Students will be able to analyze critically and apply the major principles of ecology
and evolution.

The major principles of ecology and evolution is not something that I thought I would enjoy learning about. The principle that stood out to me the most from Introduction to Ecology and Evolution (BIOL 251) was the idea of predator prey interactions and the idea of natural selection. In this class I learned that various traits can be best fitted to survive when certain factors, for example predation, puts pressure on a trait. I also learned that favorable traits can be an outcome from natural selection. To learn about these principles the class participated in an experiment that the students were either birds or foxes. In this experiment pipe cleaners were spread across wheeler lawn and students who were birds had a time limit to collect as many wooly worms they could. There were 2 trials in this experiment and in the 2nd trial another trophic level, the fox, was added to add another predator to the mix. I really enjoyed this experiment because it allowed me to participate in an experiment in a way that I have never before. I think it also allowed for the students and for me particularly to visualize how predators and prey might interact in the wild. I think this experiment was a great way to introduce the basic ideas and principles of ecology. Those basic principles being predation has an evolutionary role by means of natural selection.