A primary function of the Biological Sciences Greenhouse Facility is to support and promote educational opportunities and experiences within the College of Biological Sciences, through the provision of high quality plant materials and insect specimens.

Listed below are some of the courses which use the Biological Sciences Greenhouse Facility. For more information on the courses, contact the appropriate department. A schedule of course offerings can be found on the University Registrar web site.

Plant Biology 101: Introduction to Plant Biology I: Plants, People and the Environment. Plants and their relationships to humans and the biosphere: plant structure and function, growth, and development: practical and economic uses of plants.
Students enrolled in this course will explore the role of plant hormones, gain experience in conducting research using the scientific method, and learn how to prepare a scientific paper through the pea project. The project involves individual hands-on experience planting, thinning, treating and measuring pea plants in the greenhouse facility. One room of the facility is dedicated to this project and for the raising of additional plant materials used in the course. Students will revisit the facility during the course as they learn about plant modifications in a laboratory exercise held in the Conservatory.

Plant Biology 102: Introduction to Plant Biology II: Plants, People and the Environment. A continuation of Plant Biology 101: plant genetics and biotechnology; diversity and evolution, and the importance of plants for the biosphere and for human survival.
This course has two exercises conducted in the greenhouse facility. In one experiment, each student studies the effects of symbiotic nitrogen fixation on the growth of soybeans and how fertilizer affects the nitrogen fixing symbiosis. The other experiment gives students the opportunity to work as a team observing and measuring the effects of intraspecific and interspecific competition on two plants which are common in agroecosystems: ryegrass and radish.

EEOB 210: Local Flora
A lecture, laboratory and field course in identifying common Ohio plants; emphasis on taxonomic principles, use of keys and manuals, and field recognition of plants.
The collection with its representatives of over 100 plant families is an important teaching tool for this course. From the lower plants of mosses and liverworts to the complex flowers of the orchid family, students can explore the diversity of the plant kingdom in the Conservatory.

Plant Biology/Horticulture 300: General Plant Biology
Plant structure and function; growth and development; diversity, reproduction and evolution of lower and flowering plants; people, the biosphere and plant diversity.
Designed for science and horticulture majors, this course is an intensive examination of the above concepts combining greenhouse laboratory exercises from both Plant Biology 101 and EEOB 102.

EEOB 413: Introduction to Ecology
Distribution and abundance of species, population dynamics, community ecology, ecosystem dynamics, and applied perspectives. Critique of ecological primary literature, analysis of ecological data, and design and execution of experiments.Students investigate plant decomposition, the role of fertilizers in plant population density, and interspecific and intraspecific competition among two species of beetles. The students will visit the greenhouse facility to make plantings, observe project development, and make data collections for analysis, discussion and conclusions.

Plant Biology 436: Introductory Plant Physiology
Topics in plant physiology at the introductory level: diffusion, transpiration, water stress, translocation, enzyme kinetics, photosynthesis, plant growth, hormones, tropisms, flowering, fruit development.A wide range of plant materials exhibiting the above physiological functions are used for demonstration in laboratory exercises.

EEOB 612: Taxonomy of Vascular Plants
A laboratory, field and discusssion course concerning the classification of vascular plants; emphasis on taxonomic principles, systems of classification, family characteristics and relationships.This course builds upon the foundation of knowledge introduced in EEOB 210 with the Conservatory maintaining a significant role in the examination of plant systematics.

EEOB 621: Plant Population Ecology
Quantitative study of plant population processes, community organization, and ecological methods.Students conduct an herbivory experiment in the greenhouse to learn the effects on plant fitness and biomass in wild radishes. Also within the scope of this experiment, students will examine the influence of competition on plant stress.

Plant Biology 643: Plant Anatomy
The structure function and development of cells, tissues and organs of the vascular plant.
A variety of plant species are raised to demonstrate anatomical features. The collection is employed for observational materials.

Plant Biology/EEOB 293 & 693: Individual Studies
Students can select a field of particular interest to complete independent research for eitherundergraduate or graduate credit.The Biological Sciences Greenhouse Facility and its staff is at the disposal of students enrolled in Individual Studies for conducting projects which would fulfill course requirements.

Introductory Biology 101: Introductory Biology
Basic principles of biology; topics include nature of science, organismal diversity, evolution, ecology, genetics, reproduction, cell structure and function.Exercises in insect behavior, the ecology of parasitic relationships, plant cell structure, and diversity in the plant kingdom facilitate the comprehension of fundamental biological principles.

Introductory Biology 114: Biological Sciences: Form, Function, Diversity and Ecology.Diversity in structure, function, behavior, and ecology among prokaryotes and eukaryotes.Students observe plant responses to hormones, plant modifications and adaptations, and study the diversity of the plant kingdom including mosses, ferns, conifers and flowering plants from the collection. The insectary provides flies for a behavior study and specimens from the collection for laboratory exercises in taxonomy. Students will visit the Conservatory for a hands-on exercise in plant modifications.

Microbiology 520: General Microbiology
Fundamental principles of microbiology and the characteristics of microorganisms with emphasis on their structure, molecular biology, growth and classification.Students examine the bacterium which assists legumes (peas, beans, etc.) in fixing nitrogen and explore soils for pathogens and beneficial microorganisms.