ASI 478 Alpine Ecology

Ecology of the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, with particular attention to adaptation of plant and animal life to montane climates and altitudes, and analysis and interpretation of altitudinal zonation of biotic communities with applications to latitudinal biogeography. The course also examines physiological responses of organisms to reduced oxygen levels, low temperatures and high altitude radiation regimes. Field work includes on-site studies in the Olympic Mountains of the Olympic Peninsula.