U of G Graduate Calendar: Environmental Biology<BR>

Environmental Biology

Chair - Mark K. Sears (1106 Bovey, Ext. 3921)
(E-mail: msears@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)
Associate Chair - Gerald R. Stephenson (2220 Bovey, Ext. 3402)
(E-mail: gstephen@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)
Graduate Co-ordinator - Robert Hall (2106 Bovey, Ext. 3631)
(E-mail: rhall@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)
Graduate Secretary - Carole Gagnon (1107 Bovey, Ext. 6244)
(E-mail: cgagnon@evbhort.uoguelph.ca)

Gregory J. Boland BSc, MSc Acadia, PhD Guelph - Professor
Paul H. Goodwin BS Villanova, MSc Minnesota, PhD California (Davis) - Associate Professor
Andrew M. Gordon BScF New Brunswick, PhD Alaska - Associate Professor
J. Christopher Hall BSc, MSc Guelph, PhD Alberta - Professor
Robert Hall BAgrSc, PhD Melbourne - Professor
C. Ronald Harris BA, MA British Columbia, PhD Wisconsin - Professor
Thomas Hsiang BSc, MSc British Columbia, PhD Washington - Associate Professor
Narinder K. Kaushik BSc, MSc Delhi, MSc, PhD Waterloo - Professor
Peter G. Kevan BSc McGill, PhD Alberta - Professor
Hung Lee BSc British Columbia, PhD McGill - Associate Professor
Steven A. Marshall BSc (Agr) Guelph, MSc Carleton, PhD Guelph - Professor
Gard W. Otis BS Duke, PhD Kansas - Associate Professor
Leonard Ritter BSc, MSc Montreal, PhD Queen's - Professor
Jonathan M. Schmidt BSc, PhD Toronto - Associate Professor
Cynthia D. Scott-Dupree BSc Brandon, MPM, PhD Simon Fraser - Associate Professor
Mark K. Sears BS, PhD California - Professor
Keith R. Solomon BSc, MSc Rhodes, PhD Illinois - Professor
Gerald R. Stephenson BS, MS, PhD Michigan State - Professor
Gordon A. Surgeoner BSc (Agr), MSc Guelph, PhD Michigan State - Professor
John C. Sutton BSc Nottingham, PhD Wisconsin - Professor
Jack T. Trevors BSc, MSc Acadia, PhD Waterloo - Professor

Associated Graduate Faculty
J. Stuart Bailey BSc, PhD Toronto - Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy, Toronto
George L. Barron BSc Glasgow, MSA Toronto, PhD Iowa State, DSc Glasgow - Professor Emeritus
Kent B. Burnison BSc Montana State, MSc, PhD Oregon State - National Water Research Institute, Burlington
Ralph A. Chapman BSc, MSc Mount Allison, PhD Cornell - Agriculture Canada, London, Adjunct Professor
Kristin E. Day BSc, MSc Waterloo, PhD Guelph - Adjunct Professor
Stephanie De Grandis BSc, MSc Toronto, PhD Guelph - Research Co-ordinator, Ont. Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Guelph
R. Austin Fletcher BSc Delhi, MSc British Columbia, PhD Alberta
- Adjunct Professor
Richard Frank BSc Leeds, Dip. Agric. Cambridge, DTA Trinidad, MSA, PhD Guelph - Adjunct Professor
Neil C.C. Gray BSc Guelph, MSc Warwick, PhD Western Ontario
- Zeneca Biological Products, Mississauga
Charles W. Greer BSc Memorial, PhD McGill - Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council of Canada
Victor Timmer BScF, MScF New Brunswick, PhD Cornell - University of Toronto
D. Monty Wood BA, MA Toronto, PhD McMaster - Agriculture Canada, Ottawa

Special Graduate Faculty
John H. Carey BSc, MSc Windsor, PhD Carleton - Adjunct Professor
Marilyn Dykstra BSc Guelph, MSc Saskatchewan - Co-ordinator, Pest Diagnostic Clinic, Ontario Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guelph

The Department of Environmental Biology offers programs of study leading to MSc and PhD degrees. Graduate studies in this department are designed to train people to work independently and imaginatively with a high level of technical skill and scientific acumen in various areas of environmental biology.

The MSc program emphasizes two major areas of specialization: plant protection and environmental management.
Plant protection includes:

Entomology, which emphasizes applied aspects of insect pest management plus systematics, ecology, physiology, and toxicology
Plant pathology, which includes diseases of agronomic and horticultural crops, and emphasizes the ecology of soil-borne pathogens, disease monitoring and epidemiology, and the genetics of pathogens
Weed science, which encompasses the study of weed biology and management, and the modes of action and environmental impact of herbicides, while emphasizing the underlying biological, physical and chemical factors involved in plant growth and the interactions among weedy plants, insects, pesticides and other environmental factors.

Environmental management comprises studies on the impact of anthropogenic substances and practices on the biological components of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It encompasses several substantial research programs and areas for graduate education including apiculture, pollination biology, forestry, pesticide chemistry and toxicology, biological control, environmental microbiology, and aquatic biology. These areas are distinctive in their interdisciplinary approach to studying the impact of agricultural and manufacturing practices on both agricultural and non-agricultural systems.

Admission Requirements
   Normally, applicants must hold a bachelor's degree with high second-class honours standing or better in a field appropriate to their proposed area of study. Interested students from other disciplines may also be acceptable, subject to the decision of the department graduate admissions committee.

Degree Requirements
   A candidate for the MSc degree is expected to have a general knowledge of fundamental aspects of biology and detailed knowledge of the specialty area. The specialty area will normally be one of the areas in which the Department of Environmental Biology is prepared to offer a graduate degree. In addition, students are encouraged to obtain a knowledge of both theoretical and applied aspects of their specialty area.
   Before the end of the student's first semester, the advisory committee will meet informally with the student to discuss the student's background, interests and knowledge in the proposed research area. The advisory committee will then establish a program of prescribed courses (at least 1.5 credits of 400- and 600-level courses) and, if required, additional courses. All MSc candidates must complete a thesis. A statement of the objectives of the thesis research program should be prepared as early as possible.
   A normal MSc program requires six semesters. Programs involving field work may require seven or eight semesters. The number of courses per semester should not normally exceed four. Among these would be courses that are core requirements of the undergraduate specialty and represent the candidate's deficiencies. Graduate students must take both the Introductory Seminar, 3406710, and the Advanced Seminar, 3406720, unless exempted from taking the Introductory Seminar by the advisory committee.

   The PhD program emphasizes the same major areas of specialization as the MSc program.

Admission Requirements
   Normally applicants should have attained a master's degree with high second-class honours standing or better in a field appropriate to their proposed area of study. Under exceptional circumstances, as noted in the Graduate Calendar, students may be permitted to transfer from an MSc to a PhD program without completing the master's degree. Interested students from other disciplines may also be acceptable subject to the decision of the department graduate admissions committee.

Degree Requirements
   A candidate for the PhD degree is expected to have a general knowledge of fundamental aspects of biology and detailed knowledge of the specialty area. The specialty area will normally be one of the areas in which the Department of Environmental Biology is prepared to offer a graduate degree. In addition, students are encouraged to obtain a knowledge of both the theoretical and applied aspects of their specialty area.
   Before the end of the student's first semester the advisory committee will meet informally with the student to discuss the student's background, interests and knowledge in the proposed research area. The advisory committee will then establish a program of prescribed courses and, if necessary, additional courses. All PhD candidates must complete a thesis. A statement of the objectives of the thesis research program should be prepared as early as possible.
   A PhD program normally requires 9 to 11 semesters. The number of courses per semester should not normally exceed four. Graduate students must take the Advanced Seminar, 3406720, and may be required by their advisory committee to take the Introductory Seminar, 3406710.

Plant Genetics MSc/PhD Collaborative Program
The Department of Environmental Biology participates in the MSc/PhD program in plant genetics. Professor Goodwin is a member of the Plant Genetics Interdepartmental Group. This faculty member's research and teaching expertise includes aspects of plant genetics; he may serve as an adviser for MSc and PhD students. Please consult the Plant Genetics listing for a detailed description of the MSc/PhD collaborative program.

Toxicology MSc/PhD Collaborative Program
The Department of Environmental Biology participates in the MSc/PhD program in toxicology. Professors C. Hall, Harris, Ritter, Solomon, and Stephenson are members of the Toxicology Interdepartmental Group. The faculty members' research and teaching expertise includes aspects of toxicology; they may serve as advisers for MSc and PhD students. Please consult the Toxicology listing for a detailed description of the MSc/PhD collaborative program.

Plant Protection
Entomology
3406340 Colloquium in Insect Systematics (0.25) W: Weekly discussions and seminars dealing with current topics in systematic entomology.
3406370 Physiology of Insects (0.5) F: Students will be assigned a library exercise and will select a laboratory project in their own area of interest. Emphasis will be placed on techniques and familiarity with current literature.
3406540 Insect Pest Management (0.5)W: The course will examine the various methods of controlling insects and the development of pest management programs. Students will prepare research papers and participate in seminars on the application of control methods to the management of pests of agriculture, forestry and the urban environment.
Plant Pathology
3406040 Molecular Basis of Plant-Microbe Interactions (0.5) F: A lecture and seminar course on recent advances in the study of plant-microbe interactions. Topics included are the biochemical, physiological and genetic aspects of plant defenses and the interaction of plants with pathogenic and mutualistic bacteria, fungi and viruses.
3406060 Genetics of Plant-Pathogen Interactions (0.5) W: Genetics of plant pathogens, plant-disease resistance, and their influences on disease dynamics.
3406080 Plant Disease Epidemiology and Management (0.5) W: Epidemiology and management of plant diseases caused by fungi, viruses, and bacteria. (Offered in alternate years.)
Weed Science
3406180 Physiology and Biochemistry of Herbicides (0.5) W: Chemical and biological fate of herbicides in soil. Physical, morphological and physiological factors influencing herbicidal selectivity and modes of action. (Offered in alternate years.)
Environmental Management
Apiculture/Pollination Biology
3406520 Pollination Biology (0.5) F: Pollination biology is discussed from both entomological and botanical viewpoints, stressing fundamental and applied aspects. (Offered in the fall semester or by arrangement with the professor.)
3406620 Management and Biology of the Honey Bee (0.5) F: An in-depth treatment of advanced topics related to honey bees, including management techniques such as wintering bees, queen rearing and instrumental insemination, comb-honey production, genetics and breeding of honey bees, caste determination, and social behaviour of honey bees. Discussion sections will focus on recent research.
Microbiology
3406190 Environmental Microbial Technology (0.5) W: Current topics in selected areas of environmental microbial technology. An emphasis will be placed on the physiology and genetics of microorganisms useful in environmental biotechnology. The course involves extensive use of current journal articles.
Other
3406450 Topics in Environmental Biology (0.25-0.5) F, W, S: This course provides graduate students, either individually or in groups, with the opportunity to pursue topics in the major areas of departmental specialization: plant protection and environmental management. This course may be offered in any of lecture, reading/seminar, or individual project formats.
3406530 Ecotoxicological-Risk Characterization (0.5) W: A biologically based, advanced course that will give students working knowledge of current procedures and techniques for ecotoxicological-risk characterization. The course material will cover the following topics: problem definition, dose-response characterization, exposure characterization, and risk assessment and risk-management decision making.
3406550 Bioactivity and Metabolism of Pesticides (0.5) W: The basis of pesticide bioactivity will be examined, with emphasis on mode of action, structure-activity relationships and analytical methods. Students will participate in seminars and prepare a research paper and/or conduct a laboratory research project in consultation with the instructor(s).
3406560 Forest Ecosystem Dynamics (0.5) F: An exploration of energy flow and distribution in forest ecosystems. Both components will be examined in the context of biomass and productivity, perturbations and resilience. Some aspects of modelling will be covered.
3406570 Pesticide Toxicology Colloquium (0.25) F: A literature review and open discussion course designed to critically analyze issues of pesticide toxicology and their relevance to human health and the environment.
3406710 Introductory Seminar (0.25) F: Graduate students will be provided with information and training in seminar presentation styles, abstract and precis preparation, and computer generation of both slides and posters. Students must present a seminar and poster presentation on a topic of their choice, as well as participate in the presentations of colleagues and selected faculty.
3406720 Advanced Seminar (0.25) W: Graduate students will prepare either an oral or a poster presentation on their thesis research. They will also be responsible for participating in the organization of a departmental graduate student symposium during which their presentations will be given and evaluated. Students must also attend weekly departmental seminars and prepare 5 precis for evaluation.