FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

COURSE CODE/NUMBER: BIO 4114

COURSE TITLE: HUMAN ECOLOGY

CREDITS: 3

Level: 4

Semester: 1

Exemptions Equivalent training/course

Pre-requisites NONE

Follow-on Courses BIO4205-Internship; BIO4200-Capstone Research Project;

BIO4214-Climate Change Biology

Course Description
Human Ecology is the study of the relationship between humans and their environment. The discipline includes not just
the ecological, but also the evolutionary, historical and socio-political, elements of different people's interactions with
their neighboring environment. This course will provide students with a clear understanding of the role of humans in the
ecosphere. Attention will be on human population problems, environmental tolerance, nutrition, disease, impact of climate
change and our ultimate survival. Students should be able to make a positive contribution to our ability to address the
imminent ecological crises of the 21st century and to our search for a more sustainable future. This course serves as
preparation for advanced study in areas related to careers such as law, social sciences, public policy, family studies,
conservation, research, and many others.

Student Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
1. Identify the primary concerns and synthesize the central themes of the field of Human Ecology.
2. Explain the patterns of distribution and abundance of Homo sapiens and the ecological processes that generate
these patterns.
3. Evaluate how key concepts of Human Ecology are interrelated.
4. Expound on the main human ecological issues facing Guyana.

Course Content
WEEK 1-2
• Review of the “Tragedy of the Commons”
• Recognizing the need for restraint
• The dawn of environmental ethics
• The current situation in Guyana

WEEK 3
• Approaches to human ecology
• Evolutionary perspectives
• Philosophical approaches
• Integration of approaches
WEEK 4
• Distribution and abundance
• Human origins and evolution
• Human migration

WEEK 5 – 6
• Human Population ecology
o Population growth and regulation
o Mortality and survivorship
o Age structure
o Carrying capacity & food
• Ecosystem Organization
• Natural
• Agricultural
• Urban and Peri urban systems

TEST # 1

WEEK 7
• Modelling
• Life tables
• Game Theory

WEEK 8 – 9
• Human Tolerance ranges
• Stress and physiological response
• Conditions, work and physiological fitness
• Natural hazards

WEEK 10
• Mortality: malnutrition
• Proteins & Calories
• Vitamin deficiencies
• Mineral deficiencies

WEEK 11
• Mortality: disease
• Infectious diseases
• Non-infectious diseases
• Pollution
• Responses to stress
• Fats

WEEK 12 - 13
• Survivorship
• Resources
• Intraspecific competition & conflict
• Carrying Capacity
• Predictions of Malthus
• How many people can Earth support?
• Ecological footprint
• The abundance – catastrophe debate
• Impact of climate change on human populations e.g. Guyana
TEST # 2
Revision
Final Examination
Methods of Teaching

Presentational and Interactive Teaching and Learning Approaches

• Interactive classes involving taught sessions through lectures, readings etc.
• Documentary films
• Documentary TED Talks

Problem-Based Learning and Collaborative Learning Approaches

• Small-group sessions (critical thinking approaches; discussions, problem solving; case studies)

Twenty First Century Technologies Engagement Teaching and learning Approaches/Technology-Enhanced Teaching
• Learning Management Systems
• Multimedia Presentations

This course comprises about 26 hours of taught classes and about 13 hours tutorial (documentary viewing) over a 13-
weeks period. The learning experience is enhanced using 21st century teaching and learning technologies and include
interactive classroom sessions, low-stakes testing, multimedia presentations, short films, TED talks, video clips, etc. and
small-group sessions incorporating problem-solving sessions that enhance critical reasoning. Report writing skills will be
enhanced through review of film and TED Talk presentations, and a topical area of Human Ecology relating to Guyana,
South America, or the Caribbean.

.Methods of Assessment
In course tests (e.g. SRQ, MCQ, etc.) (2 @ 10 %) 20%
Written reviews 10%
Written report (about 3000 words) on a topical issue of Human Ecology 20%
Final written examination 50%

Suggested Film sessions

Green Films: The Best Environmental Documentaries
Retrieved August 2016 at http://www.ecohearth.com/eco-zine/arts-and-culture/253-topenvironmental-
documentaries-.html (some can be freely downloaded)

Suggested TED talks

Al Gore: Inconvenient truth. TED Talk.
http://www.thewrap.com/al-gore-inconvenient-truth-free-10th-anniversary/

Al Gore: What comes after An Inconvenient Truth? TED Talk.

http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_warns_on_latest_climate_trends?language=en

Al Gore: New thinking on the climate crisis. TED Talk.

http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_s_new_thinking_on_the_climate_crisis?language=en

Al Gore: The case for optimism on climate change. TED Talk.

http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_the_case_for_optimism_on_climate_change?language=en

Al Gore: Averting the climate crisis. TED Talk.

https://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_on_averting_climate_crisis?language=en

Required Reading
Marcus J. Hamilton, M. J., Burger, O. & Walker, R. S. (2012) Chpt. 20. Human Ecology. In:Metabolic Ecology: A
Scaling Approach (1st ed.). Edited by Richard M. Sibly, James H. Brown, and Astrid Kodric-Brown. Oxford, UK: John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Free download. Retrieved August 2016 from
http://marcusjhamilton.weebly.com/uploads/2/5/5/3/25533140/hamilton_et_al_2012_chapter.pdf
Required Reading: Website
Hardin, G. (1968). The Tragedy of the Commons. Science 162: 1243-1248. Retrieved August from
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~malcolm/BIOS5445-humanecology/Articles%20-for%20students/Hardin-Science1968.pdf
(Key historical perspective).

Recommended Reading
Cavalli-Sforza, L.L. (2001). Genes, peoples, and languages. Berkeley: University of California
Press. 228 pages.

Cavalli-Sforza, L.L. & Cavalli-Sforza, F. (1995). The great human diasporas. The history of
diversity and evolution. Cambridge, UK: Perseus Books, 300 pages.

Begon, M., C.R. Townsend, & J.L. Harper. 2006. Ecology: From individuals to ecosystems.
4th edition. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science. 738pp.

Recommended reading: websites

Human Ecology. Retrieved August 2016 from http://www.berkshirepublishing.com/assets/pdf/HumanEcology_Dyball.pdf

What is Human Ecology? Free download. Retrieved August 2016 from

http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Richerson/BooksOnline/He1-95.pdf

Investigation of the potential for the utilisation of traditional ecological knowledge in the development of community-
based resource management and conservation strategies in Guyanese Amerindian communities, with particular reference
to human-animal interactions. A proposal for pre-doctoral research by Thomas Henfrey, University of Kent at Canterbury,
to be conducted under the APFT (L'Avenir des Peuples des Forêts Tropicales / Future of Tropical Forest Peoples)
programme. Retrieved August 2016 from http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Sonja/RF/Divdocs/Hen/propxframes.html

Recommended Resources: Useful Websites

Guyana Conservation Network https://guycon.org/resources/literature