Establishing a common knowledge-base, language, and culture among scholars from different fields constitutes one of the major challenges to the development of interdisciplinary collaborations. Our first-year Foundation Program addresses this concern.

     The Foundation Program, taught by various faculty in the IGERT, will expose beginning trainees (and others) to the scientific, legal, economic, social, ethical, and cultural issues related to research on biological invasions.

• In the fall, a lecture/discussion series (4 units) will meet for two 90-minute lectures each week, with an additional hour of student-led discussion. The lectures and will be organized into integrated modules that correspond to the disciplinary areas within the IGERT, with a focus on introducing students to key research tools and concepts. Lecture topics for Fall 2002 will include:
  
  • conceptual overview
  • philosophical and historical considerations
  • genetic tools
  • legal and regulatory concerns
  modelling
  • economic valuation
  • risk analysis
  • invasives management in the real world
  
  You can get more info here.



• The winter core course will involve a small-scale collaborative project for 2 units. Trainees will work in small groups to do library research on management plans for one of the UC Natural Reserves. This course will allow students additional exposure to tools introduced in the fall and will serve as preparation for the subsequent year's Second Year Collaborative Project.
  
  
• Field trips to model ecosystems will introduce students to local habitats and organisms, and to some of the attendant research and management questions.
  • fall: Putah Creek
  • winter: McLaughlin Biological Reserve
  • spring: Bodega Marine Reserve

In addition to the offerings dedicated to first-year students, all Biological Invasions IGERT participants will meet regularly for additional training. Our "notices" page lists upcoming events.

• Reading/discussion groups will provide a venue for identifying and analyzing seminal papers that address questions from various areas of the IGERT. Advanced trainees and faculty will help to guide the reading group, but all trainees will be responsible for communicating ideas expressed in the papers.
  
  
• Hands-on demonstrations and mini-courses will provide trainees with exposure to tools and techniques useful in studies of biological invasions. These will be open to all members of the Biological Invasions IGERT, with participation based on interest and need.



• A diverse array of courses also is available to students as part of UC Davis' regularly scheduled course offerings. We list some of these here in .pdf format; for more information, consult the course instructor.