Contact Information:
Department
Administrator
237 Russell Labs
1630 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-262-3227
FAX: 608-262-3322
Course
Descriptions
Course List: Ent 201 |
Prereqs.: Open to Freshmen Description: Importance of insects in man's environment, emphasizing beneficial insects, disease carriers, and agricultural pests that interfere with man's food supply. Environmental problems due to insect control agents.
Prereqs.: General zoology; some physics, chemistry, and evolution assumed. Not open to freshmen. Description: A general introduction to the biology and classification of insects, the course surveys insect structure, function, development, and evolution. Concepts of physiology, ecology, and behavior are introduced, and the reasons for the success and diversity of insects are examined. Coevolved relationships and social structure are also covered. The laboratory introduces students to arthropod anatomy, insect morphology, development, and a survey of insect orders and major families. An insect collection is required.
Prereqs.: Insect Morphology (introductory biochemistry advised). Description: This course is designed for seniors and graduate students. It presents a survey of insect physiology and development. The physiology of each of the organ systems is studied, as are the dynamic processes of water regulation, development, nutrition, metabolism, flight, and endocrinology. Basic biology, entomology, and biochemistry is assumed to be part of the student's background. TAXONOMY OF MATURE INSECTS, 4 credits
Prereqs.: Introductory entomology. Descriptions: This course has two distinct facets: (1) Insect Identification. Emphasis is placed on diagnostic characteristics for family-level recognition of adult insects. Field trips and collecting techniques stress where-they-are as well as what-they-are. Laboratory time is allowed for making and identifying an extensive collection to be submitted at the end of the semester. Identified laboratory specimens are provided as aids to learning important morphological traits and the use of keys in the identification of specimens. (2) Principles and Methods of Systematics Research. The underlying concepts of genetics, evolution, and zoogeography are presented. Major current philosophies/methodologies for classifying insects and constructing phylogenies are discussed. A variety of problems and practices in systematics research are also studied.
Prereqs.: Ent. (Zool.) 302 or course in zoology. Description: Ecology of insects as individuals, populations, and components of communities and ecosystems. Emphasis is on interactions of insects with their biotic and abiotic environment.
Prereqs.: Introductory zoology Description: Principles of applied ecology and insect pest management are emphasized. A short introductory section is devoted to the basic aspects of insect taxonomy and morphology. Different approaches to insect control are examined in detail; these include legal, cultural, physical, mechanical, microbial, biological, and chemical, with specific reference to their use in agriculture and the potential integration of various approaches. Specific cropping systems are then examined to identify insect pests and management strategies.
Prereqs.: Introductory zoology or veterinary science Description: The course is strongly problem-oriented, dealing with pest and vector biology and control of arthropods of medical and veterinary importance.
Prereqs.: Introductory entomology or consent of instructor Description: Lectures on anatomy, taxonomy, and bionomics of immature insects (ordinal and familial levels). Labs emphasize use of keys for identification to order and family. Field trips and collection required.
Prereqs.: Introductory entomology, junior standing, and consent of instructor. An ecology course and Ent. 33l or 432 recommended Description: Concentration on structural and behavioral adaptations of insects to diverse habitats; dynamic relationships between insects and plants, other animals, and other insects. Student field projects and literature reviews required.
Prereqs.: Any of the following:
Description: This course describes the multiple ways in which arthropods exploit plants, and how these interactions can benefit or adversely affect plant growth, survival, and competition. Topics include plant traits that deter or augment insect behavior and development, insect behavioral and physiological counter adaptations, and environmental mediation of these interactions. Consequences of plant - herbivore interactions to insect population dynamics, plant succession and community ecology, and co-evolution are discussed. Possible implications of basic plant - insect interaction theory to natural resource management, environmental quality, and sustainable development are considered.
Prereqs.: Botony 151 and 152 or equivalent. Description: The objective is to provide students with a basis for recognizing, diagnosing, and managing insect and disease problems of forests and tree plantations. The general principles of plant pathology, entomology, and pest management are introduced, followed by descriptions of the specific insects and disease agents involved. Lectures emphasize the integration of life history information with available control options. Laboratory sessions emphasize recognition of insects, microorganisms, and symptoms. Field trips are intended to provide first-hand experience with insect and disease problems under actual growing conditions.
Prereqs: Introductory entomology, ethology, or consent of instructor. Description: This course seeks to provide the student with an overview of the functional categories of insect behavior, and to investigate the taxonomic distribution and ecological correlates of behavioral specializations within the Class Insecta. Current areas of both empirical and theoretical behavioral research are examined. The course begins with individual behavior and proceeds through intraspecific nonsocial interactions, social behavior, and coevolved interspecific relationships. The final section deals with the evolution of behavior.
Prereqs.: Introductory entomology or consent of instructor Description: Introduction to the principles and methods of biological control of insects and mites. Major topics include the history, scope, strengths and weaknesses, and implementation of biological control; population ecology as it relates to biological control; and the biology of entomophagous insects. Insect pathology, microbial control, and biological control of weeds and plant diseases are briefly discussed.
Prereqs.: Introductory entomology and a graduate major or minor in entomology, or consent of instructor Description: The biological, ecological, and economic bases for, and the tactics of insect pest control are examined. Topics include the history and philosophy of pest management; biological, chemical, and cultural control; host plant resistance; economic thresholds; sampling; models in pest management; and discussion of some of the more important insect pests of field and forage crops, vegetables, fruit, greenhouse, and the urban environment in Wisconsin.
Prereqs.: Senior or graduate standing Description: This course provides instruction and practical experience in the preparation and delivery of oral scientific reports. Students prepare and deliver oral reports on their work. Emphasis is placed on computer generated graphics and slide making. Students will also be expected to develop a poster session.
Description: Lectures are given by resident and visiting professors on toxicology and problems related to biologically active substances in the environment.
Prereqs.: Intro. to Zoology or Biology, and Intro. to Chemistry. Not open to freshmen Description: Study of how natural and synthetic toxicants mediate interactions between organisms and their biotic and abiotic environments. Major components of the course include biochemical and physiological mechanisms of synthetic toxicants, production and defense mechanisms of natural toxicants, effects on populations, communities and ecosystems, evolutionary ecotoxicology, current research, and socio-economic impact (human resources and sustainable agriculture).
Prereqs.: Consent of instructor and senior standing Description: This is an advanced study of special problems whose subject and format may vary from semester to semester.
Prereqs.: Entomology 331 and consent of instructor Description: The taxonomy of an order of arthropods or group of related orders will be studied in consultation with the professor.
Prereqs.: Graduate standing and consent of instructor Description: The purpose of this course is to provide instructional orientation to teaching at the higher educational level, to provide an opportunity for direct teaching experience under faculty supervision, to gain experience in the testing and evaluation of students, and the analysis of teaching performance. The opportunity to work in the insect diagnostic lab for credit or for the general experience also exists. Responsibilities could include answering the phone, identifying specimens and working at Extension field days. Areas of interest can be worked out between one's major professor and the extension staff.
Prereqs.: Graduate standing Description: Lectures are presented by faculty, students, and visiting scientists, covering a broad spectrum of subjects.
Prereqs.: Graduate standing Description: Suborganismal, i.e., physiology, biochemistry, molecular genetics
Prereqs.: Graduate standing Description: Organismal, i.e., systematics, ecology, behavior, evolution
Prereqs.: Graduate standing Description: Applied Entomology
Prereqs.: Graduate standing Description: This seminar deals with research methods in animal behavior. Students and faculty meet over lunch to hear informal research reports by members of the group or by visiting behavior scientists. Attendance without registration is welcomed.
Prereqs.: Graduate standing Description: This course number is meant to cover individual research toward an advanced degree thesis. |