Graduate Studies in Biodiversity

Catalog description

This course will explore practical and theoretical aspects of biodiversity by examining the actual diversity of various specific organisms, as well as the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain or deplete biodiversity in general. Field studies will focus on methods for surveying diversity of some or all of the following groups: plants, mammals, fish, birds, insects, and reptiles. Methods will include mist netting, seining, trapping, field cameras, acoustic monitors and DNA analyses. Through readings, on-site lectures, field data collections, laboratory analyses, guided independent research, and field trips, a greater insight and understanding of the interrelated ecology of the study areas will be developed. Study areas will vary among years, with potential sites in western Pennsylvania and Belize. Lecture/Lab. Offered irregularly.