Class · 2025–2026
Environmental Biology
How we know what we know about the planet — and what to do with that knowledge. Each unit walks one method scientists actually use, then ties it back to a real problem and the kinds of solutions that fit.
How We Know — lecture series
One method per page. Each one tells the story of how scientists count, measure, or watch the natural world, and why that method matters.
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How we count
The basic problem: how do you count things you can't catch? Mark & recapture, transects, and sampling.
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Indicator species
Some species tell you the health of a whole ecosystem. What makes a good indicator, and what we learn from them.
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eDNA
Reading what's in the water without seeing the animal — the method that's rewriting field biology.
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Stable isotopes
How chemists read diet, migration, and climate history out of bone, feather, and ice.
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Trophic cascades
What happens when you remove (or return) one species at the top of a food web — and what that teaches us about restoration.
Capstone
The year-end project that ties the units together.