Microscopic organisms make up most of the Earth's
biodiversity. Besides contributing to human diseases, these
organisms make up the healthy human 'microbiome' and perform
important processes such as recycling wastewater and regulating
atmospheric gases. Thousands of species of bacteria live in
the crook of your elbow or in a handful of soil. Millions of
viruses are contained in a mouthful of seawater. This class
will provide an introduction to this diversity. The first
class will provide an introduction to microbes and preparation
for a sampling trip in the field. The second class will
collect and culture bacteria from various environments. In the
final class, we will examine the diversity that we sampled.
The class will meet on April 2rd, 9th, and 23th beginning at 1
pm for 3-4 hours.
