All scientific disciplines begin by reintroducing the scientific method. This process is used in all areas of science, from physics to biology, to conduct, review and duplicate accurate experiments in the field and lab. Professors review the scientific method as it relates to their course, including both its benefits and limitations. Students must understand the difference between a theory, a fact and a law before they can delve into topics specifically related to environmental biology.
Environmental biology is concerned with the structure and function of ecosystems. This includes energy and how it can leave an ecosystem, transfer to another and be used again or take new form. Energy pyramids, such as food chains in nature, provide concrete examples of the movement of energy throughout an ecosystem. To master the concept of the ecosystem, students examine how plants, insects and animals from different species interact on a daily basis, including the important concepts of adaptation, natural selection and evolution.
The environment is radically different in its "wild" state compared to its "civilized" state. In civilized parts of the world, the environment is manipulated for the benefit of the human species. For example, the Agricultural Revolution allowed humans to grow more food for consumption, raising the birth rate and increasing average life span. At the same time, the way the environment had to be manipulated to achieve this killed off some species and invited the unwarranted growth of other species. Environmental biology takes a look at the human attitude toward the environment and how it affects all species on the planet.
Environmental biology courses aim to teach students about specific repercussions for manipulating and damaging the environment. By studying nutrition in each species, students come to understand why certain parts of the world are subject to extreme hunger while others have more than enough to eat. Students study why some species thrive while others become extinct and how the extinction of one species affects all others around it. Environmental pollutants and toxins, climate change and chronic and infectious diseases are highlighted in an environmental biology course.