The goal of this course is to introduce CSP students to selected concepts, theories and research practices in the natural sciences and their application to coastal sustainability science and policy. The course complements CSP’s focus on sustainability by emphasizing the environmental, ecological and evolutionary dimensions of sustainability, with a focus on coastal case studies. The course also complements CSP’s focus on nature-society relations by examining “ecosystems” from a framework of social-ecological coupled systems and ecosystem services. It considers such topics as key physical and chemical environmental processes (e.g., atmospheric, oceanographic, biogeochemical processes, hydrological and coastal processes); population ecology as it pertains to sustainable yields, extinction risk and viability analyses; community ecology, species interactions and biodiversity; ecosystem structure, functioning, services, and resilience; quantitative tools and research methods; and how humans are impacting coastal environmental and ecological systems and processes (e.g., eutrophication, toxic pollution, habitat loss and fragmentation, manifestations of climate change). The course furthermore encourages CSP students to apply these concepts to their own capstone projects and eventual careers through the development and presentation of a project proposal.

Students are expected to develop a basic understanding of the environmental, ecological, evolutionary concepts introduced in the course. Students should gain an understanding of how these concepts underpin the traits (e.g., productivity, sustainability and resilience) of coupled social-ecological systems, and how human interactions (intended or unintended) influence these attributes and the services derived from ecosystems. Students will be adept at interpreting and summarizing the literature and it’s relevance to their capstone projects.