Tropical Ecosystem Assessment

Catalog description

This is a research-based lecture and computer lab course in which students will learn about the relationships between the biotic diversity of soil microbes in the tropics and the carbon and nitrogen cycle components. the roles they play in the ecosystems within intact and managed tropical lowland forests in Costa Rica, and how these ecosystems are impacted by land management and a changing climate. Through lectures and various readings,students will learn basic information about Microbial Ecology, Nutrient Cycles, and Tropical Ecosystems, and how they connect. Students will develop research questions and conduct research projects to address these questions using existing data sets on the DNA-based diversity of the soilmicrobes and associated carbon and nitrogen data that have been collected from different habitats in Costa Rica. In the computer lab, students will organize the bioinformatics and nutrient data, and use univariate statistical software (SPSS) to analyze the carbon and nitrogen data, and use multivariate statistical software (Primer and its add-on PERMANOVA) to conduct analyses of the data. and write a research paper on their project. Grades will be based on participation in the classroom, successful analysis and interpretation of their data as shown by a detailed outline for their paper-including critical findings and interpretations .and a final paper and presentation.