EEOB8896.15
Population Genetics

Instructor: Laura Kubatko

---

Autumn 2015

EEOB5420
Ecology of Inland Waters

Jim Bauer

EEOB8896.04 – 500
Writing Science Graduate Seminar

Stuart Ludsin, Michael Fraker, Conor Keitzer

EEOB8896.05
Evolutionary radiations seminar

Andi Wolfe

EEOB 8896.11
Teaching College-level Ecology: Bringing Innovation Into the Laboratory Experience

Maria Miriti and Peter Curtis

EEOB8896.12
Molecular Ecology

Bryan Carstens

EEOB8896.18
Host finding mechanisms in insects

Norm Johnson

EEOB8896.19 :: CANCELED
Current Topics in Quantative Methods

Bryan Carstens

---

Spring 2015

EEOB8896.02 – 500
Graduate Seminar in Complex Adaptive Systems in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

Dr. Ian Hamilton

EEOB 8896.05
Evolutionary Innovation

Dr. John Freudenstein

EEOB 8896.12
Model-based Phylogeography

Dr. Bryan Carstens

EEOB 8896.15
Topics in Phylogenomic Inference

Instructor: Laura Kubatko 

EEOB 8896.20
WGSS 8896.20
Gender in Science and Engineering

Dr. Joan M. Herbers

---

Autumn 2014

EEOB 5450
Quantitative Population Ecology

Drs. Maria Miriti, Libby Marschall, and Noelle Beckman

EEOB 8896.02
Animal Personalities

Instructor: Dr. Doug Nelson

EEOB 8896.04 
Career Options for EEOB PhDs: Exploring the Landscape

Instructor: Dr. Allison Snow, EEOB

EEOB 8896.04
EEOB Departmental Seminar Series

Dr. Zakee Sabree

EEOB 8896.07-100 (34551)
Communicating science via photography

Instructor: Andi Wolfe

EEOB 8896.12
Molecular Ecology focusing on Phylogeography and Landscape genetics

Instructor: Bryan Carstens

---

Spring 2014

EEOB 5320
Creation and Evolution: Differing Worldviews  (29190)

Instructor: Dr. Andrea D. Wolfe

EEOB 6210
Ecotoxicology

Instructor: Roman Lanno

EEOB 6320
Principles of Systematics I

Instructor: Hans Klompen

EEOB 7220
Modeling in Evolutionary Ecology

Instructors: Ian Hamilton, Libby Marschall, David Glover

EEOB 8896.04
Graduate Seminar in Ecology: Ecology and evolution in weedy and invasive species: considering plant functional traits

Instructors: Steve Hovick and Kristin Mercer (HCS faculty)

EEOB 8896.05
Evolution and ecology of animal venoms: Unanswered questions

Instructors: Meg Daly, Lisle Gibbs

EEOB 8896.06
Phylogeography and evolution in marine systems

Instructor: Meg Daly

EEOB 8896.15
Current Topics in Mathematical Population Genetics

Instructors:  Laura Kubatko and Paul Fuerst

---

Spring 2014 :: COURSES OUTSIDE OF EEOB

ENTOMOLOGY 7910 

The Nature and Practice of Science

Instructors:
Dr. Dan Herms ,  Professor and Chair, Dept. of Entomology
Dr. Carol Anelli, Professor and Associate Chair, Dept. of Entomology                                          
Dr. Ross MacDonald, Research Scientist, Dept. of Entomology

VETBIOS 8855
Commercialization for Researchers

Team Leader: Professor Thomas Rosol, 614-292-5661

---

Autumn 2013

EEOB 5420
Ecology of Inland Waters

Instructor: Dr. James Bauer

EEOB 7310
Studies in Taxonomy (to become Plant Taxonomy)

Instructor: Dr. John Freudenstein

EEOB 8896.02 
Behavior Seminar

Instructors: Dr. Andrew Roberts & Dr. Susan Gershman

EEOB 8896.04
Publishing in High-Impact Journals

Instructor: Dr. Allison Snow

EEOB 8896.10
Graduate Seminar in Systematics:

Instructor: Bryan Carstens

EEOB 8896.11
Foundations of Quantitative Ecology Seminar

Instructor: Paul Hurtado

EEOB 8896.11
Graduate Seminar in Population Ecology:
Introduction to R for Biologists

Instructor: Simon Queenborough