AGG 2931	ECOLOGY AND HUMAN INTERVENTION		3 CREDITS
Instructor: DR. CARL S. BARFIELD
Prerequisites: Accepted into UF Honors Program
General Description: An analysis of global issues associated with food production, human population growth, environmental degradation, the intercontinental genetic exchanges associated with attempts to sustain global food production, and aspects of human culture vital to food and environmental sustainability. The course will have two 1½-hour lectures each week and will take one required Saturday field trip. Course meets Gordon Rule requirements and can be allocated to either social or biological science studies.
Grading: Grade will be derived from two exams (15% each), one comprehensive final exam (20%), a term paper (20%), an oral presentation of the term paper (20%) and class participation (10%).
Course Outline:
Introduction/grading/requisites/assignment of term paper		The economic threshold
Fundamental concepts of ecology		Pesticides
Natural versus agricultural systems		Integrated pest management
Scales of food production: ecological balance?		The biodiversity issue
Pre-green revolution food production		Types of germplasm
The green revolution		Germplasm diversity centers/conservation methods
Organization of food crops		Debate sequence
The rainforest and food production		Oral presentation sequence
Overview of world agriculture		Course evaluation
Sampling
Films Viewed During Course: Amazonia ... A Burning Question, The Poisoning of America, Common Ground, Profit from Poison, Seeds of Tomorrow, Promise of the Land
Texts: Syllabus prepared by instructor and sold at Target Copy Center.

AGG 2931	BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY WITH FIREFLIES		3 CREDITS
Instructor: DR. JAMES E. LLOYD
Prerequisites: Accepted into UF Honors Program
General Description: This course looks closely at the biology and natural history of an interesting group of familiar organisms to get a view of major aspects of organismic biological science. The course focuses on the behavioral ecology and systematics of fireflies, and overviews other relevant insects and kin. There will be nocturnal and other field trips to firefly habitats.
Grading: Grades will depend on attendance, class participation, industry, and enthusiasm; three short papers under supervision of the instructor. These papers will relate to individual interests, including firefly history, science, and literature, including poetry.
Course Outline:
Field identification, observation, experimentation, and quantification of firefly signals; including recording and analysis of firefly signals
Museum practice, including collection and curating
Development of identification keys; expeditionary preparation and activities
Emphasis on natural selection, adaptation, classification, and the species problem, and the historical and cultural development of thinking on these subjects
Conservation and improvement of firefly sites, and use of fireflies for public school teaching and environmental monitorings
Texts: Mayr, E. 1993. One long argument. Harvard Press. Various other sources as requested by instructor.

AGG 2931	PESTICIDES AND PILLS		3 CREDITS
Instructor: DR. CARL S. BARFIELD and DR. PAUL DOERING
Prerequisites: Accepted into UF Honors Program
General Description: This honors course traces the joint historical development of medicine and food production from approximately 8,000 B.C. This course is planned to stimulate the student to think about the evolution of medicine and food production, the amazing similarities in their histories, and the modern consequences of historical decisions. We will explore the techniques in each area, the major philosophies under which each developed, the major issues each either confronts or avoids, and the institutions constructed to develop and deliver each. This is NOT a Gordon Rule course. The course can count for B, S, H., or I General Education credits.
Grading: Class grade will be based on two exams, a final exam, various class projects and class participation.
Course Outline:
Introduction/grading/requisites		Early legislation
Early food producers		Drug misadventures
Early methods of healing		Resistant “superbugs”
Colonial food production		Pesticide toxification
Natural products drugs		Film: In Our Children’s Food
Monocultures and pests		The search for new drugs
The concept of “magic bullets”		How do drugs work?
Science vs. empiricism: food		Natural resources/sustainability
Science vs. empiricism: medicines		Film: Seeds of Tomorrow
Public support for agriculture		Drug resistance
Profit as incentive in medicine		Oh, for some ecology
Weevils/war/pesticides		Risk/benefit in drugs
The green revolution; rising expectations in food		Rationing and self-medication; ethics of exports
Texts: None; handouts in class.

AGG 2931	PARASITES, VECTORS AND DISEASES		3 CREDITS
Instructor: DR. PAULINE O. LAWRENCE
Prerequisites: Accepted into UF Honors Program
General Description: This is a multidisciplinary course for preprofessional science and non-science sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are interested in how sociological, cultural, and political problems impact the effectiveness of disease control in a global context. The course necessarily involves the learning of the life cycles of selected parasites that cause human and animal diseases. It also includes the discussion of political and sociological issues as they impact the spread of disease and efforts to control them. Students who take this course must be prepared to engage both parasitological and political/sociological aspects of the course. Discussed will be selected parasitic diseases (e.g., malaria, schistosomiasis, South American sleeping sickness [Chagas disease], Guinea worm disease, and onchocerciasis [river blindness]) and their control. Some political, cultural, ecological, and fiscal reasons why many of these diseases persist will be addressed.
Grading: There will be three tests, each of which equals 20% of the course grade, however, the lowest of the three test grades will be dropped. There are no make up tests. The final exam (cumulative) equals 30% of the course grade. Paper/oral presentations equals 20% of the course grade. Class participation equals 10% of the course grade. Overall course grade will be assigned on the basis of the relative performance of all students in the class.
Course Outline:
Texts: Readings to be assigned and put on reserve in Marston Science Library (MSL)

ALS 3203		PC USE IN AGRICULTURE (formerly AGG 3333)			3 CREDITS
Instructor: DR. PAUL CHOATE
Prerequisites: None; no prior computer experience necessary
General Description: Introduction to basic computer skills, file management, software and hardware, web pages, using HTML. Focus is on the use of computers to prepare documents and create web pages for the Internet. The entire course is now available for remote participation via the Internet
Grading: Grades will be based on successful and punctual completion of weekly exercises, online quizzes and exams, projects, and a comprehensive final exam.
Course Outline:
Major components of a PC computer system External components Internal components I/O devices Storage devices Hard drives Floppy drives Hard disks and floppy disks Preparation of storage disks Formatting Storage capacities DOS (command line) Command interpreter Bootup sequence DOS PATH command DOS files Filenames ASCII text Wildcards Software applications System requirements Windows GUI environment DOS environment Categories of software Software piracy Word processing software Applications Considerations and capabilities Document formatting Output devices Fonts File extensions Relative and absolute paths			File formats Native Vector vs. Bitmapped Filename Extensions Creating Web Pages HTML Tags Tables Colors and Hyperlinks Special Characters Forms Placing graphics into web pages Uploading web files to server, FTP Destop publishing Assembling documents from several sources File filters Program compatibility Spreadsheets Entering data Formulas, relative cell addresses Graphing data Saving graphs, printing spreadsheets, output Combining software Designing your end product Proper use of fonts and colors Preparing slides Pleasing graphics Misc. Output devices Serial and parallel devices RAM System files; Autoexec.bat and config.sys files
Textbook: None required. Recommended: Secret Guide to Computers, 26th Edition, by Russ Walter. Instructor will order.
Supplemental Reading: Course content is now fully online. All students will use the course web pages for assignments, deadlines, and exams.
Course Materials: Since this course is taught entirely online, you will need a reliable email provider and access to the Internet.

AGG 3535 & AGG 5536	AGRICULTURAL ECOLOGY		3 CREDITS
Instructor: DR. ROBERT McSORLEY
Prerequisites: None
General Description: An introduction to the study of ecology from an agricultural perspective. The understanding of ecological principles is emphasized, and their application in agroecosystems is examined. The first portion of the course examines fundamental processes which affect growth and productivity of agricultural crops. The second third of the course focuses on effects of agricultural pest populations on crop plants. The final segment examines the ecological impact of common agricultural management practices.
Grading: Grades based on three tests (30% each) plus take-home exercises (10%).
Course Outline:
Introduction and overview, ecological experimentation in agriculture; basic chemical processes - photosynthesis and respiration.
Climate and adaptation of agricultural crops; physical factors affecting crop growth; water use in agriculture.
Energy flow through agroecosystems; productivity and yield; energy costs and maximization of yield.
Soil type and environment; soil properties; nitrogen fertilizers in agroecosystems.
Macro and micronutrients and their availability; fate of fertilizer elements in the environment.
Decomposition and recycling of nutrients; beneficial soil organisms; plant succession and competition.
Weed ecology and management; distribution and sampling of agricultural pests; herbivorous insects.
Factors regulating insect population growth; chemical pesticides, pollution and the environment; beneficial insects and biological control.
Plant diseases in agroecosystems; environmental factors and plant disease; plant-parasitic nematodes.
Integrated pest management; host plant resistance and pest management.
Cropping systems and polyculture in agroecosystems; crop rotation; cover crops.
Intercropping; tillage practices; mulches and organic amendments.
Irrigation, salinity, and desertification; agriculture and habitat change; farm wastes and the environment.
Dryland agroecosystems; tropical agroecosystems; intensive agricultural systems.
Ecological impact of animal agriculture; agriculture and human population growth.
Texts: J. Tivy. Agricultural Ecology (optional).

AGG 6830	GRANT WRITING		2 CREDITS
Instructor: DR. CARL S. BARFIELD
Prerequisites: Accepted into Ph.D. Program at UF
General Description: A practical experience that instructs as to the methods and analyses of grant writing, sources of extra mural funds, operations of national review panels, and steps needed to prepare, submit, receive and manage a competitive grant. Students will prepare a bona fide grant that will receive national and/or international anonymous peer review during the semester. Two student exercises will focus on identification of select types of grants.
Grading: Grade will be derived from level of participation in course, adherence to submission deadlines, and instructor/peer reviewer evaluations of prepared grants.
Course Outline:
Course requisites/needs to write grants/announcements and deadlines		How grant peer review works
Grants for minorities, women, and other special groups		Re-submission if rejected
Vitae, grant title and objectives, list of potential reviewers		Managing grant funds; unforseen situations
Budgets		Discussion of draft proposals
Preparation of subcontracts		Discussion of reviewed grants
Texts: None