[MUSIC] I'm Erika Zavaleta, professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California in Santa Cruz. And I'm here on our marine campus at UC Santa Cruz, at the northern end of the Monterey Bay in California. It's no small undertaking to understand all of the different kinds of ecosystems we have in California. because there are more of them here than anywhere else in the United States. As pioneering California biologist, David Starr Jordan, wrote in 1898, there is from end to end of California scarcely a common mile. This course surveys the diversity, structure, and functioning of California's ecosystems through time, and the ways they've influenced and responded to human activities and stewardship. Topics we'll cover include ecosystem drivers such as climate, soils and land use, comparative marine, fresh water, and terrestrial ecosystem and their dynamics, and managed ecosystems such as rain and agriculture. For each system, we'll look at diversity. Who lives there? What are the patterns of diversity within each system? And why do they vary in different parts of California? And we'll look at structure and processes, such as when the structure of vegetation both influences and is shaped by things like animals, nutrient cycles, and the weather. [MUSIC] Though environmental challenges remain as big as ever, in California, we see many examples of recovery. Of species and systems, from a low point of environmental quality now about a half a century ago. [MUSIC] Many trends have been successfully reversed, such as declining air quality in California cities. And older legacies, like widespread damage caused by overgrazing and gold mining in the 19th century, have faded with time and have been actively addressed by restoration and improve management of forces like fire and grazing. These successes are tempered by trends, including ongoing habitat loss and by the emergence of climate change. But the story is not all about loss. It's also a story of success and possibility. [MUSIC] In this course, you'll learn about the diversity, drivers, and dynamics of California's ecosystems, through virtual field trips to each of them, supplemented by a few key lectures to dig more deeply into selected topics. You'll also learn some hands-on natural history skills to sharpen your ability to understand and observe the ecosystems where you live. The course is organized into four sections, each with a different theme. In the first, we look at drivers of ecosystem patterns. What underlies the diversity of California's ecosystems and how some key human systems California's cities and agriculture interact with natural systems in the state? Our second section focuses on the coast. The marine and coastal ecosystems, that are most strongly tied to California's extensive land-sea margin. From there, our third section takes us inland to California's mountains and deserts. And finally, we return to the ecosystems that dominate California's Central Valley, Coast Ranges, and lowlands with grasslands, woodlands, trevlands, and redwood forests. Every video field trip and lecture in the course includes a few checks on your learning, opportunities to do a little writing about the material, and answer some questions about key concepts. Throughout the course, you can view and discuss each other's written answers in an online forum. Each of the four seconds also has a brief quiz, at the end of it, to review those key concepts. And a field-based activity to get you outside, or a chance to view the field-based work that others in the course have done. Finally, there's an optional final exam at the end of the class. California is one of the most remarkable places in the world in all kinds of ways. This course is a chance to learn about California's remarkable biodiversity in ecosystems, and to consider how California's remarkable human talents and diversity can chart a sustainable path to living here. [MUSIC]
