Importance of ecology coverage in introductory biology courses for biology majors at the university level

Background/Question/Methods

The study of ecology arose in the mid-nineteenth century from a combination of natural history and geology and is presently defined by the Ecological Society of America as “the scientific discipline that is concerned with the relationships between organisms and their past, present, and future environments”. Effective application of ecology to global problems depends in part on educating students in colleges and universities to nurture their interests in ecology. As the initial exposure to further studies, the introductory courses take on added importance in these transforming times in biological education. Two thirds of biology instructors consider the key concepts of ecology essential for introductory biology courses. Nevertheless, a 2004 survey of biology department administrators found very little difference in introductory biology curricula between 2004 and a similar survey done in 1990. This study aimed to determine the percentage and therefore importance of course time allocated to ecological topics. Pennsylvania Universities and Colleges, in rural and urban regions of the state, were approached and their lab and lecture syllabi for Introductory Biology were evaluated and content was grouped into eight topic categories, including Ecology. Percentages of topic coverage were calculated and analyzed using a One-Way- ANOVA.

Results/Conclusions

Overall there was no significantly different time allocated to ecological topics in the different locations within Pennsylvania. However, percentages of ecological topics covered in Introductory Biology Courses were significantly lower than expected according to educator surveys. Our results therefore indicate that the importance of ecological course content is not valued as high as it should be according to educator surveys.