Introductory Field Biology

Catalog description

In this course, students are introduced to field identification, natural history, and study of plants, animals, and natural systems. This course emphasizes hands-on interaction with nature, recording of ecological phenomena, and awareness and understanding of the natural environment, including ecological concepts (e.g., ecosystem, community, habitat, and niches). Students will 1) work cooperatively in hands-on field lab exercises to build skills in the identification and classification of native biota and their natural history 2) conduct a field research project in which they formulate research questions from field observations, develop a research design, collect field data, and interpret those data for a research report and presentation, and 3) maintain a detailed field journal of natural history observations from field labs and independent observations