Tips for students interested in joining the Ervin lab & for those who have already joined (PDF)

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General information for students interested in graduate studies in Biological Sciences at MSU

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​Classes I teach at MSU

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​Aquatic Botany - BIO 4224/6224

A comprehensive overview of aquatic and wetland plant biology.  Topics covered include growth forms, evolutionary relationships, habitat, and growth and reproductive adaptations of hydrophytic vegetation.  The course also includes discussion of interactions of hydrophytes with one another and their surroundings, the role of plants in the functioning of aquatic and wetland ecosystems, and other timely topics related to hydrophytes and their environments.

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NOTE: I recently published a new text based on this class, published through CRC Press, The Biology of Aquatic and Wetland Plants.

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Key Concepts in Plant Ecology - BIO 8443

Graduate lecture & discussion class focusing on some of the key foundational concepts underlying plant ecology, with application to other areas of ecology.  The course is built around weekly lectures on key concepts (e.g., Plant Structure & Function, Population Biology, Metapopulation Theory) following by a discussion of related, recently published work.

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Living with Global Change - BIO 4233​

This course exposes students to responses of organisms, populations, and ecosystems to some of the currently most influential forms of global change.  The course begins with a survey of recent and long-term trends in observed characteristics of our soil, water, land, and atmosphere.  We then look at mechanisms through which these changes may affect living systems, with an emphasis on the interrelationship between ecosystems and human society.  Examples of topics covered include management of agricultural pests, conservation of threatened/endangered species, and management/conservation of natural resources in the face of changing climate and land use patterns.

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