The Biology II Course was developed through the Ohio Department of Higher Education OER Innovation Grant. The course is part of the Ohio Transfer Assurance Guides and is also named OSC004. This work was completed and the course was posted in October 2019. For more information about credit transfer between Ohio colleges and universities, please visit: www.ohiohighered.org/transfer.Team LeadCathy Sistilli                                         Eastern Gateway Community CollegeContent ContributorsLisa Aschemeier                                 Northwest State Community CollegeShaun Blevins                                     Rhodes State CollegeRachel Detraz                                     Edison State Community College                                     Sara Finch                                          Sinclair Community CollegeWendy Gagliano                                 Clark State Community College AJ Snow                                             University of Akron Wayne CollegeLibrarianAmanda Rinehart                               Ohio State UniversityReview TeamJessica Hall                                        Ohio Dominican UniversitySanhita Gupta                                    Kent State UniversityErica Mersfelder                                 Sinclair Community College

Ecology is the study of the interactions of living organisms with their environment. One core goal of ecology is to understand the distribution and abundance of living things in the physical environment. Attainment of this goal requires the integration of scientific disciplines inside and outside of biology, such as mathematics, statistics, biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, evolution, biodiversity, geology, and climatology.

Permaculture Design is a method of land planning that can be applied at scales from the home garden to city block to village to farm. It is an ethically based whole-systems design approach that uses concepts, principles, and methods derived from ecosystems, indigenous technologies, and other time-tested practices to create sustainable human settlements and institutions. Although rooted in horticulture and agriculture, Permaculture design is interdisciplinary, touching on a wide range of subjects including regional planning, ecology, animal husbandry, appropriate technology, architecture, social justice, and international development.

This open text book is derived from the content of the Massive Open Online Course “Intro to Permaculture”. The original course also included interactive mapping and design tools that accompanied this content. The course and book provide a general overview of the Permaculture design system. The book can be downloaded as a print version. However, there are many accompanying videos and content pages that are linked to throughout the text, so it is best viewed online where the links can be accessed.

Knowing Home attempts to capture the creative vision of Indigenous scientific knowledge and technology that is derived from an ecology of a home place. The traditional wisdom component of Indigenous Science—the values and ways of decision-making—assists humans in their relationship with each other, the land and water, and all of creation. Indigenous perspectives have the potential to give insight and guidance to the kind of environmental ethics and deep understanding that we must gain as we attempt to solve the increasingly complex problems of the 21st century.

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the effects of abiotic factors on the composition of plant and animal communities in aquatic biomes
Compare and contrast the characteristics of the ocean zones
Summarize the characteristics of standing water and flowing water freshwater biomes

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Define biogeography
List and describe abiotic factors that affect the global distribution of plant and animal species
Compare the impact of abiotic forces on aquatic and terrestrial environments
Summarize the effects of abiotic factors on net primary productivity

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Define global climate change
Summarize the effects of the Industrial Revolution on global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration
Describe three natural factors affecting long-term global climate
List two or more greenhouse gases and describe their role in the greenhouse effect

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Identify the two major abiotic factors that determine terrestrial biomes
Recognize distinguishing characteristics of each of the eight major terrestrial biomes

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Define ecology and the four basic levels of ecological research
Describe examples of the ways in which ecology requires the integration of different scientific disciplines
Distinguish between abiotic and biotic components of the environment
Recognize the relationship between abiotic and biotic components of the environment

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

Quantitative Ecology introduces and discusses the principles of ecology from populations to ecosystems including human populations, disease, exotic organisms, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity and global dynamics. The book also reformulates and unifies ecological equations making them more accessible to the reader and easier to teach.