Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
45 courses · UC Irvine · 2026-2027 Catalog
Classes: Fall 2026
ECO EVO 200A Research in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Units
- 2-12
Individual research with Ecology and Evolutionary Biological faculty.
ECO EVO 200B Research in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Units
- 2-12
Individual research with Ecology and Evolutionary Biological faculty.
ECO EVO 200C Research in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Units
- 2-12
Individual research with Ecology and Evolutionary Biological faculty.
ECO EVO 201 Seminar in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Units
- 2
Invited speakers, graduate students, and faculty present current research in ecology and evolutionary biology.
ECO EVO 203A Graduate Tutorial in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Units
- 2-12
Advanced study in areas not represented by formal courses. May involve individual or small group study through reading, discussion, and composition.
ECO EVO 203B Graduate Tutorial in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Units
- 2-12
Advanced study in areas not represented by formal courses. May involve individual or small group study through reading, discussion, and composition.
ECO EVO 203C Graduate Tutorial in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Units
- 2-12
Advanced study in areas not represented by formal courses. May involve individual or small group study through reading, discussion, and composition.
ECO EVO 204 Writing Grant Proposals
- Units
- 4
Provides students with hands-on experience writing proposals in the research areas of ecology, evolution, or physiology.
ECO EVO 205 Special Topics in Ecology
- Units
- 4
Survey of special topics in Ecology.
ECO EVO 207 Quantitative Methods in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Units
- 4
- Prerequisite
- Completion of at least one quarter of statistics including regression and analysis of variance
Statistics for ecologists and evolutionary biologists. Emphasis on specific applications and underlying assumptions rather than on methods of calculation. Topics include experimental design, parametric and nonparametric methods, analysis of variance and covariance, and multiple regression.
ECO EVO 210 Foundations of Physiology
- Units
- 4
Physical and functional principles common to many living forms. Course forms a basis for subsequent specialization in any of the subdisciplines of physiology. Course offered in even years.
ECO EVO 220 Co-Management Land Practices
- Units
- 4
Focuses on ethical co-management and collaborative land stewardship across diverse communities and governance structures. Students learn justice-oriented collaboration in practice through case studies and consultation with multiple partners.
ECO EVO 221 Topics in Ecology
- Units
- 2-4
Weekly discussion of current topics in ecology at the graduate level.
ECO EVO 227L Physiological Plant Ecology Lab
- Units
- 4
Provides a summary of information on plant organismal biology, comparative and ecological physiology, and functional ecology. Offered every other fall.
ECO EVO 230 Topics in Microbial Ecology
- Units
- 2-4
Weekly discussion of current topics in ecology, biogeochemistry, evolution, and physiology of microbial organisms.
ECO EVO 231 Communication Skills for Environmental Scholars
- Units
- 4
Students learn to communicate with non-specialist audiences about climate and environmental issues. Hands-on activities build technical, presentation, and contextual skills required for effective communication across a range of media types and careers.
ECO EVO 232 The Physiology of Human Nutrition
- Units
- 4
Examines the biochemical basis of energy metabolism, physiological processes, indigestion and uptake, and the biochemical transformation of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in the human body. The emphasis is on expanding the students' understanding of physiology.
ECO EVO 235 Experimental Evolution
- Units
- 2
- Prerequisite
- BIO SCI E106
Explores experimental evolution, which is now a well-established part of evolutionary biology. With the advent of genomics, it is now one of the most powerful tools for studying the genetic foundations of biology.
ECO EVO 236 Human Dimensions in Conservation and Restoration
- Units
- 4
The non-human “environment” we know today is the result of past social, political, scientific, and economic forces. Examines the forces that drove environmental conservation efforts, which often sought progress at the expense of local cultures.
ECO EVO 237 Marine Conservation Ecology
- Units
- 4
Theory-based seminar tackles pressing issues in marine ecology, conservation, and restoration. Focuses on the science of marine ecosystems, resources and tools for their conservation, and management and the socioeconomic and policy dimensions.
ECO EVO 238 Chemical Ecology
- Units
- 4
An introduction to the unspoken chemical language of nature. Emphasis on interactions between insects, plants, and microbes including plant defense, pollination, and microbial warfare.
ECO EVO 239 Animal Locomotion
- Units
- 4
- Prerequisite
- Recommended: BIO SCI E109 or an introductory understanding of physiology
The physiology, biomechanics, and neuroscience that determines how animals propel themselves and navigate through the world. Considers the principles that govern the walking, running, flying, and swimming of animals, including exercising humans.
ECO EVO 242 Comparative Animal Physiology
- Units
- 4
Maintenance aspects of physiology: water balance; feeding and digestion; metabolism; respiration and circulation.
ECO EVO 246 Seminar in Ecology and Evolution Education
- Units
- 2
Weekly discussion of teaching techniques and challenges that are specific to courses in ecology and evolutionary biology. Emphasis will be on using evidence-based pedagogy techniques. There will be a combination of readings, group discussions and speakers.
ECO EVO 247 Behavioral Endocrinology
- Units
- 4
Comparative examination of the major hormone systems that regulate behavior across animals. Emphasizes the reciprocating nature of hormone-behavior interactions and seeks to understand how natural selection drives the evolution of hormone structure and function.
ECO EVO 253 Functional and Structural Evolutionary Genomics
- Units
- 4
Function and organization of genomes analyzed from an evolutionary perspective. Review of some of the most recent experimental approaches in genome analysis and comparative genomics. Relevant software to analyze DNA and expression data is used.
ECO EVO 261 Advanced Quantitative Methods
- Units
- 4
- Prerequisite
- Recommended: ECO EVO 207
Covers advanced analytical techniques used by conservation biologists. Methods include generalized linear models, community analysis using multivariate analyses, analysis of spatial/GIS data using R, time-series analysis, and meta-analysis.
ECO EVO 262 Professional Workshop
- Units
- 2
Identify and attend professional or technical skill workshops to gain professional knowledge and certifications related to conservation and restoration science.
ECO EVO 264 Conservation Biology
- Units
- 4
Explores concepts in ecology with potential for conserving biological diversity. Identifies creative applications of ecological research that mitigate impacts of rapid human population growth and habitat destruction on biodiversity.
ECO EVO 265 Restoration Ecology
- Units
- 4
Study of principles and practices that help recover degraded ecosystems including restoration in different ecological systems, restoration motives and intensities, implementation and monitoring, and scope and success of case studies.
ECO EVO 266L Field Methods in Restoration
- Units
- 4
Laboratory experience performing field methods that help recover degraded ecosystems in different ecological systems. Emphasis on the plant community composition, soil, irrigation, maintenance, and monitoring of a project.
ECO EVO 267 Science Communication
- Units
- 2
Develops students' abilities to convey information related to conservation and restoration in a way that has broad appeal and/or effective messaging for non-scientific audiences by assessing the audience, developing effective storytelling, and deploying a persuasive information campaign.
ECO EVO 268 Technical Writing
- Units
- 2
Practice developing key documents for restoration projects including a response to a request for proposal (RFP), a restoration project plan, and a monitoring and maintenance plan.
ECO EVO 269 Project Management
- Units
- 2
Discover the planning, design, implementation, and aftercare phases of managing a conservation or restoration project. Students will project cost, manage risk, analyze sites, evaluate and review projects, and become familiar with common permitting and consultation requirements.
ECO EVO 270 GIS for Environmental Science
- Units
- 4
Introduction to the fundamental principles of GIS. Topics include cartography, creating/editing GIS data, georeferencing, map projections, geospatial analysis, spatial statistics, and development of GIS models. Focuses on theory and practice.
ECO EVO 270B Advanced GIS for Environmental Science
- Units
- 4
- Corequisite
- ECO EVO 270
Introduces the advance functions of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), including hic principles, and explores database mapping, computer-assisted analysis of spatial data, computer-aided map design, and the production of computer-generated maps.
ECO EVO 271 Marine Research and Conservation Methods
- Units
- 4
Field-based introduction to marine ecology and conservation management through the study of the ecology, resource management, and conservation of marine habitats and species, and the use of a variety of marine field research methods.
ECO EVO 275 Wildlife Ecology and Sampling
- Units
- 4
Field-based introduction to wildlife management through the study of the ecology, physiology, population biology management, and conservation of vertebrate wildlife species, and the use of a variety of different wildlife sampling techniques.
ECO EVO 276 Environmental Education and Outreach
- Units
- 4
Prepares students to develop tailored education programs for conservation and restoration projects. Students engage in activities that foster innovative approaches and solutions to different education and outreach needs for conservation and restoration projects.
ECO EVO 278 Evolution and Conservation
- Units
- 4
Examines evolution applications to conservation biology in three parts: processes of evolution within populations, conservation of species, and assessing evolutionary responses to environmental change.
ECO EVO 279 Site Development
- Units
- 4
Students learn about plan review and the permitting processes as they relate to site development. Explores how a site is developed from application to building permits, and all the steps in between.
ECO EVO 282 Fundamentals of Informatics for Biologists
- Units
- 4
Students learn the fundamentals of bioinformatics and the unix operating system.
ECO EVO 283 Advanced Informatics for Biologists
- Units
- 4
- Prerequisite
- ECO EVO 282 with a minimum grade of B-
Students learn advanced informatics including the analysis of: Poolseq, RNAseq, ATACseq, and ChiPseq datasets using programs such as bwa, tophat, cufflinks, DEseq, Trinity, Agustus, etc., in a unix high-performance computing environment. Statistical tests carried out and publication quality.
ECO EVO 286 MCRS Capstone
- Units
- 2-12
Apply knowledge and skills in a practical professional setting, working with practitioners to identify a conservation or management problem and then to plan, implement, and evaluate a solution.
ECO EVO 289 Evolution
- Units
- 4
An integrative treatment of evolutionary biology that covers evolutionary processes basic research methods, and the history of life.