Winter is the season that does more to determine what lives in Minnesota than any other. It is the limited factor and the stress that determines numbers of species and numbers within species. It motivates hibernation and migration, and it changes diet and behavior. We see the elements – wind, temperature, short photoperiod, and snow and ice, but in this course we will attempt to understand how and why things work as they do. We will look at the trees, the tracks, the ice formations and discuss, debate, and speculate.