Summer - Courses

Exploration of the distribution, abundance and biotic interactions of plants and animals and their unique ecophysiological adaptations to life in the rigorous environments of high mountains above the timberline, with emphasis on the Crown of the Continent area. Students learn about the distribution of plants and animals and study the processes and interactions that are the foundation to ecology in alpine environments. Emphasis is placed on the processes that organize communities including drivers of global climate, and the complex interrelationships of biotic and abiotic interactions, including natural and human components as modifiers of system dynamics, and how those processes affect alpine systems. The class is organized around field trips and data intensive class projects that underscore major concepts and allow training in data collection, analysis, writing a scientific paper, presentation and interpretation by students.

This intensive field course is available to upper-level under-graduate students with interests in environmental microbiology and aquatic ecology and provides a conceptual foundation and experiential field and laboratory training in modern methods in aquatic microbial ecology. Students will explore topics such as physiology and metabolism of aquatic microbes; methods and tools for assessing microbial diversity, biomass, and growth; and the role of microbes in bioelemental cycles. Students will gain hands-on experience with both cultivation-based approaches and cultivation-independent methods for studying environmental microorganisms.

This course emphasizes the application of basic biological research to problems in conservation and management with a focus on science, human dimensions, and policy interface. The three main disciplines in conservation biology we will study are Ecology, Evolution, and Human Dimension. These themes will be applied to case studies chosen to illustrate general principles and important issues in conservation and to facilitate discussion with professional field and conservation biologists. We will meet with professionals from government or nongovernment organizations providing a special opportunity to interactively learn by working side by side with conservation biologists, researchers, and natural resource managers from USGS, Montana FWP, US Forest Service, and the National Park Service.

Principles and methods of evolutionary behavioral ecology, strongly emphasizing the development and honing of professional field study skills. Interactive lectures and discussions will cover basic and advanced concepts relevant to modern Darwinian analyses of complex contingent behaviors, including sexual and social behaviors. We will engage in close observation of behaviors, followed by whole-class round-table formulation of (a) evolutionary adaptationist hypotheses about a given behavior's possible net benefits, (b) testable predictions of each hypothesis, and (c) effective and efficient methods to test those predictions in the field or lab; in the classroom or on-the-spot in the field.

The course engages major concepts and approaches in modern ecology via immersive field experiences, hands-on sampling, and project-based learning in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Topics range from physiological and behavioral ecology to population and community ecology to ecosystem ecology. The course will build students' natural history knowledge of the biota of the Rocky Mountain region while directly engaging them in active research projects of FLBS / UM faculty. This course is conducted largely outdoors regardless of weather so that ecological phenomena can be examined in real time and real life. All-day and overnight trips will be conducted throughout the course, taking students into a range of aquatic and terrestrial environments near the Bio Station and the adjacent mountain areas including Glacier National Park. Students should be physically fit and able to hike 10 miles per day. Students will conduct directed measurements connected to ongoing research projects of the faculty, developing technical skills as well as skills in analysis and interpretation in written and oral form. Meets UM writing requirement.

Physical, chemical and biological characteristics of lake ecosystems with an emphasis on how physical processes of lake circulation and stratification, nutrient loading and cycling, primary and secondary production and food web interactions, and atmospheric and land/watershed use affects water quality. This course focuses on functional relationships and productivity of plant and animal assemblages in lakes as regulated by physical, chemical and biotic processes. Fundamental concepts of ecology as they relate to the aquatic environment are emphasized. Limnological principles are presented within the context of regional and landscape spatial scales. Students will learn basic and contemporary methods of study in field settings including Flathead Lake, glacial lakes of Glacier National Park, inter-montane prairie kettle lakes and nutrient rich lakes with emphasis toward experiential learning and obtaining hands-on examination and characterization of lakes. Written and oral reports of independent studies as directed by the professor are required.

In this course, we will explore mountain ice and snow ecosystems. We will investigate the physiology and ecology of several key mountain ice and snow organisms, discuss ecosystem-level processes in mountain ice and snow, and consider how these may change with a changing climate. We will also perform lab and field experiments in snow and ice ecosystems and then analyze and present data from these experiments. The cryosphere includes glaciers, snow, permafrost, sea ice, and other frozen environments. These environments host a number of unique ecosystems and highly adapted organisms but the cryosphere, particularly mountain ice and snow, is rapidly changing with climate change.

This seminar involves presentation and discussion of local environmental issues and problems, and is available to any students enrolled for the first four weeks of summer session in any combination of courses.

This course focuses on the fundamental concepts of stream/river ecology and the physical, chemical and biological processes that characterize running water ecosystems. Students will study the ecology of streams and obtain hands-on experience in the examination and characterization of stream systems. Daily participation, examinations, and written and oral reports of independent or group studies as directed by the professor are required.

Independent research experience in field ecology associated generally with the various research projects at FLBS. Projects are mentored by permanent and visiting FLBS faculty. Send us a short outline of research work you would like to undertake.

This course examines physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of lake ecosystems with an emphasis on nutrient cycling, food web interactions and water quality. This course focuses on functional relationships and productivity of plant and animal assemblages in lakes as regulated by physical, chemical, and biotic processes. Fundamental concepts of ecology as they relate to the aquatic environment are highlighted. Students will learn basic and contemporary study methods in field settings including Flathead Lake, glacial lakes of Glacier National Park and Swan Valley, inter-montane prairie kettle lakes and nutrient rich lakes. Emphasis is directed toward experiential learning and obtaining hands-on examination and characterization of lakes that will serve students well throughout their careers. Written and oral reports of independent studies as directed by the professor are required.

The objective of this course is to understand the physical and ecological processes that shape landscapes, how these biological and physical processes interact, and how they are responding to global change. We will examine how plants and animals are distributed across landscapes, how the physical template of the environment shapes species distributions and how biotic feedbacks can influence the physical environment. We will examine processes of pattern formation in the environment such as disturbance from fire and how landscape pattern can affect both physical and biological processes. Field trips will underscore concepts and allow data gathering and interpretation by students. Students are introduced to both satellite and airborne remote-sensing tools used in a GIS environment. Students will analyze and interpret spatially explicit data through analyses and oral presentations.

This course will introduce students to field‐based methods of remote sensing for field ecology. Students will gain knowledge of basic spatial analysis through GIS and remote sensing techniques. Students will learn basic application remote sensing products in particular of UAVs and Acoustic Doppler Profilers, two remote sensing instruments of fast growing interest in ecological research and application. Students will learn about essentials to operate UAVs and ADPs, initial post processing of data products and integrating these data into ecological research and application.

Open only to non-UM graduate students. Independent research is intended to solve a specific ecological problem as identified and examined by the student under mentorship of a Bio Station professor. Independent research includes design, analysis and reporting of ecological data. Student must contact FLBS faculty to determine course availability and provide a short outline of proposed research work.

The objective of this course is to prepare a thesis/manuscript based on undergrad research in field ecology for presentation and/or publication. An oral presentation of the finished work must be given at the Bio Station. Student must contact FLBS faculty to determine course availability and provide a short outline of proposed research work.